A Letter to a Young(er) Christian Writer - Part 2

Dear Friend,

In the last letter, I asked you what you think you're doing becoming a writer. And, well, I hope you don't mind if I ask you again. This time, I don't propose to prepare you for the attacks, questions and queries of your own church, but am wondering what your motivation is for writing - as opposed to becoming a preacher (or, for that matter, a copywriter). So can we think about that for a moment?

Some are attracted to a career in media for better reasons than others. Naturally some are seduced by the fame and the potential for earning money. This one is easy to challenge in our case. Writers are rarely famous. Very rarely. And even fewer make serious money. If you've got an eye for spinning a yarn and getting rich, you'd make much more much faster in the Square Mile.

Maybe you are intoxicated by the poverty - and romance of being 'a writer', struggling to make ends meet whilst penning your magnum opus in a garret, smoking cheap cigarettes in cafes to avoid hunger pangs. This is okay for a while (although smoking, I'm sure you've heard, is bad for you). But you might meet someone, get married and have to provide for them and future off-spring. Your Christian duty, especially if you are a man, is to provide for your family and not be a burden on others. Besides, the romance, sadly, fades. But then romances always fades. That's why it's so romantic.

More likely, however, is that you want to put the Christian message across in some way. Ideally, the gospel of Christ himself. That's understandable. In fact, it's commendable. But be careful here. Didactic writing, movies 'with a message', are usually dreadful - because the moving image and the spoken word, story and character are ambiguous. Jesus told parables and the meaning of most of them is not always obvious - and some are very difficult and problematic. In some ways, that is why they have power. If you want to preach, may I recommend that you become a preacher, not a scriptwriter? If you want to be a scriptwriter, you'll need to think about your craft from a Christian perspective.

Don't worry, though. If you're not telling stories about characters becoming Christians, seeing the light and becoming more like Christ, that's okay. Jesus didn't tell those sorts of stories either. Think about films you really like - and why you like them. Are they didactic? Do they have a moral? They probably have some themes to think about, and some challenges to your thinking, but if you want to make didactic films, you're better off sticking to preaching, life-coaching - or making documentaries like that Al Gore one.

Hope that helps for now. More next time.

Best wishes,

jc