Your posts rise to the top of my, "I will certainly read & will do so with a connecting eagerness" when they show up in my inbox. Grateful tears mingle with my smile because I fought the urge to quit this writing life last week. Yet, like-minded writers like you lift me out of that murky space. Thank you. May our in-dwelling Creator continue to ripple wondrous, ponder-worthy imagination into your mind and heart.
I have a shelf FULL of Christian living books that I feel like I should want to read, because I know they’re *good for me*....but they sit unread, I think because what I really want to read are things that are *good.* This post made me teary.
You already have many comments on this, but I would like to simply comment on the treasure of art you place in each piece for us to enjoy. It makes me miss the days of wandering through museums. It seems so long ago. I have been working, working, working, and my eyes need art, my heart needs music, and my being needs creation.
Lore, this was such a freeing piece for me! Truly. I have always struggled to fit inside the Christian writing world, I am not good at pithy sayings or filtering everything through a Jesus lens. Even saying that, I feel a tinge of guilt but it's the truth. Thank you for being honest about your process and thoughts surrounding this issue. It has truly given me fresh permission to simply let my writing speak as it is, and not as I think it should be.
Love this note, thank you. What a good reminder to do whatever it takes to let the work make me. I have no idea what genre I write towards - I just write what makes my heart beat faster - in delight, in fear, in anger, in curiosity. Can't wait to read this next book of yours!
I love your description of who you are, and I’m glad you are feeling free to be all of that. I think that kind of authenticity glories God. A tulip wouldn’t be improved by trying to be more like a daisy. I look forward to your book. I appreciate the echo of Rich Mullins, “I did not make it, but it is making me.”
Thank you for writing these vulnerable words down. They resonate so deeply that I know I'll need to revisit them. What a gift to Jesus and the world if we felt free to co-create more art with Him rather than the alternative.
Thank you. Your post and the comments here are helping me name the tension I feel between attending to the church curriculum I write on contract, and the soul projects that I keep putting off. I enjoy the curriculum, but it adheres to certain forms and norms, and leaves me little energy for my own creative work. I’ve had Annie Dillard’s words rattling around in my head: “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” I’m trying to hear that as an invitation rather than an indictment....
I am not an artist in the typical sense of the word, but this resonated so deeply with what has become my primary area of creativity - as a mother and homemaker. My conception of my work in those two arenas has shifted greatly over the past 14 years as I awaken more and more to the fact that my ‘making’ is truly making me, instead of vice versa, and that moreover into an unrepeatable image of the incredible diversity of God. As I move deeper into my own unique call-and-response relationship with the great Giver of my boundary-lines and raw materials (so to speak, and of the most varied kinds!), I move further from certainties and ‘movements’ and expected outcomes. There is scope for despair here, but there is also deep hope, and also glimpses of glory; and there is an increasing willingness to look for God at play in all sorts of places and situations and people.
I love the line “I am a writer who loves Jesus...” because, for some reason, it felt like a reminder that I can be a writer who loves Jesus and doesn’t write exclusively about Him. Sometimes it feels like Christians must write about God to glorify Him, but perhaps God is most glorified by us writing the piece He has given us to write and writing that thing well. Maybe beauty is enough to point to God if you want to see Him. Lots to think about 😊
Hi Lore. Came in contact with you through Dan Koch's podcast. I am a writer too and write what I call "religious fiction". (Not Chrsitian/Evangelical fiction) I am an American author who lives in Norway. and specialize in religious fiction, combining challenging literary themes of existence along with adventure and romance.
My present (almost done) novel is called "A Witch in the Wardrobe"
Here is a working blurb. Is anyone here would like to comment, I would appreciate it.
Belfast, Northern Ireland
"A lone bulb provided dim light in a cramped and dingy attic," where Shannon Dillon discovers a hidden document. This results in speculation that beloved author, C. S. Lewis, had once been involved in the Occult. Gangsters steal the controversial document, and then kill two family bystanders.
Shannon vows vengeance, travels to America, and teams up with Simon Magister, a nerdy literature professor at an evangelical college. The unlikely couple embarks on a deadly mission to track down the 'Belfast Document' and bring the killers to justice.
Follow their adventures as they walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
-------
This is a thriller set in a religious milieu. It's a delicacy of conspiracy, violence, romance, and a nuanced depiction of the Evangelical experience today.
I appreciate your authenticity and frankness so much. It is sorely needed. I hope you and other like-minded authors are able to push back in an industry that seems to continue to just want to churn out certain "content." And I don't care what your next book's about, I'll be buying it 😉
Thank you, Lauren! And I just want to say, the industry is turning. I see it in my publisher and its various houses, and in the editors there. I feel very encouraged about the future =)
THIS 100 times.
