Hi, Janet Wilson here.
The issue with writing fantasy, and how we deal with it as Christians, came up in one of our Writers for a Reason Unite meetings recently.
One of our members had been reading a children’s book, where witchcraft, magic and spells were included in the story. As Christian writers, we’re not going to be including any of these things, of course… but what about fantasy? What about where a character is taken ‘as if by magic’ to another time and place, for example?
Where do we draw the line?
Here are some guidelines – feel free to disagree! But let's at least think about these things.
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Welcome to the Write for a Reason podcast. My name is Janet Wilson; I'm a publisher of Christian fiction for young people with Dernier Publishing. If you are a Christian, and new to writing stories for kids and teens, stay tuned for encouragement, creative writing tips and actionable strategies you can implement immediately to become a better writer, and get your books out into the world.
Today we’re going to be looking at fantasy writing.
This subject came up in one of our Writers for a Reason Unite meetings, because one of our members had been reading a children’s book, where witchcraft, magic and spells were included in the story. As Christian writers, we’re not going to be including any of these things, of course… but what about fantasy? What about where a character is taken ‘as if by magic’ to another time and place, for example?
Where do we draw the line?
Here are some guidelines – feel free to disagree!
1. Fantasy is fun! It stretches the imagination and can take us to all sorts of wonderful worlds, with creatures and adventures and danger and suspense… we have been made in the image of a creator God, and creating a fantastical world for readers to enjoy, can be a wonderful thing. Look at the Narnia series! Children know when fantasy is fantasy. We all know that you can’t hide in a wardrobe and walk through the back and find yourself in another world. But what fun the Narnia stories are – and they do point to Jesus and what he did for us.
2. I suggest avoiding anything that evenly remotely resembles a spell, or anything to do with witchcraft or the occult. For example, in The Birthday Shoes, by Mary Weeks Millard, published by Dernier Publishing, Emily Jane is given a pair of shoes for her birthday. These shoes take her on adventures all over Africa, when she puts them on! But there’s no chant, no spell to take her there. (Incidentally, Philip was suddenly taken away by the Holy Spirit to a different place… but he didn’t need a spell or a chant to do it.)
3. Avoid anything too dark. Personally, I would avoid anything demonic for children, that might give them an interest, or an unhealthy fear, in occult things. For example, stories with demons watching in trees, and children who have been given swords to slay them, to save the world. Stories like this make me feel uncomfortable – in a way they seem, to me, to be a kind of a twisting of the truth… and take away from the absolute fact that Jesus conquered evil. Perhaps there is a place for stories like this, but if so, I would say, take great care to make sure you are not giving false ideas about what ‘fighting the good fight’ is really all about.
4. Keep Bible truth and principles always top of mind when you are writing. Think – does this contradict scripture? If your fantasy story doesn’t, great! Have a chat with your church minister if you’re not sure. The last thing we want to do is to be leading our young people astray!
These are merely guidelines, of course. At the end of the day, we all need to keep our own conscience clear before God. :-) But it is worth thinking about these things, isn’t it?
Let me know what you think!
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