After surrendering my life to Christ in 2013, I gave my writing career to God as well. It didn’t matter that I’d already established a secular career as an author of fiction. It was now God’s way or bust.
I thought breaking into the Christian publishing world would be easier than my secular debut, given that it’s smaller and, I figured, less competitive. I was wrong. Writing fiction for a secular market was all about writing a great story. Writing for the Christian market involves possessing not only literary gifts but spiritual gifts as well. And Christian nonfiction has the added expectation of platform. I needed a mindset to carry me through this serious business of writing for the Christian market.
I recently set a goal of writing in spirit and in truth, inspired by Jesus’s words in John 4:24 and Hemingway’s advice to write just “one true sentence.” It has become my mantra. Having a goal that satisfies both God and Hemingway sounded lofty and irresistible.
In the book of Luke, when the Samaritan divorcee asks Jesus where she should worship, Jesus responds that it’s not about the where, but the how. She was thinking about buildings, but Jesus was thinking beyond the walls and to things of greater significance. The Oxford Dictionary describes spirit as “the nonphysical part of a person which is the seat of emotions and character.” I keep thinking about writing in the spirit as an act that is beyond the body and physical realm, a reaching for the eternal.
When I was living in Portland Oregon I was part of a writing community called “Dangerous Writers” on account of the risky territory we entered when we dared to write our truths. Dangerous Writers primarily wrote memoir and included heavy-hitting authors whose works were made into Academy Award-nominated films such as Wild and Fight Club. One of the techniques I learned from the Dangerous Writers was called “on the body” where we would use our physical surroundings to anchor and establish character.
We were taught that when the writing gets off-track, a writer can find her way back returning to the body and anchoring her character in her physical world. Where is her protagonist sitting or standing? What does she see? How does she feel? These things ground her in her present and reveal everything which needs to be revealed. Narrative is discovered in the truth of the body.
While I find this tool effective, writing in the spirit feels like the antithesis to writing on the body, where an author uses God’s spiritual kingdom to anchor and establish character.
I find it intriguing that Jesus also mentions truth to the Samaritan woman, given that one of her first reactions to him involves her sharing misleading information about her marital status. Truth was likely a scarcity in this region, and lying was prevalent amongst even the religious leaders in that area.
To this day, honesty is difficult to come by. Honest writing doesn’t come naturally. I am wired to peacock my prettiest feathers, not air my dirty laundry. But most often, the incomparably beautiful truth can only be found in the embarrassing details. If there is one thing Dangerous Writers taught me, it’s how to convince myself I am safe enough to share my heartbreaks, rage, shame, and fear. If I can’t do this, I’m wasting your time.
Are you willing to share your truth?
Truthful writing requires prayer and discernment. Jesus, who defines himself as “the truth” (John 14:6), is the ultimate editor. He doesn’t condone discouraging or unwholesome talk (Ephesians 4:29). Christian Author, Jeff Gerke, recommends using euphemisms when facing the dilemma of producing both clean and honest content. “You have to be more creative (and use more humor) to write this way. Anybody can write in a cuss word, but it takes real talent to give us the feeling of the cussing without literally spelling it out.”
Several mentors have given me helpful advice which I have compiled and pinned in my office:
- Does this scene undermine God’s truth by misleading readers?
- Does this scene undermine God’s glory by celebrating sin in any way?
- Does this scene undermine God’s authority by placing blame on any person?
- Does this scene undermine God’s promises by leaving a reader with a feeling of hopelessness or depression?
When I write in spirit and not in truth, my writing tends to be preachy. When I write in truth and not in spirit, my writing comes across kinda trashy.
When it comes to writing in spirit and truth, don’t automatically think you have to chuck all your seemingly godless experiences. Early in my Christian walk, I attended a few counseling sessions with a pastor who asked me to chronicle my life from birth until that moment, highlighting only what God was doing in my life. I was shocked by God’s presence throughout my entire life journey.
