Welcome to the Fall Issue of Faith-Filled Fiction!

Did you have a productive summer? I did. I attended my first book fair with the Lost Genre Guild, and worked the Catholic Writers' Guild booth at the Catholic Marketing Network conference. I wish I could say I made a beaucoup sales, but I gave away most of the copies to bookstore owners and a few media members. Yesterday, I followed up on all my contacts, sending them sell sheets of Infinite Space, Infinite God along with a nice letter suggesting that it'd be a great Christmas present. If you have a Christian book, you might want to consider doing the same. This is the month to do it, so that they have time to order your titles.

I finished writing my novel Live and let Fly. It turned out to be a bigger ordeal than I imagined, in no small part because my "plucky female sidekick" refused the role! She ended up damsel in distress. I also learned a little about the Norse gods. Interesting lesson for FFF readers--not all gods wanted to be worshipped. Loki, for example, didn't elicit worship so much as fear (or in some cases, amusement or annoyance.) It made for an interesting scene where some of the characters are talking about what gives a god his or her power. (Adonis gets it from crying over dead plants.) I also ended up with a very funny scene in which I did play upon a stereotype of a faith healing. The joke, however, comes not from the healing or even the stereotype, but from one person's misperception of the event. I'll tell you more about it next issue in an article on religion, stereotypes and humor.

Finally, I'm pleased to announce that Leaps of Faith, an anthology of Christian Science Fiction is coming out from The Writers Café Press in November! I'd love to have folks review it. I'm also touring the book on-line. If you'd like to blog about the book, do an interview, etc., please contact me.

In the meantime, enjoy this quarter's issue. Tosca Lee talks about how her writing has illuminated her faith and visa-versa, I discuss some common pitfalls in making up religions, and Terri Main continues her series on Pentecostalism. Great stuff! Have a blessed Fall!

Guest Columnist

Faith in Fiction, Like in Life, is Not Always Simple

By Tosca Lee

Christian fiction. Inspirational fiction. Religious novels. Theological thrillers. Call them what you will—I never set out to write them. It seemed so straight-laced. So vanilla. So very… boring.

I was hard at work on a novel—sword-slinging war fantasy, mind you--for going on the ninth year in a row when I got the idea to tell the story of a fallen angel… from his point of view. I was a part of a collaborative storywriting group at the time and wanted to come up with a new character. Something off the fringe. An angel seemed boring, too goody-goody--which was my main gripe with Christian fiction, not coincidentally. A demon, however…

…seemed cheesy, actually. Red-horned, fork-tailed. Comic-book-esque.

I was considering all of this during the span of a two-mile drive from the city limit to my acreage, flagellating myself for my lack of insight and originality. That’s where faith kicked in.

I’ve identified myself as a born-again Christian since age 11. I believed firmly and yet wonderingly in the nuances of scriptures that seemed, at times, like triple-sided coins. As I began to consider what it might really be like for a fallen angel—a demon—to tell his tale, I did so through the spiritual lens of my beliefs.

What must it be like, I wondered, to have failed once—only once—and to have been damned forever? To have witnessed the dawn of humankind’s creation—and the fallible and often miserable earthlings that lived and failed, continually, upon it? To have witnessed the provision of a messiah for the salvation of those same creatures… at the expense of the God himself?

For the first time, I began to view the vindictive mission of the Biblical demonic in a new light.

And I had a story.

Writing Demon: A Memoir eventually went beyond spiritual speculation for me. It became my case for Christianity as best I understood it, as told by the most unlikely of narrators.

Here’s the challenge I see: Christian themes are woven throughout literature, art, and pop culture. They’re not new or revolutionary to us. They’re rote as wallpaper. And so sometimes we have to turn things on their heads to truly see them afresh.

Such was the case with Havah: The Story of Eve, for me. I grew up with the flannel storyboard Adam and Eve. The tree with its apples, the twining serpent. As a thirty-something, I’m bored with the pat answers of Sunday School. Why in the world would the world’s first and likely most intelligent woman of all time listen to a snake? Why would anyone living a perfect existence intentionally undo it with a single conscious act? So many questions. No neat answers.

Just like life.

Tosca M. Lee is a sought-after speaker, consultant, and writer. She received her BA in English and international relations from Smith College
in Northampton, Massachusetts, with special studies at Oxford University. She holds the titles of Mrs. Nebraska-America ‘96, Mrs. Nebraska-United States ‘98, and first runner-up to Mrs. United States. Tosca has appeared on radio and television to promote women’s charities, health, and family causes..  www.lindajhutchinson.com

Writing Tips

Common Pitfalls in Made-Up Religions

By Karina Fabian

As you know, I believe incorporating the spiritual aspects of a character or the religious aspects of a setting or plot enhance a story. However, how do you know when your fantasy religion is not doing the job it should?  Here are four pitfalls I see:

One, they are superficially portrayed and thus not really believable.  Rose Dimond gave a good example of this in our workshop at the MuseOnline Convention. In a critique group, one person told the story of a woman who was abused. She later became a priestess, and was able to "find peace" after murdering her abuser. As Rose put it, "Revenge is not generally recommended as the pathway to peace by the holy." However, the bigger point here is that the author did not develop the religion sufficiently to convince Rose that the way to peace is by smiting one's enemies, permanently.