Your posts rise to the top of my, "I will certainly read & will do so with a connecting eagerness" when they show up in my inbox. Grateful tears mingle with my smile because I fought the urge to quit this writing life last week. Yet, like-minded writers like you lift me out of that murky space. Thank you. May our in-dwelling Creator continue to ripple wondrous, ponder-worthy imagination into your mind and heart.
I have a shelf FULL of Christian living books that I feel like I should want to read, because I know they’re *good for me*....but they sit unread, I think because what I really want to read are things that are *good.* This post made me teary.
You already have many comments on this, but I would like to simply comment on the treasure of art you place in each piece for us to enjoy. It makes me miss the days of wandering through museums. It seems so long ago. I have been working, working, working, and my eyes need art, my heart needs music, and my being needs creation.
Lore, this was such a freeing piece for me! Truly. I have always struggled to fit inside the Christian writing world, I am not good at pithy sayings or filtering everything through a Jesus lens. Even saying that, I feel a tinge of guilt but it's the truth. Thank you for being honest about your process and thoughts surrounding this issue. It has truly given me fresh permission to simply let my writing speak as it is, and not as I think it should be.
Yes, yes, yes. Same journey here, and trying to let the work shape me. Thanks for your words.
Love this note, thank you. What a good reminder to do whatever it takes to let the work make me. I have no idea what genre I write towards - I just write what makes my heart beat faster - in delight, in fear, in anger, in curiosity. Can't wait to read this next book of yours!
I love your description of who you are, and I’m glad you are feeling free to be all of that. I think that kind of authenticity glories God. A tulip wouldn’t be improved by trying to be more like a daisy. I look forward to your book. I appreciate the echo of Rich Mullins, “I did not make it, but it is making me.”
Thank you for writing these vulnerable words down. They resonate so deeply that I know I'll need to revisit them. What a gift to Jesus and the world if we felt free to co-create more art with Him rather than the alternative.
I can hardly wait to read your words.
Thank you. Your post and the comments here are helping me name the tension I feel between attending to the church curriculum I write on contract, and the soul projects that I keep putting off. I enjoy the curriculum, but it adheres to certain forms and norms, and leaves me little energy for my own creative work. I’ve had Annie Dillard’s words rattling around in my head: “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” I’m trying to hear that as an invitation rather than an indictment....
I am not an artist in the typical sense of the word, but this resonated so deeply with what has become my primary area of creativity - as a mother and homemaker. My conception of my work in those two arenas has shifted greatly over the past 14 years as I awaken more and more to the fact that my ‘making’ is truly making me, instead of vice versa, and that moreover into an unrepeatable image of the incredible diversity of God. As I move deeper into my own unique call-and-response relationship with the great Giver of my boundary-lines and raw materials (so to speak, and of the most varied kinds!), I move further from certainties and ‘movements’ and expected outcomes. There is scope for despair here, but there is also deep hope, and also glimpses of glory; and there is an increasing willingness to look for God at play in all sorts of places and situations and people.
I love the line “I am a writer who loves Jesus...” because, for some reason, it felt like a reminder that I can be a writer who loves Jesus and doesn’t write exclusively about Him. Sometimes it feels like Christians must write about God to glorify Him, but perhaps God is most glorified by us writing the piece He has given us to write and writing that thing well. Maybe beauty is enough to point to God if you want to see Him. Lots to think about 😊
Enjoying the journey of making is usually what makes the end result something you can leave with love.
Hi Lore. Came in contact with you through Dan Koch's podcast. I am a writer too and write what I call "religious fiction". (Not Chrsitian/Evangelical fiction) I am an American author who lives in Norway. and specialize in religious fiction, combining challenging literary themes of existence along with adventure and romance.
My present (almost done) novel is called "A Witch in the Wardrobe"
Here is a working blurb. Is anyone here would like to comment, I would appreciate it.
Belfast, Northern Ireland
"A lone bulb provided dim light in a cramped and dingy attic," where Shannon Dillon discovers a hidden document. This results in speculation that beloved author, C. S. Lewis, had once been involved in the Occult. Gangsters steal the controversial document, and then kill two family bystanders.
Shannon vows vengeance, travels to America, and teams up with Simon Magister, a nerdy literature professor at an evangelical college. The unlikely couple embarks on a deadly mission to track down the 'Belfast Document' and bring the killers to justice.
Follow their adventures as they walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
-------
This is a thriller set in a religious milieu. It's a delicacy of conspiracy, violence, romance, and a nuanced depiction of the Evangelical experience today.
Thanks for your attention.
L. D. Wenzel
I appreciate your authenticity and frankness so much. It is sorely needed. I hope you and other like-minded authors are able to push back in an industry that seems to continue to just want to churn out certain "content." And I don't care what your next book's about, I'll be buying it 😉
Thank you, Lauren! And I just want to say, the industry is turning. I see it in my publisher and its various houses, and in the editors there. I feel very encouraged about the future =)
That is honestly so encouraging to hear! Thanks for sharing.