A blog that I am subscribed to, the Seekers, put up a post yesterday about writing romance and having descriptions of your characters. You can read the article Here. After reading that, I couldn't help but comment on a great error that I see so many "Christian" authors making. Now whether or not we should write Christian Romance at all is debatable, but definitely cation is required.
As I was talking to my mother about the topic, she mentioned Song of Solomon and how it contains vivid descriptions of love, but nothing that inspires lust in it's readers. I think that is worth study if you intend to read, or write romance.

Anyway, I wanted to share my thoughts in reply to this post.

VisionWriter's Reply:
I am only a beginning author, but I also intend to write according to the Scriptures if I am to call myself a Christian author, and if I may be so bold, I think you are missing something here.

It's definitely true that men are physical when it comes to romance, and that they struggle with lust. But they too love more in women then just looks. When we read through the Scripture (which should be our example of great storytelling) even in the love stories such as Ruth and Boaz, Esther and Xerxes (which was pretty much completely a physical attraction) we don't see Boaz lusting after Ruth in a detailed description of her curves, we don't see Rebecca, at falling in love with Isaac at first sight, swooning over his chest hair.

As Christian authors we need to be very careful of what we are putting into our writing. Is it honoring to Christ? Are we inspiring our readers to lust? Men think in pictures, so when they read a detailed description of a low cut top, what are they going to think of? A low cut top they've seen on someone. I can't do that to my brothers in Christ. It's enough of a battle for them already without me encouraging it. Also, the heroes in our stories should be fighting against lust, not giving into it.

Now there are ways to describe a beautiful woman without the lust, you can describe her hair, her eyes, her femininity, and say she is beautiful, but to describe her body parts should be offensive in Christian writing. I know it is to me.

As for the men, we are less attracted to looks as we are to chivalry, strength, leadership, a nice smile and manliness. You can tell the reader the man has a handsome face and describe that, and his character, but that should be enough for women.

All I am asking, is that we prayerfully consider our romantic descriptions remembering that we will have to account for every word we write, every word our readers read. Do we present a stumbling block? Are we causing our readers to have sinful thoughts?

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Rebecca wondered if this wonderful man that Eliazer had described to her was really...real. Since she had reached womanhood she had been praying for a man who feared Jehovah more than man, who would work hard, provide for a family.

As the camel's stride rocked her back and forth she thought of all that Eliazer had told her, how this man named Isaac was a wise prince, how he loved, cherished and honored his mother, admired his father. He had told her how Isaac had extended a strong, compassionate arm to a slave girl on the brink of death.

"How can this be?" Rebecca thought to herself. "I feel I am on the cusp of falling in love, and I've never even met the man." She shook her head at herself. "Are we nearly there yet, Eleazer?"

"Look in the field yonder, sweet girl, the man approaching us is your betrothed."

Rebecca raised her green eyes to the golden plain ahead and her breath caught in her throat. With a strong stride Isaac was approaching them, and she could see, even from this distance, that he was not like other men. His clothes were rich, but not flaunting. His step was confident, but not prideful. He was smiling, and in that smile was something that captivated her. It was not a smile like most men smiled at her, no, he was not thinking of what he could gain. He was thinking of what he could give.

Rebecca's heart drummed in her chest as she lightly jumped off her camel and with shaky hands put on her veil. A man like this deserved a woman of character, and she wanted to show Isaac that she was.

As he drew close and took her hand in greeting, she looked deep into those handsome, brown eyes and knew. This was love. Not a girlish love like she'd seen in so many of her friends, but something deeper. A love orchestrated by God.

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Every writer has a unique way of expressing themselves. This is called their ‘style’ or ‘voice’.  In Genesis & Exodus we hear a masterful storyteller who gives us many brief stories that are really just overviews, yet are descriptive and fascinating.

1)      Personality
I love the way the personalities of the characters shine through as the story unfolds! For example, in chapter 19 verses 17-19, Lot is being led away from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by two angels of the Lord. They have told him to flee to the mountains, but here Lot begins negotiating with them.

18 And Lot said unto them, “Oh, not so, my LORD”

 19 “Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:”

 20 “Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.”

“Is it not a little one?” Lot mentions for the second time. You can see that Lot is afraid of the wilderness (which probably contributed to his staying so close to the wicked cities) and he is pleading and persuading the angels of the Lord. This brings Lot alive in our minds, makes him truly ‘human’ and interesting.



2)      Use of Dialog
Genesis is mainly composed of dialog between characters with as little narration as possible. I prefer this style as I think it is more interesting and gives more of a feel for the characters. Here is an example from Genesis 22:1-8.

1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, “Abraham” and he said, “Behold, here I am.”

 2 And he said, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.”

 3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

 5 And Abraham said unto his young men, “Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.”

 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

 7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, “My father” and he said, “Here am I, my son.” And he said, “Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

 8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering” so they went both of them together.

3)      Use of Dialog to convey emotions.
Also in the verses above, notice that Isaac calls Abraham “My Father” to which Abraham replies “Here am I, my son.” With phrases like this we can see how close Abraham and Isaac are. These types of terms of endearment and emotion tug at the heart strings as Abraham is about to sacrifice his only, beloved son. It makes for a beautiful story.  

My favorite thing about the Bible is that it holds great stories that are absolutely true. Not just “based on a true story” but the real thing put together in a fascinating, beautiful narrative.

Genesis holds some of the greatest stories in all of history, from the beginning of time, to the beloved story of Joseph and his Brothers. There is much we can learn from the studying of God’s Word.

 I hope that this has encouraged you, to look at the Bible in a new light. It’s so much more than just a story, history or even spiritual guidance.

Next week we’ll talk about Exodus, also a book of Moses.

The Bible is the best piece of literature ever written. 40 authors writing down the mind and words of God without a single contradiction. It has had a resounding impact throughout all cultures, in thousands of different languages, and over thousands of years. So in my study of writing, English and story-telling, I figured this would be a great place to start. 

At least 21 of the 39 books of the Old Testament are stories. That's more than 50%! And the first 5 books of the New Testament are stories as well and there are many more mixed in with the epistles. 

During the course of this study, I'll be outlining the different books of the Bible, one by one, and bringing to light the things I'm learning about writing, story-telling etc. I'm hoping to have a post every week, but forgive me if I miss a few, I do lead a very busy lifestyle. :)

Stay Tuned for more!