I never set out to write Christian fantasy. In fact, I wasn’t sure what place that kind of book had in this world. Sure, there was Lewis’ Narnia series and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. But with all the controversy over Harry Potter years ago, I didn’t know what to think. I read Star Wars, Terry Brooks, and such, but Christian fantasy? I don’t think so.
It was actually the Harry Potter controversy that made me start thinking about Christian fantasy. Could fantasy and Christianity mix? Could a good book be written where the faith element or the fantasy element was not compromised? Like I said, I never set out to do that, but in the end that is what I wrote.
Daughter of Light began as a story in my head. It was a place to play with some cool fantasy ideas. A fantasy book with a hint of faith. But as the years went by and I found myself traveling down dark roads and facing one crisis of faith after another in real life, Daughter of Light began to morph into an exploration of what it ultimately meant to follow God.
Through speculative fiction, I am able to explore what would a Christian look like if the externals generally associated with Christianity were taken away like church attendance, bible studies, or Sunday school. Now I’m not saying those are bad things (not at all), but sometimes our Christianity is defined by where we go or what we do, not by who we are.
I am also able to paint word pictures with fantasy that I could not do if I wrote about this world. For example: sin. In our world, sin is a hidden part of our nature. We see the results of sin, but not sin itself. But in a fantasy world, I can show what we look like with sin: naked, broken, with blood on our hands. Unable to heals ourselves. Helpless and bound to darkness.
Of course, there is a fun aspect to writing fantasy. I get to write outside the box, ask “what if” questions. What if we could see people the way God sees people, would we still love them? What if we could heal, but it meant taking on the hurt and pain, would we? What if you found out you’re really from another dimension? What if you discovered you’re not human?
I love writing Christian speculative fiction. It combines my weirdness, my creativity, and my faith. Here is a quote by C.S. Lewis that best sums up why I write Christian fantasy:
“I thought I saw how stories of this kind could steal past a certain inhibition which had paralyzed much of my own religion in childhood. Why did one find it so hard to feel as one was told one ought to feel about God or about the sufferings of Christ? I thought the chief reason was that one was told one ought to. An obligation to feel can freeze feelings. And reverence itself did harm. The whole subject was associated with lowered voices; almost as if it were something medical. But supposing that by casting all these things into an imaginary world, stripping them of their stained-glass and Sunday school associations, one could make them for the first time appear in their real potency? Could one not thus steal past those watchful dragons? I thought one could.”
The original post can be found here: Why I Write Christian Speculative Fiction
Morgan I’m definitely checking out your book because it sounds very powerful! I fully agree that sometimes we can have our faith defined by where we go or what we do instead of who we are! Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Hi Laura!
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Being a pastor’s wife, I see how we can become caught up in our Christian stuff without realizing that it’s not what we do (or what church we go to), but it is who we are at our core.
Of course, I didn’t realize that was what I was writing about until I was done with the first book 😉
Great post, Morgan, and I totally agree (albeit in my case it’s Christian SF). Your story sounds fascinating!
Great post, Morgan. I enjoy Terry Brooks, too. The Elfstones of Shannara is my favorite novel he wrote and inspired me to write fantasy, too.
Thanks, John 🙂 So you write Christian science fiction? Any hints on what your story is about?
I remember when I first discovered Terry Brooks in the back of my local (and very small) public library. After Tolkien and Lewis, he was one of the first fantasy authors I ever read and I devoured all his books.
Morgan, I think you’ve hit on one of the advantages of speculative fiction when you talk about how sin can often be hidden in our world. I think the externalization that fantasy affords can help us see things that we might sometimes miss in real life. Pilgrim’s Progress, though not generally considered fantasy though it certainly contains most of the elements of that genre, probably does this better than any other book.
I’m so glad you are writing stories like the one you described. The world needs more writers like you writing stories that shed light on the good, the true, and the beautiful and helping us to be mindful of God’s presence in our world.
Morgan, thank you very much for your commentary. I love to write. I’m not sure if I am any good at it, but my family and friends think I am and I enjoy it very much. I have published a short speculatve Christian book, but it has gone nowhere. I was ready to throw in the towel until I read your article. Your words are uplifting. They shed a new light and gives me hope. Thanks
Morgan, thank you very much for your commentary. I love to write. I’m not sure if I am any good at it, but my family and friends think I am and I enjoy it very much. I have published a short speculatve Christian book, but it has gone nowhere. I was ready to throw in the towel until I read your article. Your words are uplifting. They shed a new light and gives me hope. Thanks
Thank you, Tom! I’m glad I could be an encouragement to you ????