Jeff Gerke - The Art & Craft of Writing Christian Fiction: The Complete Guide to Finding Your Story, Honing Your Skills, & Glorifying God in Your Novel

There are writing books that are long and eloquent on philosophy and art and dont do the beginning writer one bit of practical good. Then there are writing books that provide nuts-and-bolts advice with plenty of examples and clear instruction. I learned how to write from books from the latter category and Jeff Gerkes The Art & Craft of Writing Christian Fiction is a great example of a truly useful book. Enjoy!

Dr. Angela Hunt, a popular fiction teacher and author of more than one hundred Christian books

To my precious daughter

Sophie Song Taylor Gerke

God moved heaven and earth to bring us to you

And you to us

This book arose out of a series of tips I wrote for a website during 2006 and 2007. In those days, I was convinced that I had figured out the best way to write fiction and that everyone should do it this way or risk being just wrong.

I have since mellowed.

I now understand that very few things can be considered true laws or rules of fiction. Indeed, I now believe in only one, which I call the Great Commandment of Fiction: You must engage your reader from beginning to end. Everything else is just preference, opinion, and style.

But I hadnt realized that back in 2006.

In preparation for the release of this version of The Art & Craft of Writing Christian Fiction, I went through the manuscript again trying to soften the my way or the highway tone, but you can still sense it occasionally.

In those spots, please forgive my youthful conviction/intolerance and instead receive it all as a set of suggestions coming from one writers preferences and style. If you prefer to write another way, or if you disagree on one or several points, thats fine. Allow the more mature me to apologize for the more certain me, and to give you permission to use the instruction here that resonates with you, and to ditch the rest.

You might try a few of these, even if you feel you dont agree, just to see if you do like them. Sort of like an oil painter taking a pottery class just to check it out. You might find your new passion or a technique or two that significantly help you in your own fiction. But if you dont, thats okay, too!

Enjoy.

I love Christian fiction.

I love writing it. I love editing it. I love teaching it at writers conferences. And I love publishing it through my small publishing house, Marcher Lord Press.

Moreover, I love the people who write Christian fiction. Christian novelists are among my dearest friends. Where else can you find such imagination, playfulness, and depth of thought? Who else but a novelist can you ask how to murder someone and dispose of the body and not have them call the police on you? Who else would go to a famous landmark and compete with you to find the best spot for the villain to make his nefarious escape?

Lets face it: Christian fiction is fun. Even if youre writing a serious-minded study of mans inhumanity to man, there is something exhilarating about story; about creating people and worlds and events; about telling a tale that keeps readers enraptured and maybe just maybe leaves them fortified in their walk with Jesus.

But for all of the fun, its also hard work. There is skill involved in writing excellent Christian fiction. There is craftsmanship to be learned. And there are the long hours pounding away on a manuscript that, by the time youre done with it, has you convinced its the worst piece of garbage ever penned by man.

Thats not even talking about trying to get your book published. Its a wonder anyone would choose such a way to spend otherwise useful time.

So maybe you put your novel away for awhile. Youve tried to do more sensible things with your spare moments. Youve attempted to be engaged with workaday matters, laundry, and bills.

But one day, a new story idea will pop into your head or you wont be able to stop hearing the voice of a character demanding to be written about. On that day, youll be right back where you were, counting the cost of writing Christian fiction and loving it like nothing else.

I officially began my love affair with Christian fiction back in 1994 when I got my first publishing contracts (with Multnomah Publishers). Unofficially, it was the moment I became a Christian and tried to imagine what it wouldve been like to walk beside Jesus on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. And before that, Id had a love of story that stretched back to my days of playing with my G.I. Joe action figures.

I published three novels in the late 90s near future techno-thrillers that were, ahem, ahead of their time. Then I took the first of several jobs on the editorial staff of a Christian publishing company, also with Multnomah. In total Ive had six novels published (so far), worked for three publishing companies (so far), and performed edits, critiques, and brainstorming sessions on thousands of Christian novels.

I have worked on all sides of the publishing process. Ive been author, editor, and publisher. Ive been the low guy on the totem pole and Ive run fiction departments. Ive been junior flunky and Ive been publisher. Ive worked for others and Ive worked for myself. Ive taught Christian fiction at writers conferences around the United States.

Through it all, Ive developed my own school of thought regarding the way Christian fiction should be written. My body of experience has resulted in a vast collection of best practices, things to avoid, and important guidelines. For two years I wrote these thoughts out and presented them to the public through my Fiction Writing Tip of the Week column at one of my sites: www.WhereTheMapEnds.com.

After ninety-six weekly tips, I started realizing something: Id said it all. Just about everything I saw in any manuscript I edited, Id already commented on in the column.

It was great. I was able to refer people to the site instead of typing it up all over again. If they needed help introducing major characters, I could send them to Tip 15. If they needed to learn the principles of good dialogue, they could read Tips 4649. Whether it was matters of character, time bombs, or dumb puppets, it was all there on the column.

I should mention that, as Ive mellowed with age, Ive become less strident about what is right or wrong about writing fiction. My later fiction craft books with Writers Digest reflect this more easygoing approach.

I began to wonder what I could do next. I didnt have new tips to write every week because I had pretty much said it all. Yet, I wanted to keep teaching. Then the e-mails came in: This should be in a book. Id buy this thing in a heartbeat. I dont always like reading off the screen.

Eureka!

The Art & Craft of Writing Christian Fiction is my Fiction Writing Tip of the Week column in book form. Plus, there are a few extras tips you wont find anywhere else. The tips are arranged thematically and have been edited for this medium, but youre holding in your hands the entire Jeff Gerke school of writing Christian fiction.

And instead of Tips, I decided to call these Masteries. Because mastering the art and craft of writing Christian fiction is what this book is all about. Each chapter read, understood, and put into practice is another essential bit of your skill set that youve now mastered.

As I surveyed my Tips, I realized they fell into major groupings. There were several Tips about writing a novel, but also several about selling a book, editing a book, or even strategizing it. There were Tips about how to think about yourself as a novelist and how to think of God in the process. These groupings suggested the organization of The Art & Craft of Writing Christian Fiction