THE CRAFT OF WRITING — SEPTEMBER 2024
This year the CRAFT OF WRITING blog is focusing on Aspects of the Novel, such as Plot, Dialogue, Characterization, etc. We’ve had some great discussions so far, including James Scott Bell on Voice, DiAnn Mills on Plotting, Debbie Burke on Antagonists, Randy Ingermanson on Scenes, Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi on Emotion, Larry Leech on Dialogue, Terry Odell on Deep Point of View, and Sue Coletta on Anti-heroes. If you missed any of these, go to kaydibianca.com/blog and choose the post you want to revisit.
This month, I’m excited to welcome award-winning author DiAnn Mills back to the blog, and DiAnn has a special treat for us. She’s written an article on The Power of Romance in Christian Fiction in which she addresses many of the aspects of the novel.
And she has a new romantic suspense novel for us:
Cozy up. It’s time for romance.
The Power of Romance in Christian Fiction with DiAnn Mills Share on X
* * *
We ran out of our gorgeous propeller pens, but this month the name of each person who enters a comment will be put into the drawing for a $10 Amazon Gift Card. (Not nearly so pretty as the pen, but still a useful gift!)
So join the conversation and earn a chance to win. I’ll post the name of the winner after 9 PM Central Time tomorrow night, so be sure to check back to see if you won. (Previous 2024 winners are not eligible to win.)
* * *
Now here’s DiAnn’s article:
The Power of Romance in Christian Fiction
Have you explored the power of romance in Christian fiction? Toss aside your thoughts about simple themes and tepid emotions that water down the love relationship between a man and a woman, Instead, think about how to include “real” elements and write an authentic and believable story.
- The joy of true romantic love is real.
- The emotions are real.
- The physical, mental, and spiritual challenges are real.
- The heartbreak of broken relationships is real.
- The struggle of adhering to God’s way of honoring each other until marriage is real.
- The blessings of obedience and a Christ-filled relationship are real.
Dipping our toes into the waters of writing Christian romance doesn’t mean we swim in shark-infested waters. According to the American Heritage Dictionary romance is “a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.” Love is “an intense feeling of deep affection.”
Christian writers commit to creating a God-honoring story. Biblical examples since Adam and Eve explore imperfect human traits. Consider Jacob and Rachel, Boaz and Ruth, Joseph and Mary, or the love between Christ and the Church. The positive attributes give us role models that emphasize sacrificial love, commitment, and the blessings of obedience. The mistakes pave the way for the writer to plot their story, suffer the consequences of error, and make amends.
Christian romance inspires the reader to focus on giving and not taking. Characters facing challenges and overcoming them through faith and love serve as role models for readers, encouraging them to seek similar virtues in their own relationships.
Explore the meaning of romance and genuine love to see where it fits in your characters’ lives, plot, dialogue, setting, and ever-present emotions. A character exchanging an “I love you” with another character is on its own flat and unimaginative. The writer’s role is to show the story.
Cultural differences, family dimensions, social status, and diversity can be addressed in a healthy biblically based manner.
Characterization
Your characters are made in the image of God with a unique personality. Know your character inside and out: culture, family, spirituality, education, interests, hobbies, tphysical attributes, backstory, and more. I suggest using a personality test for your character, such as Myers-Briggs.
A character’s spiritual journey provides insight for the reader to grow in their faith or investigate Christianity.
Gary Chapman in his book The 5 Love Languages details how our personalities reflect the way we give and receive love.
- Words of affirmation
- Quality time
- Physical touch
- Acts of service
- Receiving gifts
Plot
Decide if your story is a pure romance or a complimentary blend, as in historical romance, fantasy romance, romantic suspense, or a blend of any genre. The genre determines style, theme, voice, culture, setting, vocabulary, and other related specifics.
If your story is romance, your plot is about characters who are attracted to each other, but obstacles are in the way.
A plot that weaves genre and romance is a balance of both goals. For the romance writer, both characteristics of romance and genre show dynamic emotions.
Setting
An often-overlooked technique in writing is viewing the setting as an antagonistic character that stands in the couple’s way of finding lasting romance. Plot your story to include a setting that works against every goal in the protagonist’s POV. The growth and change needed to overcome barriers make the story exciting and engaging.
Dialogue
Readers want to hear what characters say, how they say it, and how it contributes to the plot. Another aspect of dialogue is subtext; this means what isn’t stated means more than what is being said. Body language blends with spoken dialogue and subtext to show what the characters are feeling but are held back from saying. This is often the case of romance and can be used to the delight of the reader.
Emotions
Readers turn pages because the writer has successfully shown emotions, which allows the reader to step into the character’s shoes and experience the story. The reader isn’t reading the story, but they become the character. While this is true no matter what genre, cleverly shown emotions keep the reader involved in the story.
By delving into these ideas, you can offer readers a comprehensive understanding of the power and significance of romance in Christian fiction, both as a literary genre and to convey timeless truths and values.
