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Once you have identified your message, it is time to decide which category and genre will be best suited to delivering your message to your target audience. For example, Jesus taught His messages in the form of parables. You may find that multiple categories could be effective vehicles for conveying what you want to say. In this case, choose a category that is both comfortable for you to write and popular with your target audience.

At the highest level, all writing is broken into one of two camps: fiction or non-fiction. All fiction naturally falls under the umbrella of creative writing. Non-fiction may be creative (narrative non-fiction) or instructional (expository non-fiction). Fiction is always made-up, but it may be based on a true story and it may incorporate factual people, places or events into its narrative. Non-fiction is always 100% factual even if the details are presented in a narrative fashion.

Here are some examples of the fiction and non-fiction categories:

To better understand the distinction between some of these categories, Jerry Jenkins provides a brief overview of fourteen types of creative writing (both fiction and non-fiction) in his post, Creative Writing 101. Writers.com also provides details into some of the forms of non-fiction writing in their post, 10 Types of Nonfiction Books and Genres.

From Category to Genre

Within a specific category, there can be many different genres. For example, a novel may fall under science fiction (sci-fi), fantasy, historical romance, mystery thriller, etc. To get a better idea what the common genres are, see the following sites:

• Reedsy.com (non-fiction)
• TCK Publishing (fiction)

There are a multitude of genres to choose from, but as a Christian writer, are all genres acceptable? Because our writing must glorify God and be inspirational in nature, writing in a violence- and fear-based genre like horror will probably not work. Likewise, the content cannot be sexually graphic or perverted. But you may be surprised by how much leeway you still have to explore different genres in your writing.

It’s not too difficult to see how a faith-based, inspirational thread can be woven into real-world tales. But how about purely fantastical genres like fantasy, sci-fi and speculative fiction? First, let’s define each one.

Note: Even fantasy stories model the real universe to some extent or our minds could not grasp the concepts presented. Mythical characters will possess human qualities, the characters will interact with each other and thus require some form of communication, the properties of time and space will be required, etc.

In a later post, we will dig deeper into the necessary elements involved in designing an alternate world. But for now, we will explore the feasibility of presenting Christian themes in other-worldly settings.

From Faith to Fantasy

The primary issue with the idea of writing Christian fantasy lies in the fact that God prohibits the practice of magic and mysticism. So, any book promoting occult practices clearly opposes God’s Word. But if the magical elements are merely used to design a universe that is obviously distinct from the universe we live in, then the entire fantastical construct can be treated in an allegorical sense.

For example, in Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series, he created a fantasy world infused with a power he called the True Source. Some of his characters are sensitive to the True Source and can interact with it in much the same way as we would interact with the Holy Spirit. The women who sense the True Source live in the White Tower, which is much like a convent. The men who sense the True Source live in the Black Tower, which is much like a monastery. The Tinkers represent the gypsies, the Children of the Light represent radical religious terrorist groups, and so forth. So, the entire fantastical world becomes an allegory for the world we live in.

You can strategically develop the magical components of your fantasy world to represent Christian concepts. Simply translate God’s Kingdom elements and principles into your magic vernacular. 

• God: Give God-like characteristics to the figure with the highest authority, whether this is a being, a “sentient force” or whatever. Truth and morality are ultimately handed down from the highest authority, so—to convey Biblical morality—your highest authority must possess God’s nature.

• Faith: Everything we do in life flows out of our faith, whether we have faith in something good or something bad/evil. So, it is nearly impossible to craft a story with any character or premise that is truly devoid of faith. You will be injecting a faith message whether you realize it or not. Make sure the faith message ultimately makes God’s defined “Good” triumph over God’s defined “evil.”

• Miracles: Operating out of our spirit-man translates to magic in your story world. In God’s Kingdom, miracles are never purposeless; they serve to point people to God, to glorify the Father in the Son and to advance and establish His Kingdom. So, make sure the magic also points your characters to your highest moral authority. If your story version of God embodies God’s characteristics, this magic will—by extension—point your readers to God. You may not be naming God by His real Name, but you are opening your readers’ hearts to receive all that God is.

• Fruits of the Spirit: When we operate out of our spirit-man, we flow from the authority we serve, whether that is God or the devil. So, the fruit of our spirit-walk is the fruit of the authority we flow from. Make sure the fruit of your “good” magic reflects your highest moral authority and your “bad” magic reflects your highest evil authority. And since your characters are not perfect, your “good” characters may also give in to flow in the “bad magic” at a point of moral weakness.

No matter what genre you write in, God and His Kingdom should be clearly evident in your message. Whether you convey this through a literal dissertation or a fictitious representation does not matter.

Stay tuned for our next post on writing techniques; we will dive into Point of View (POV) to assess which POV will best communicate our message and to learn how to properly implement POV in our stories.