The importance of message in story

AuthorAppleton on February 8, 2016

While it is important that a fiction piece not “preach” a message to its readers, it is of even greater importance that the story does communicate a message. A lot of stories written today seem to focus on action and romance, or something similar. But the real power in storytelling is to reinforce cultural values, or even to destroy them. We learn best by observing others in what they do and should not have done. We learn by those things… and stories have the ability to mold our thinking.

My first novel, Swords of the Six, delivered a few messages. The heroine in the story fell in love but her life blood was not human and thus in order to give birth to a living child she had to give up her own life. The heroine was left with an internal battle as she realized that giving birth would separate her from her new husband. The story was a message, a way of demonstrating the immorality of abortion and reinforcing the Biblical value for human life.

Without message the story has no real impact on the reader. It becomes generic. Action and romance are necessary elements in story, but in and of themselves they are not sufficient. Story needs soul. Story needs conviction.

Have you ever read The Pilgrim’s Progress or Hinds Feet on High Places? They are allegories of the Christian life and their value to the reader is powerful because it challenges your thinking. It causes you to evaluate who you are, what you want to be, who you want to be, and helps you recognize the flaws and pitfalls in modern thinking. Nowadays many writers are afraid of hurting the reader’s feelings or alienating people by writing messages that the reader disagrees with and that society may frown upon. But that is exactly the strength of literature.

You need to be challenged, motivated, and encouraged. I once used the line that my books were written to “enlighten, enliven, and enthrall people of all ages.” That is still where I stand. Stories have the ability to reach into hearts and change minds. As a Christian I recognize the power of message in story. We need to embrace it and share it with people around us. It will strengthen folks to stand for things wholesome, right, and good. And to live without fear because we know the message is greater than our comfort.

Q: What messages do you appreciate in stories you’ve read?

Divinity and accountability in Fiction

AuthorAppleton on July 27, 2015

When writing I have often pondered the futility of leaving God out of the story. His presence, whether embodied or as a distant spirit-being, omnipresent and omniscient, is necessary even in fiction. Without an ultimate accountability characters lose their punch.

All stories need a level of good versus evil. Characters make choices between right and wrong. Humanism would have us believe that we do not need God to explain the choice between good and evil, whereas the standard of morality we know is completely dependant on Him.

Western society is founded on the moral system passed down by Judeo-Christian values. Without a Common Standard of morality society is left to the whims of its individual members. One person may say that stealing is wrong, but another may say it is not because they believe in survival of the fittest.

Why is sin always sin? Why believe in truth and falsehood? Because we do have a standard in the laws passed down by God through Moses and the prophets and Jesus Christ.

This is pivotal in writing. Literature needs to reflect that God is the same always, whether in the past or in the present or in the future. An eternal being whose standards are not dependant on our desires, whims, or failings.

Without that standard a story becomes dependent on the characters’ perspectives. But when that standard is used the story gains coherancy because all actions, whether good or bad, have consequences temporal . . . and eternal.

Freedom of choice does not mean your characters can escape the fact that they are created beings.

Question: How does accountablity to God factor in the fiction you read and write?

The bad and good of Portraying Violence in Fiction

AuthorAppleton on March 23, 2015

When writing my fantasy novels it is frequent to encounter (you guessed it) violence. Targeting my books to the middle grade and young adult readers this is of great concern to me. I don’t want to wash over the violence but I don’t want to glorify it in the eyes of the reader either.

Consider that violence is sometimes necessary to convey the cost of wrongs done. I think of how the Bible narrative is full of violence. Violence wrought by the good, the evil, and by God himself. Blood spilled, sacrifices of life and limb made. But this violence is not glorified, instead its purpose is shown. Whether the will of God to wipe a degenerate nation from the face of the earth, or allowing the Babylonians to conquer and enslave the Jews.

Too often contemporary fiction glorifies the violence by turning it into entertainment. Entertainment, whether in the form of a book or a movie, can and should display violence as a means to an end. A lesson must always be understood, subtly taught, so that the reader comprehends the relational and eternal consequences of such actions. Unless this is done the reader, and especially young minds, can follow the violence itself as an entertainment and subconsciously accept it as an end of its own.

In properly thought out books the reader will learn to respect certain actions and despise others. They should be able to picture themselves as the knight riding into battle and ramming his lance into the heart of a wicked tyrant. But on the same note they should also picture themselves looking with pity upon that tyrant’s corpse and wishing that another resolution might have been possible. We don’t need to glorify violence, but we don’t need to despise it either. It is admirable to slay the invader, save the fair maiden, and pray to God for mercy on those who have fallen.

It is admirable to wield the sword in battle… yet the greatest admiration should be given to the knight who knows when to show mercy to his enemy. The knight whose heart dreads violence and yet will not shy from vanquishing his foes when need be.

Question: How do you view violence in fiction?

Magic in Fantasy Fiction: Powers of God and powers of the Devil

AuthorAppleton on January 26, 2015

There are many ways that various writers have dealt with the subject of magic in their stories, but most pitch a “good” wizard or witch against an “evil” wizard or witch.

What is acceptable when creating a fantasy story from a Christian worldview? We know that God condemned wizards, witches, sorcerers, mediums, and the like. Some Christians are apt to ignore or else deny that the Devil has real power in the world. He, like God, can perform signs and wonders, but just because there is power in such things does not mean that they are right.