Thank you, DiAnn, for being with us today.
The Power of Romance in Christian Fiction with DiAnn Mills Share on X
***
Meet DiAnn Mills
DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She weaves memorable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels with threads of romance. DiAnn believes every breath of life is someone’s story, so why not capture those moments and create a thrilling adventure?
Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards, Selah, Golden Scroll, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests.
DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, an active member of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Mystery Writers of America, the Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild, and International Thriller Writers. DiAnn continues her passion of helping other writers be successful. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country.
DiAnn has been termed a coffee snob and roasts her own coffee beans. She’s an avid reader, loves to cook, and believes her grandchildren are the smartest kids in the universe. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.
DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Goodreads, BookBub, YouTube, LinkedIn or her website: diannmills.com
Hi DiAnn, you are one busy and generous lady, showing up in so many venues! Hi Kay, thanks for your blog.
This is a nice article. I love the idea of using setting as antagonist. Seems like this would be useful in many genres. I haven’t done much with it or seen it used many times. I look forward to adding it as another tool in my writing arsenal.
All the best,
Rachel
Thanks, Rachel. I encourage you to try using an antagonistic setting. And let me know!
Good morning, Rachel, and thanks for stopping by. DiAnn has given us a lot to think about in her article.
Thank you for the blog. I really enjoyed this article.
Thanks, Beth. Glad you found value in the article!
Good morning, Beth, and thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Thank you for all the helpful tips, DiAnn. I’ve never written a straight romance, but I’ve included romantic subplots in a story, and I’ll do so again!
Priscilla, thanks! I appreciate your reading the article.
Good morning, Priscilla, and thanks for being here. Like you, I haven’t written straight romance, but DiAnn’s article gives lots of food for thought in the romantic mystery genre.
Thanks, Diann, for your interesting observations. My books are mystery/suspense but have romance elements so this is helpful. I have a question about Gary Chapman’s list: #5 is “receiving gifts.” I would have thought “giving gifts” would be the indication of showing love, e.g. “It’s more blessed to give than to receive”? Am I misinterpreting this?
Thanks, Kay, for inviting another good guest.
Good morning, Debbie. Since you and I both have romantic elements in our mystery and/or suspense books, I especially liked this quote from DiAnn’s article:
According to the American Heritage Dictionary romance is “a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.” Mystery within mystery. What could be better?
Good question about “receiving gifts.” I look forward to DiAnn’s take on that.
Hi Debbie, yes, it’s better to give than to receive. Yet some people treasure receiving gifts; it’s their love language. Think about the person who grew up poor and never received a gift.
Good morning DiAnn & Kay! This was a wonderful article. It reminded me that we can show readers through our writing that following the Lord is a way to live that has great benefits. I very much liked what you said about setting as a character. Agree wholeheartedly, and I think it’s a lot of fun to write with that idea in mind. Thank you both!
Good morning, Lisa, and thanks for being here.
Setting as character is a wonderful concept. Another way to set up roadblocks to a blossoming romance.
You’ll be interested in an upcoming blog post here in November with Chautona Havig where we’ll discuss writing about faith in fiction. I believe that will be a fascinating interview.
There is no doubt Chautona will be a fun guest and full of wisdom to boot!
Thank you, Lisa. So glad you enjoyed the article!
Great article and timely as I’m in the middle of writing a romantic suspense and romance is the hardest part for me. As I’ve often said, it’s easier to kill them off than to get them together…
Patricia, you are so right! That’s the way a suspense writer’s mind works.
Hi Patricia!
“it’s easier to kill them off than to get them together…” I love it! 😊
Loved this post ! Very interesting.
I read DiAnn’s book and it’s a real winner!
Thanks for stopping by today, Paula, and for recommending DiAnn’s book!
Paula, thank you!
I really enjoyed reading this post and your book sounds like a great read, Thank you for sharing all this great information with us.
Hi Alicia, Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Thank you so much for this great article! Christian romance is what I write and love to read. I especially liked reading about the setting as a character so will have to revisit that in my current story! Thank you again.
Hello Barbara! Thank you for stopping by and commenting.
Thanks, Barbara, Thank YOU for responding.
Gary Chapman’s book The 5 Love Languages helped us in our marriage 🙂
Hi Natalya. What a wonderful compliment to pay to Chapman’s book!
Natalya, That is a blessing! Chapman’s book is also a huge help in communication.
This is quite intriguing. thanks
Thanks, Debby!
Many thanks to DiAnn Mills for being my interview guest this month. Also, thanks to everyone who stopped by and left a comment on the post.
Eight people were eligible to win the gift card, and I listed them in the order they commented:
1 Rachel
2 Beth Moylan
3 Priscilla Bettis
4 Lisa Simonds
5 Paula Sheckhise
6 Alicia Haney
7 Barbara Curtis
8 Debby236
Then I ran a random integer generator to pick a number between 1 and 8. The number that came up was 7, so Barbara Curtis is the winner of the gift card. Congratulations, Barbara!