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Lorehaven helps Christian fans explore fantastical stories for Christ’s glory: fantasy, science fiction, and beyond. Articles, the library, reviews, podcasts, gifts, and the Lorehaven Guild community help fans discern and enjoy the best Christian-made fantastical stories, applying their meanings to the real world Jesus Christ calls us to serve. Subscribe free to get any updates you choose and to access the Lorehaven Guild.
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Observations: Read Like Jesus

I  talked in my Speculating Faith article about how the speculative genre should be the safest place for writers to explore their own faith. That is to say, when there’s a ‘common grace’ readers allow their authors–a grace that should […]
Kaci Hill on Feb 2, 2011 · Series: Observations of a Youngling
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I  talked in my Speculating Faith article about how the speculative genre should be the safest place for writers to explore their own faith. That is to say, when there’s a ‘common grace’ readers allow their authors–a grace that should never be abused, but that exists nonetheless.

Friday night I was out with some fellow writers, and we started talking about various peeves and preferences when approaching a book or movie.  Everyone’s got them. Personally, I’m put off by characters talking too much during a fight/action sequence or an out of place ‘romantic moment,’ just for a couple examples.   It is what it is: I read fast and miss paragraphs (to the extent I’ll actually back up and reread a couple pages), so Bad Guy hitting Good Guy, followed by two paragraphs of either taunting or inner monologue about Good Guy’s mother or something, followed by Good Guy finally ducking and taking a swing at Bad Guy really makes me lose my place. Too much and I’ll forget what’s happening in the scene completely.

That said: Even good writers commit the peeves. This is because they’re peeves, not because there’s anything inherently wrong with the writing.  (Some people will argue that point with me; and I suppose that’s okay.)

Really, for the most part I’m that reader writers like: I genuinely want this book to be amazing, and I’ll keep reading in anticipation of that brilliant, blow-away ending.

But even I have peeves. I can list several movies and a few books I’ll probably never see or read again, not because they’re poorly done, but because of the peeves. I’ll recommend them to other people, likely, but not for myself.  Matter of fact, there are a couple authors (no, I’m not naming them, because it doesn’t matter) who continuously do the same two or three things that drive me crazy, but I keep buying and reading their books anyway.

This is because, in the end, they’re still good books with good plots and good characters.   And neither exists without the skill, time, and energy of the writer.  Common grace is appreciating those things despite the warts–real or perceived. Common grace doesn’t demand a brand of perfection, but instead accepts that blessings fall on all of us. It doesn’t tear down but builds up; it seeks to save, not destroy. It sees the good and accepts the ill. Such a grace accepts that writers are but mortals, and books written by mortals are only as perfect as the writer who creates them. Grace can overlook a fault; it trusts, hopes, and perseveres.

And, I don’t know. I guess I hope people would show the same grace to me.

Kaci Hill
Kaci is the co-author of Lunatic and Elyon with New York Times bestselling author Ted Dekker. She's also substitute teacher with a little editing and tutoring sprinkled in for grins. She lurks on Facebook, Twitter, a blog she dubbed Life in the Veil Betwixt the Realms, where she continues to explore the threshold between reality and fiction and everything in between.
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  1. Amy Rose Davis says:
    February 2, 2011 at 12:01 pm

    Awesome article, for faithy people and unfaithy people. 🙂 Well said.

    Amy

    Reply
  2. Rachel Starr Thomson says:
    February 2, 2011 at 2:32 pm

    Really, for the most part I’m that reader writers like: I genuinely want this book to be amazing, and I’ll keep reading in anticipation of that brilliant, blow-away ending.

    I want to be this kind of reader. Most of the time I think I still am, but several years of editing, coaching, contest-judging, and other critique-related work has definitely made me pickier–I think I’ve just amassed a lot more peeves. I still want to get behind every author and cheer him or her on, though, so my heart is in the right place :).

    Reply
  3. Rebecca LuElla Miller says:
    February 2, 2011 at 6:00 pm

    Good article, Kaci. Your two peeves are things that bug me also.

    This line is brilliant, I think: accepts that writers are but mortals, and books written by mortals are only as perfect as the writer who creates them.

    I posted an article about C. S. Lewis yesterday at my site (Comment Luv below has the link), and this line would have fit in beautifully with some of the comments.

    Becky

    Reply
  4. Tweets that mention Speculative Faith: Observations: Read Like Jesus -- Topsy.com says:
    February 3, 2011 at 3:15 am

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Timothy Stone and Amy Rose Davis, Speculative Faith. Speculative Faith said: RT @KaciHill: My #SpecFaith entry: Observations: Read Like Jesus http://goo.gl/mZHi1 […]

    Reply
  5. Morgan L. Busse says:
    February 3, 2011 at 11:59 am

    Common grace doesn’t demand a brand of perfection, but instead accepts that blessings fall on all of us. It doesn’t tear down but builds up; it seeks to save, not destroy. It sees the good and accepts the ill. Such a grace accepts that writers are but mortals, and books written by mortals are only as perfect as the writer who creates them. Grace can overlook a fault; it trusts, hopes, and perseveres.

    That said, there will still be books I don’t like. I simply choose not to say anything that would tear them down (hopefully) in person or on my blog, unless I am called to give my absolute opinion on the book. Then I will submit what I did not enjoy in words that I would want used about my own book by people who did not like it 🙂

    Reply
  6. Morgan L. Busse says:
    February 3, 2011 at 11:59 am

    Ok, tried the quotes blocking thing and it didn’t work *sigh*… I’ll get this someday! LOL

    Reply
  7. Rebecca LuElla Miller says:
    February 3, 2011 at 12:49 pm

    Morgan, I think you made a good point — because God can use a particular story doesn’t mean all of us will like it.

    Becky

    Reply
  8. Morgan L. Busse says:
    February 3, 2011 at 1:35 pm

    Yep, some of us like chocolate, some of us like vanilla 🙂 I never want to put down someone’s book because it wasn’t my kind of book… I think that’s what Kaci was getting at in her article 🙂

    Reply
  9. Galadriel says:
    May 6, 2011 at 7:17 pm

    I tend to be wary of saying anything negative about my favorite things–more from a “let’s not ruin a rare good thing” perspective than anything else, but I do tend to focus on the positive parts of things I like…
    Not sure what I’m trying to say here, but I wanted to comment anyway.

    Reply

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