Searching for Jesus in a worldly past makes for fascinating detective work. I’ve hung onto a vast collection of stories I wrote years ago, before I came to know God. I’ve retained these stories, in hopes that he might somehow redeem them. I may revisit one of my older stories and rewrite a scene where I’d spent Mardi Gras in New Orleans with an older man. After getting drunk enough, I slipped away from him to call my ex-boyfriend back home. The re-write might include added details such as:
- The soothing effect the hotel clerk had upon me, who happened to wear a small gold cross on her neck.
- My encounter on Bourbon Street, as I searched for a quiet place to use the phone, and was stopped by a missionary, right in the midst of the drunken depravity of Mardi Gras, who insisted on praying for me—a moment that brought me to both tears and sobriety.
Adding these details makes the story not only deeper, but truer.
Regardless of what happens with my writing career, I can already see the benefits of writing in spirit and in truth, and even if I couldn’t, I wouldn’t turn back. I’ll continue in my dangerous writing, but it’s backed by my confidence in God’s enduring love. I’m in this for eternity.
Your daring stories will illuminate God’s kingdom in a way nobody else’s will. Know that you are safe, free, and loved as you venture beyond the walls and write what is dangerously true and spectacular.
Thank you for this powerful article and reminder! For many years, I wrote and re-wrote a women’s fiction about a father-daughter relationship filled with resentment and bitterness. I thought I nailed it many times. But didn’t put in my “truth” as you explained it. I can now see why God had me hold off on writing this book and why he had me read this article. You see, I recently lost my own father. In my book, the main character is the executor of her father’s estate. Back when I wrote this story (2017-2021), I had no idea what that title meant! Now that I am my father’s executor, boy oh boy do I know what this means and can now add this experience to my book. It is one of those “truths” that will connect to readers and the various emotions I have experienced these last few months I can now use to ground my main character as she endures grief and loss. So, thank you for the reminder of how important it is to share our truths to connect with readers, to point them to God, and to provide HOPE that readers need. I love being reminded that God’s timing is perfect.
Wow, that is really cool to hear how time has benefitted your story and helped the narrative become even richer! Your story sounds beautifully complex. I can’t wait to read it! So glad this article was helpful. I appreciate your feedback.
This was a super helpful article for me! Thank you for the reminder of writing in spirit and truth. I see how that brings balance to our writing. Good advice for every day life too!
I’m so glad it was helpful. I love what you said about balance. I know you are going to write in spirit and truth!
Megan! I love those questions to ask when writing. Thanks for this article.
Thanks, Janelle. I am so grateful I could pass the questions on! Happy writing!
Wow! Beautiful and so true! You have Godfidence!
Jodi, I am so grateful for your mentorship and reminders about always using my words to encourage!
I love that term “Godfidence”!
Me, too! Jodi is great at encouraging us sisters to think differently than the world.
Wow, Megan! I am deeply moved by what you shared. Thank you. I love those questions and am especially inspired by the thoughts you shared concerning writing in spirit and truth. I am so glad God redeemed your life and pray He redeems more of your story and stories.
Much love to you, my friend.
Susan, I am so grateful he redeemed my life, too, and anxiously awaiting to see what he’ll do with these stories. Thank you for being such a source of encouragement and wisdom. Love you!
Megan, what a marvelous article! This goes a long way in helping your brother and sister authors to navigate what can be a very tricky tightrope: that balance between spirit and truth. In trudging through my own writing journey, another help I’ve discovered is the bible itself, written by the most Dangerous Author of All. He has written a story packed to the cover with the ugly grittiness of our broken lives, but punctuated with the beauty of his mercy and grace. And best of all, the first and last pages speak of his eternal glories wrapping it all up. May we so write in the same Spirit which penned those priceless words.
Oh man, so well said, Bill! You’re right about the Bible being the perfect model of grit and grace. His Word is such a limitless source of honesty/truth and kingdom living. I always love your insights.
This is the reason it’s worthwhile for anyone to write their spiritual memoir–regardless of publication chances.
It’s in seeing our life through the “rearview mirror” of our experiences that we can best see the Will of God.
It was very helpful to me. Thanks for your insight.
Michelle, I resonate with your thoughts about writing even for the sake of that rearview mirror journey. It’s such fascinating detective work to see how pursued we have been. I’m excited for both of our experiences ahead with this and hope to meet you at a conference sometime.