We read of magic in fantasy stories and, interestingly, throughout Biblical history we have stories of what we can term “magic.” Moses’s shepherd staff was empowered by God. At will he or Aaron could throw it on the ground and it would transform into a snake. He stretched it over the Red Sea and the water dramatically divided, leaving a dry path for the Israelites to pass over. Angels of God were seen with flaming swords and chariots of fire and other spirit beings manifested themselves. Even after Biblical history signs and wonders of God continued. In Eusebius’s History of the Church he details a war in the heavens above Jerusalem, and other wonders.

The Devil is a chief imitator. It gives him great pleasure to copycat God’s marvels. God sometimes allows it and certainly he allows it in the devil’s followers.

Magic, if we are using it to refer to all of these things, can be good or bad. In writing fantasy we need to be intentional when dealing with magic. If we are intentional then people can analyze and determine what is proper and good, and what is demonic and wrong.

It is important to remind readers that just because something is unexplainable, miraculous, or extraordinary does not mean that it comes from God. Be sure which Master the “magic” serves.

Question: How does your worldview affect the use of magic in a story?

Santa Claus: his proper place in Christmas?

AuthorAppleton on December 1, 2014

“Ho! Ho! Ho!” Yep, that is the sound of old, jolly Saint Nick. Only presently he is commonly known as Santa Claus. He is a giver of bounteous gifts and delicacies. He lives in a castle, according to some tales. But is this his proper place in Christmas?

I found this painting titled “The Spirit of Christmas” and, honestly, I love it. The artist is Greg Olsen and he really captured the spirit of how Santa figures in Christmas for me. Here is the link to his full painting: The Spirit of Christmas.

Christmas is a beautiful time of recognizing the history behind the Christ child and of all those who followed later. The most famous being Saint Nicholas. The giving of gifts that reminds us of God’s gift to the world. The showing of compassion that follows the example of Christ. The beauty of the Christmas decorations and lights, reminding us that God created beauty and wants us to enjoy it.

The proper place of Santa Clause is at the feet of the Christ child. The myths that surround him need to be tailored to honor the true spirit of Christmas and to honor the Christian tradition for which Saint Nicholas stood. Santa Clause is a fantasy story, wonderfully imagined, but today he is commercialized with his values lost in the mountain of toys. Looking to the mood of Olsen’s painting should remind us of Santa’s true place in Christmas.

Question: What place does Santa Clause hold in your Christmas traditions?

Counter Culture: Material Gain Does NOT Equal Happiness

AuthorAppleton on July 7, 2014

We are constantly bombarded by the material things in our world, and those things promise us easier life and deeper satisfaction. WE ARE BEING CONDITIONED TO COVET WHAT WE DO NOT HAVE. But we must remember that material gain does not grant us happiness.

The mad rush of societies from ancient days until the present is this: we seek riches, luxuries, and pleasures. Our culture teaches that to have more is to live a fuller life. It tells us that without things we cannot be happy. Yet here is a nugget of wisdom we need to remember and encourage one another to teach:

There is not a more wicked thing than a covetous man: for such an one setteth his own soul to sale… and he that is to day a king tomorrow shall die. For when a man is dead, he shall inherit creeping things, beasts, and worms. -Ecclesiasticus 10:9

It is all well and good to enjoy the things God has given us, yet it is easy to be distracted by them and make them our priority. It is prudent for us to remember that the things of this world provide only temporary pleasure. If we put our energies instead into those around us, encouraging each other to live for the Lord, we will have eternal blessings. And imagine how trivial this life will seem after a thousand years have passed on the new Earth. The things of this world pass away, but we are eternal beings and we need to prepare ourselves for that future.

Question for you: In what ways does culture make you place greater importance on Material Gain? What habits help you put material things in their proper perspective?

Book Look! Pilgrim’s Progress

AuthorAppleton on June 23, 2014

Pilgrim’s Progress. I must have read that book three times when I was growing up and what an impression it left on me. John Bunyan’s classic allegory for many years was the best-selling book next only to the Bible. Even today its popularity is evidenced by the many various revisions and editions it has populated.

But why does this allegory resonate so well with people?

I think it has to do with the character of Christian and how he changes during the course of the story. After his conviction he follows the narrow way and each challenge along the path brings him closer to Paradise. Through a fantasy-type setting we can relate to Christian’s victories and his failings. We desire the same thing he did: victory over the Evil One and Eternal Life. We must struggle with faith in a physical world populated with individuals who deny God’s very existence or scoff at the necessity of repentance and a following after good works.

This book is timeless and powerful, encouraging us to be the men and women of God-granted potential.

Question: Have you read The Pilgrim’s Progress? Did it inspire you?

Counter Culture: We Have No Mother Earth

AuthorAppleton on June 2, 2014

On a recent drive to work I stopped at a traffic light behind this silver jeep adorned in all sorts of bumper stickers. One in particular caught my eye: THE EARTH DOES NOT BELONG TO US, WE BELONG TO THE EARTH and beside the text was a sketch of Jesus.

Really now, this has become a popular way of thinking of the Earth. It seems that the 1960’s have not fully been dispensed with. Let’s see what Scripture says about the Earth.

Who does the earth belong to?

The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. -Psalm 24:1

Who does the earth belong to? It was a gift to mankind.

And God said, “Let us make man in our image… and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing upon the earth.” -Genesis 1:26

Amazing how that bumper sticker reverses everything. First off, it is true the earth does not belong to us, but we are masters of it. Secondly, we do not belong to the earth. We belong to the Lord God and He has given us dominion over the Earth. This is an important distinction. The earth and its resources are a blessing given us by God. We are certainly responsible for being good stewards of that gift, but we have no mother earth.

Question for you: What are some of the other false views society puts forth concerning this topic? How do you view the Earth?