Two, they are a blatant copy of an existing Earth religion. Jesus with green skin or tentacles is an obvious one. Less obvious would be a “Mother goddess” on a world of insectoids that hatch, alone and independent, from eggs.  Why would such creatures, who have no concept of "mother" by nature, develop such a religion? Just like a blind race would never develop the concept of color, so this species would not develop a religion around a nurturing motherly figure. They would worship God in some other image that they, by their nature, would understand.

Three, religions are used, sometimes obviously, as a device for getting the author’s point across.  This is the kind of thing Linda talked about in her article, "Don't Preach to Me" in the July issue.

Four, they’re tossed in for “color” but otherwise never touch the characters or story. It's a rule in writing that if you don't need an object, a setting, a character, don't devote a lot of words to it, him or her. Do you spend a chapter talking about the chemical content of the Calaronderon Nebula if the ship is leaving that parsec, never to think about it again? Likewise, then why go on about the bizarre tree spore worship of the Elderbeera if it never impacts the story?

Next issue, we'll talk about some strategies for avoiding or dealing with these pitfalls.

Hey! My next anthology is coming out in November! Leaps of Faith features terrific Christian Sci-Fi. An EPPIE finalist in 2002, it's coming out in trade paperback from The Writers' Cafe Press. Learn more at www.leapsoffaithsf.com.

Religion Research

The Pentecostal Experience: Plot Elements

By Terri Main

A story with Pentecostalism as part of the spiritual setting can provide the author with a number of plot possibilities.  Three areas in particular can provide seed ideas for stories: Church governance, historical persecution and Spiritual Gifts. In this article we will discuss the first two. The third, Spiritual Gifts, requires an article of its own.

Church Governance

Pentecostals tend to be highly individualistic. Many Pentecostal/Charismatic churches are non-denominational. Even those affiliated with major Pentecostal denominations are often sovereign congregations. Most churches elect their own pastors, write their own constitutions, own property in their own name, make staffing decisions and create programs independent of the denomination.

This independence can lead to conflict. Conflict is the stuff of stories. How does one argue vigorously about the future of a congregation while still showing Christian love? It isn't easy, and we don't always succeed.  Story elements can center on the calling of a Pastor or a Pastor accepting the call to a church with conflicting visions for the church. They can center on interpersonal conflict about church governance. Since finances are usually in the hands of the local congregation with little support from the denomination, fundraising stories can range from the humorous to those posing ethical issues.

Historical Persecution

Today, Pentecostals are part of the mainstream of what is often called Evangelicalism. While sometimes considered odd or downright weird, we are generally accepted within the church community. This wasn't always the case. In the early part of the 20th Pentecostals faced persecution. Parishioners and pastors were sometimes arrested for "disturbing the peace" with their loud singing and shouting praises to God. Parents barred their children from attending church with those "holy rollers." It wasn't uncommon for people to come to Pentecostal meetings and heckle the pastors or laugh at the congregants.

Many individuals who began to explore the Pentecostal experience were asked to leave their churches or denominations. As late at the 1960's a pastor friend of ours was expelled from his denomination after he began to speak in tongues. His family and friends were instructed to have nothing to do with him.

Some of the "persecution" was related to, sometimes misguided, attempts at "holiness" by well meaning Pentecostals. My mother was not allowed to wear slacks, which meant she could not take part in P.E. at school so that she flunked that course. Not being allowed to attend movies or go to dances often made young people the subject of ridicule.

Today, the opposition is still there, but not as obvious. For many, it's okay to be religious and go to church, but to sing loudly, shout, dance, run and speak in tongues is seen as bordering on sacrilege or insanity.
Stories can be built around these instances of persecution. Themes such as strength of conviction or love expressed toward one's enemies are obvious.

Next time, we will discuss how the Pentecostal belief that God still performs works of power through willing vessels can provide you with story ideas.

Terri Main teaches communication studies at Reedley College, Reedley, California. She has degrees in speech, English and psychology. She edits WayfarersJournal.com a science fiction e-zine. She attends Fullgospel Assembly of God, Caruthers, California. Her mother, maternal grandmother and paternal grandfather were all Assembly of God ministers. Her spiritual heritage goes back to the Azusa Street Revival on one side of the family and the founding of the Assemblies of God on the other side.