Category: Christian Authorship

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The Problem with Arranged Marriages in YA Fiction

The Problem with Arranged Marriages in YA Fiction

Posted on by R.M. Archer

This post is part of a collaboration with several bloggers to discuss romance tropes and the philosophy behind them. Stay to the end to check out the other participating authors’ posts!

I have a problem with the arranged marriage trope in YA and NA fiction, and it’s not the issue you might think. I have no objection to portraying arranged marriages in fiction, even to portraying them to a (reasonably) young audience. In fact, my problem with arranged marriage in YA fiction is that it is almost always portrayed in a negative light.

Before you get too worked up, allow me to say that I don’t think arranged marriage is necessarily the ideal these days, and it can be problematic. I don’t believe Continue reading “The Problem with Arranged Marriages in YA Fiction” →

How Should Christians Write About… Magic?

How Should Christians Write About… Magic?

Posted on by R.M. Archer

Magic can be a hot-button topic in Christian fantasy circles. Is magic ever okay? What is the difference between the magic in Lord of the Rings and the magic in Harry Potter? Should we just avoid it all? Does the faith of the author make a difference?

As with the other topics addressed in this series, magic in fiction is a matter of personal conviction and the intention of these posts is not to tell you what to think but rather to pose food for thought and my personal understanding of the topic based on what I see in Scripture.

To start with, I want to highlight a few different categories of “magic,” because I think a lot of conflict arises when we’re unclear about what we mean by “magic.”

I tend to see Continue reading “How Should Christians Write About… Magic?” →

How Should Christians Write About… False Gods?

How Should Christians Write About… False Gods?

Posted on by R.M. Archer

This is the first of a couple posts I have planned on controversial topics among Christian authors of fantasy. Beyond this post, I want to write one about writing magic and I might add one about writing God’s speech (or the speech of an allegorical God figure). They won’t be consecutive, but they will all crop up eventually.

Do note that while these are titled “How should Christians write about xyz,” these are all topics I think are dependent on personal conviction and spiritual maturity and my goal is more to present my thoughts and provide food for thought and biblical insight than to say “This is the one right way to do things.”

With all that out of the way… How “should” Christians write about false gods?

Perspective One: Just Don’t Do It

Some Christian authors will say it’s never a good idea to write about false gods, whether because it’s idolatry, it detracts glory from God, it could mislead readers, or for some other reason. And some of these are valid concerns (certainly any of them can be depending on Continue reading “How Should Christians Write About… False Gods?” →

Creativity & Rest

Creativity & Rest

Posted on by R.M. Archer

Recently I’ve been trying to navigate the concept of rest, and the balance of work and rest. Which might sound like a really silly thing to be having trouble with, but I have a tendency to struggle with balance and prioritization when it comes to projects and things to do… even if the thing to do is rest. So today I thought I’d discuss some ways that authors and other artists can rest and refill their creativity, and why rest is important in the first place. Continue reading “Creativity & Rest” →

A Word on Productivity & Comparison

A Word on Productivity & Comparison

Posted on by R.M. Archer

You scroll through your social media feed, reading post after post from your author friends: That one who somehow publishes ten books in a year; that one who can write 100k in a week; one who just landed a book deal; one who manages to keep up with three different projects all at once and still responds to emails from readers within hours. You love these authors, and you want to be happy for them, but envy twists in your gut so you hit “like” without really meaning it and keep scrolling past, berating yourself all the while for once again watching envy eat your excitement for others’ successes.

Me too.

But we’re not stuck! Envy is persistent, absolutely. It takes conscious effort to shut down that voice in your head that says, “They’re doing everything right and I’m still struggling; how come they have it so easy?” But I’m going to pick apart the lies we hear when envy sneaks in and help you learn how to combat them. Continue reading “A Word on Productivity & Comparison” →