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3 Approaches To Including God In Your Novel

Writer's picture: Jonah BraelynJonah Braelyn

3 approaches to including God in your novel header

Hello, and welcome back to Blonde Girl Writing, where I talk about writing, God, and reading!


Today I want to discuss something that's really important to me, which is including God in a novel. While thinking about this topic, I was able to sort most Christian fiction books out there into three groups, based on their approach to including God: directly, indirectly, and subtly.


Let's study each of them in turn.


 

  1. Directly


Most Christian fiction books take this approach when including God. When you include God directly in your novel, it means you refer to Him by Name and His teachings directly influence the plot. Scripture will often also be included, and the characters might even go to church.


Examples: The Left Behind series by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye; The Blades of Acktar series by Tricia Mingerink; The Star That Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson.


The Left Behind series is set in the future--namely, the End Times that are written about in the Bible. Unbelievers find themselves in a quickly deteriorating world when the true believers are taken to Heaven and a world leader steps into power intending to destroy all Christians. God is directly mentioned, one of the main characters is a pastor, and Scripture is often quoted.


The Blades of Acktar series is a medieval fantasy where a man whose job it is to kill those that his king tells him to, meets two believers in God. The girls find him half-dead and decide to help him, and meanwhile live out their faith despite the risk of being reported to the king. God is directly mentioned, Scripture is often quoted, and the two girls have a secret church in their house.


The Star That Always Stays is a quiet historical fiction novel about a girl who has to adjust to a new family and a new house when her dad remarries. Throughout the novel, the main character learns to love her family and trust in God. God is directly mentioned, the characters read their Bibles and quote Scripture, and the main character's family goes to church.


  1. Indirectly


This is the approach most often used in Christian fantasy books. Indirectly including God in your novel means you take a specific Name or aspect of God and call Him that. I've read books that call Him the Maker, Elôn, the Source, White Light, and many more. Scripture is not directly quoted, but its truth is still conveyed in lessons that the characters learn throughout the novel.


Examples: The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson; Fawkes by Nadine Brandes; The Sunlit Lands trilogy by Matt Mikalatos.


The Wingfeather Saga is a Christian fantasy series about a special family from a lost isle journeying to find a safe place to live as evil tries to capture them. Though God isn't mentioned directly, He is known as the Maker, often talked about and prayed to. Throughout the series, the characters discover the Maker's unconditional love for them, and also learn how to trust the Maker more. It's a great series that touches on Christian subjects without being overly cheesy.


Fawkes is a Christian historical fantasy book set in medieval England--except people can bond with and control colors via masks. During the book, the main character learns the truth of God and what his purpose in life is. Again, God isn't referred to by name--rather, He is known as White Light, the greatest of all and the source of every other color. White Light is the only color that speaks to people, and He guides the main character's life and gives Him strength, courage, and guidance.


The Sunlit Lands trilogy is a Christian fantasy series about two kids who get caught up in a magical world that is much unlike Earth, except there are underlying problems in said world. In this book, God is called the Story King, the One whom all stories come from and the One who is said to return to the Sunlit Lands one day and bring peace to all its inhabitants. He might not show up until the third book, but His truth is all throughout the books.


  1. Subtly


Finally, we have the subtle approach. You might see these in books that are marketed as Christian without having overtly Christian language like "God," "Jesus," "the Bible," etc.


The truth is, God doesn't have to be directly or indirectly mentioned in a novel to be in it. Whenever good wins over bad, whenever light wins over dark, whenever truth wins over lies, and whenever love wins over hate, God is glorified. That's because He is good, He is light, He is truth, and He is love.


A good example of this is Kara Swanson's Heirs of Neverland duology. God may never be directly or indirectly mentioned in these books, but His themes of truth are still present. In the end, good triumphs over evil, and Neverland is restored to beauty and light. Lost family is found, broken people are shown True Love, and Shadow ends on a high note of hope.


As faith-filled fiction Christian writers, we can't help it if God's truth is in our writing. Our beliefs spill out of our hearts and onto the pages because we want to share the Truth of the Bible with others--whether our readers know it or not.


 

I hope this article has shown you that no matter how you decide to include God in your novel, you are still glorifying Him with your writing. There are great Christian fiction books in the world that use all three of these approaches, and each one has its own strengths and advantages.


Tell me in the comments: Which approach is the one you use most often in your writing? Which approach do you see most often in the books that you read? Which approach appeals to you the most?


Until next time, friend!


Best wishes,

~ Jonah


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