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Monday 22 December 2014

Best of the ACW Archives: Acceptable Content in Christian Fiction

by Narelle Atkins

There has been a lot of debate among Australasian writers regarding what is acceptable content in Australian and New Zealand Christian fiction books. For the purposes of this post, I’ll define Christian fiction as the category of books that are labelled Christian and primarily sold either online or in Christian book stores.

Christian worldview

There is a distinction between a Christian who writes fiction from a Christian worldview for the general market and a Christian who writes books that are labelled Christian fiction. A Christian worldview can be very subtle or more pronounced. Readers usually prefer books with strong Christian themes and content to be labelled as Christian or inspirational fiction.

Christian fiction audience

Many Christian fiction writers have a heart for reaching the unsaved. Others want to entertain their readers with wholesome stories that are uplifting and provide hope and encouragement for the Christian journey. Some want to address issues from a Christian perspective and show their characters growing in their faith as they face tough situations. Each writer is different and needs to choose the publishing path that fits with their goals and aspirations.

Christian fiction in North America

The Christian fiction category is dominated by books from North America. Christian fiction readers have certain expectations regarding the content of Christian fiction books. The typical Christian fiction book is usually written from a non-denominational evangelical Christian worldview. 

It is expected that Christian characters behave in a manner that upholds Biblical principles. When they fall down and sin, there are negative consequences in the natural world but also grace and forgiveness from God. Christian characters aren’t perfect and they struggle with real issues, irrespective of the genre.

Read more at the following link:

http://australasianchristianwriters.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/acceptable-content-in-christian-fiction.html

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