A Creed for Fiction Authors

Over the last couple of years, I've been sharing this creed I wrote with people when I think about it, and over the last week, I've been feeling it in my heart to share it on this blog, along with how the idea came to me.

Once when I was reading Matthew 13: 10-17 in The Message version of the Bible, the significance of what was said seemed to spring off the page. The apostles asked Jesus, "Why tell stories?" I paid close attention to his reply because I'd often been asked the same question and come up with nothing better than, "I enjoy it."

Here is what our Lord and Saviour said.

"You've been given insight into God's kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn't been given to them. Whenever somebody has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That's why I tell stories; to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they're blue in the face and not get it."

What a wonderful way of putting it. I'd always loved reading fiction but had been taught to put it aside as a treat for my spare time when more 'important' work had been done. When I started writing, I assumed that others would be approaching my books the same way, of course. Now I'm trying to get into the habit of acknowledging that just because my work is targeted for people's leisure moments, it does not follow that said work is "light-weight" or frivolous. In fact, our leisure moments may be the perfect time when we are most receptive to those things of depth and significance.

I searched around to see if I could find a fiction writer's creed. When I couldn't, I decided to write my own. If you like to write fiction too, you are welcome to share it with me.

FICTION WRITER'S CREED

1) I will do all I can to stir readers' hearts, to create fertile ground for insights and understandings to flow freely to them from God.

2) I will study and ponder God through His Word and prayer, to keep a clean heart toward Him and stay sensitive to what I believe He would have me write.

3) I will offer my very best to make people smile, cry, laugh and enjoy every moment of time they've put aside to read my books.

4) I will re-write and edit to make the finished result as polished as it can be. I will accept the sacrifice of hard work and time involved.

5) I will continue to study the craft of writing, willing to learn more.

6) I will not focus on praise, money or recognition as a gauge of how I'm going. I will be content to be a spark of light where God has placed me, trusting Him to open doors.

7) Having said that, I will look out, being ever vigilant for opportunities to introduce my work to people through speaking events such as talks and workshops, or written words such as articles or guest blogs.

8) I will take setbacks in my stride as an inevitable part of the journey but I will not let them turn me away from my chosen path or cause me to give up.

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Paula Vince is a South Australian author of contemporary fiction, set mostly in the Adelaide Hills, where she lives. She believes that a well-told story has its own particular power to touch hearts, and loves to read as well as write.