I belong to a critique group of secular writers. Much of
their work belongs to the genres of the dark, urban thrillers or the chilling paranormal. When I joined several
years ago, they admitted they hadn’t read much of sunshine and light like I was
submitting.
Recently, a new member offered a simple story of an
ancient hunter-gatherer society who actually had the morals to love and remain
faithful to one spouse. The cynical realists felt he should include polygamy as
part of their lifestyle, but the new guy stood up for his story. He wanted this fictional group to have a higher
standard. Good for him!
As writers of fiction, we can create the characters we
desire. The late Thomas Kinkade wanted to paint beauty. He held true to his goal in spite of the “experts” who sneered at his works of light. It
wasn’t “art” as far as they were concerned. No, Picasso's style of anguished, distorted characters is more to their liking.
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I went to Kinkade's website to learn a little more. He “invested
his all” in his work. He painted “straight from the heart.” Art was a form of
ministry, and he gave credit to God for his talent. His mission: “to bring
peace and joy into the lives of all” who viewed his art.
Yet the three critical quotes I read on a Wikipedia site
came from “experts,” all of whom were either anti-Christian or appeared non-religious. “A kitchmaster.” “A bunch of garish cottage paintings.”
And, from this author's perspective, the wordy, “Maudlin, sickeningly
sentimental vision of a world where everything is as soothing as a warm cup of
hot chocolate with marshmallows on a cold December day.”
So why do millions love his work? Because they're as soothing as hot chocolate with marshmallows! I believe those paintings
stir something in the average human soul. The desire for comfort, for home, for life to be savored. And that's a lofty and appropriate objective for Christian authors.
Are you told your writing isn’t dark enough? Not filled with
angst from beginning to end? If your characters are goody-goody with no struggle ever entering the story, then your critics may have a point. But most of us drive our characters—Christians
or not—to overcome something. A fatal flaw, a difficult life
situation, conflict with another character.
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My favorite piece of Kinkade’s is titled “Perseverance.” It
depicts a boat in a rough ocean, struggling in a storm.A golden glow is
breaking through the clouds. The message is clear. “Hold on. The storm is
almost over.”
Readers want a similar hope. As
a writer, I want
to inspire joy in our Savior and Creator. I want to offer hope through
my stories like Kinkade did through his art. "Hold on to Jesus. Life's battles will end in victory!"
Linda Sammaritan writes realistic fiction, mostly for kids
ages ten to fourteen. She is currently working on a middle grade trilogy, World Without Sound, based on her own
experiences growing up with a deaf sister.
Linda had always figured she’d teach middle-graders until
school authorities presented her with a retirement wheelchair at the overripe
age of eighty-five. However, God changed those plans when He gave her a growing
passion for writing fiction. In May of 2016, she blew goodbye kisses to her
students and dedicated her work hours to learning the craft.
A wife, mother of three, grandmother to seven, Linda regales
the youngest grandchildren with “Nona Stories,” tales of her childhood. Maybe
one day those stories will be in picture books!
Where Linda can be found on the web:
Thanks for sharing this, Linda. Having edited other writers' articles for Wikipedia, I'm surprised these critics have managed to fly under the radar of the site's webmaster. Wikipedia's writer guidelines clearly say that comments about a subject should be objective and unbiased. Obviously, these fellows didn't read the memo!
ReplyDeleteJust for the record, I think Wikipedia was quoting from other sources. Even so, that kind of negativity tends to crush the spirit.
ReplyDelete