Likewise, no one wants to read something super cheesy because...well, it's lame.
My aim in Picture Perfect is to tell it how it is. I want every bit of the story to feel real to my readers. Thing is, I also want to include God in the story because He's a huge part of my life and part of the story I want to tell.
I'm not saying God is cheesy--because He's not at all. But...if you haven't noticed, a ton of Christian stuff is super cheesy. T-shirts. Movies. Books. Bumper stickers. Websites. While I appreciate the meaning behind all of it, I do wish it didn't trigger my gag reflex. (Is that harsh? I mean, Christians have gag reflexes, too.)
One of my favorite authors and inspirations, Melody Carlson, does a bang-up job of writing Christian YA fiction. If you haven't read her, and you like the sound of my book, you should definitely give her a try. I love everything she writes.
The Bible is another example of non-cheesiness. It's not all rainbows and sunshine, after all.
Even having read Melody Carlson and the Bible, it's hard to write God parts of the story. I want my book to appeal to Christians as well as non-Christians. It's easy to write the real-life stuff, but not so easy to not write cheesy Christian stuff.
I find myself stuck on a God-part as I write tonight, so I thought I'd share this with you. Here's what I have at the moment:
[Note added 3/4/14. Excerpt has been removed.]
This is leading up to a huge God-moment for Adira, and I want it to feel huge to the reader. The God moments also need to be real, so I'll tell that exactly how it is, too.
Now, I might crawl into my toasty bed and think back on all the sweet--none of them cheesy--things God has done with me. I'll imagine how He'd be with me if I were in Adira's situation. Maybe I need to stop thinking about cheese, and if need be, clean it up later. Or add some fiber... What's the literary equivalent of fiber?
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