So yeah...I'm working on Onion.
Okay, natural superalism is what I'm iming for. Magical realism. This is generally not done in a lot of Christian fiction because many Christians have been taught to think of supernatural and magical things (which happen on a frequent basis) as rare or demonic. I've managed to do natural supernaturalism in Wind Follower and Constant Tower. But heck one can get away with magic in an epic fantasy novel. To try it in a contemporary world is a hard row to hoe. I want to try it though. I want to see how much I can get away with. So, my aim: expanding genre-bending in American evangelical Christian fiction.
Pentecostal Fiction often uses the open universe when writing apocalyptic fiction. Mainstream Christian fiction uses it when a prayer gets answered ...and even then the supernatural is a rare non-normal thing. For the most part most American evangelical Christian Fiction has a Baptist closed world leglistic view where grace and the miracle-working-God-in-us charismatic grace is rarely seen.
American Christian evangelical Fiction is pretty unimaginative when it comes to playing with literary form, and often when they try to go outside the box/push the envelope they are so lacking in their knowledge of the dimensions of the box or the outside of the envelope that they just create a muddle. There really is nothing more embarrassing than the typical evangelical American christian artist "going outside the box."
The realms of the unseen are rarely dealt with in a normal kind of way. The rationalistic world has basically defined and hijacked the definition of the possible. And American Christians who aren't really charismatic (and remember, we Charismatics are in all denominations so I'm not picking on denominations per se) also tend to see as things the non-Christian world sees it. So writings about healings, miraculous translations from point to point B, non-human parasitic forces (demons), unseen realms, words of knowledge, etc, etc, etc..will just cause mainstream Christians to roll their eyes...or to think the writer is a nut.
So how to write a good story that has normal Charismatic stuff? In addition, I want to write about normal normal charismtic urban kids. These kids are not the perfect little kids one sees in some christian books. They're real. They think guys are hot. They are praying one minute and seeing angels the next and lusting after guys the other. What to do? Can I pull it off without making it hokey?
Jesus, are you listening? You gotta help me. Thanks, Lord.
Off to write other stuff now though. Gotta get the bottleneck stuff outta the way: the review of Alan Jacob's Book of Common Prayer: A history and Larrimore'sBok of Job: A history (both of which I've already reviewed for Examiner and both by Univ of Princeton Press) but I want to write another review for both of them on blogcritics as well. Gotta also post my review of Dark Girls by Bill Duke. And a book on how to be a vegan (ain't gonna happen, too much for me to commit to. Even down to not wearing leather shoes.) A coupla other books as well. Am also working on a book called "A Fool's Journey through the Book of Proverbs" and a book called "Scapegoats and sacred cows of Bible Study." Also gott write about three short stories. Then...I gotta commit to Onion.
Okay, natural superalism is what I'm iming for. Magical realism. This is generally not done in a lot of Christian fiction because many Christians have been taught to think of supernatural and magical things (which happen on a frequent basis) as rare or demonic. I've managed to do natural supernaturalism in Wind Follower and Constant Tower. But heck one can get away with magic in an epic fantasy novel. To try it in a contemporary world is a hard row to hoe. I want to try it though. I want to see how much I can get away with. So, my aim: expanding genre-bending in American evangelical Christian fiction.
Pentecostal Fiction often uses the open universe when writing apocalyptic fiction. Mainstream Christian fiction uses it when a prayer gets answered ...and even then the supernatural is a rare non-normal thing. For the most part most American evangelical Christian Fiction has a Baptist closed world leglistic view where grace and the miracle-working-God-in-us charismatic grace is rarely seen.
American Christian evangelical Fiction is pretty unimaginative when it comes to playing with literary form, and often when they try to go outside the box/push the envelope they are so lacking in their knowledge of the dimensions of the box or the outside of the envelope that they just create a muddle. There really is nothing more embarrassing than the typical evangelical American christian artist "going outside the box."
The realms of the unseen are rarely dealt with in a normal kind of way. The rationalistic world has basically defined and hijacked the definition of the possible. And American Christians who aren't really charismatic (and remember, we Charismatics are in all denominations so I'm not picking on denominations per se) also tend to see as things the non-Christian world sees it. So writings about healings, miraculous translations from point to point B, non-human parasitic forces (demons), unseen realms, words of knowledge, etc, etc, etc..will just cause mainstream Christians to roll their eyes...or to think the writer is a nut.
So how to write a good story that has normal Charismatic stuff? In addition, I want to write about normal normal charismtic urban kids. These kids are not the perfect little kids one sees in some christian books. They're real. They think guys are hot. They are praying one minute and seeing angels the next and lusting after guys the other. What to do? Can I pull it off without making it hokey?
Jesus, are you listening? You gotta help me. Thanks, Lord.
Off to write other stuff now though. Gotta get the bottleneck stuff outta the way: the review of Alan Jacob's Book of Common Prayer: A history and Larrimore'sBok of Job: A history (both of which I've already reviewed for Examiner and both by Univ of Princeton Press) but I want to write another review for both of them on blogcritics as well. Gotta also post my review of Dark Girls by Bill Duke. And a book on how to be a vegan (ain't gonna happen, too much for me to commit to. Even down to not wearing leather shoes.) A coupla other books as well. Am also working on a book called "A Fool's Journey through the Book of Proverbs" and a book called "Scapegoats and sacred cows of Bible Study." Also gott write about three short stories. Then...I gotta commit to Onion.
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