Edgy Writing: Conclusion, pt. 1

Love reading your thoughts, all. Thanks so much for taking part in this discussion.

As some of you know, I've been in Nashville this last week for sales conference and meetings. Guess what was a hot topic? Yup, "edgy" writing. Especially when my fiction team and I met with the buyers from one of the top bookstore chains. Even more amazing? One of the buyers recently asked managers of stores across the country what they liked and disliked in Christian fiction. Guess what the most often mentioned "dislike" was? Books that are edgy for edgy's sake. Because when it comes down to it, you don't have to use the world's tools to write authentic, powerful fiction.

So how do we show all of life in our fiction? All the ugly, beautiful, uplifting, degrading aspects of life? Tune in to the next installment and I'll give you my thoughts.

Peace all.

Karen

Note to Anonymous (whose response I didn't publish): I appreciated what you had to say and felt you made some good points. But when we're discussing issues like this, I won't publish comments that are anonymous. I've always believed that if you're going to make a point, especially one that criticizes others, you need to stand behind what you say. And that means using your name. Thanks.

The Meaning of Edgy

Great thoughts on edgy writing. I looked up some definitions of edgy.

The Free Dictionary online says edgy means having a sharp or biting edge and Daring, provocative, or trend-setting.

The Online Slang Dictionary gives the following definition: Socially dangerous or daring; intellectually provocative; tending to induce unease or stress in viewers. Especially used to describe artistic and intellectual work.

Webster's defines the kind of edgy we're talking about as follows: having a bold, provocative, or unconventional quality.

Bold. Provocative. Unconventional. Trend-setting.

Those all sound like good things, especially for fiction. I want the fiction I write--and the fiction I acquire and edit--to be those things. That's edgy fiction I can support. That's edgy fiction that raises the bar. That kind of edgy is evocative. That's what I want to see from the writers I work with. Writing that moves and draws emotion from readers, but without slipping into the explicit. Evocative writing is powerful, emotive, and life-changing. Explicit writing is taking the easy out.

I hear over and over how villains, to be real life, need to use that kind of language. Or how that's the way people today talk, and to not have that in our fiction makes it less. And more often than not, that's one of the earmarks of what I'm seeing when someone calls their writing edgy. These manuscripts seem to fits the other descriptions of edgy:

• having a sharp or biting edge
• tending to induce unease or stress
• socially dangerous or daring

What do you all say? How do you feel about Christian fiction where the writer has used obscenities? How do you feel about writing that's explicit rather than evocative? Is that edgy...or over the edge?

Karen

Edgy Writing: What Is It Really?

As an editor, I'm constantly wrestling with the issue of so-called "edgy" writing. It used to be called "pushing the envelope." Now, it's edgy. I hear it all the time from writers or agents:

"This is one is bit edgy."
"This may be too edgy for the Christian market."
"Are you open to edgy fiction?"

I'm always interested to find out what that means. Before I jump in with my thoughts, though, I want to know what you think. What does it mean when someone says a Christian novels is "edgy"?

Look forward to your thoughts.

Karen

P.S. Yes, we'll get back to first lines. I promise...

The Envelope: To Push or Not to Push, That is the Question

Read an excellent post today from CJ Darlington on the age-old issue of "pushing the envelope," or writing edgy in Christian fiction. Let me know what you think. I'll let you know what I think in my next post.

Karen

Time is Tickin' Away...

Remember that song by DC Talk? I loved it. Still do. And it's especially apropos for me right now. I'm a slave to time constraints since returning from NYC. So much so that I haven't been able to get back to the titling discussion. But I will soon. I promise.

Until then, here's the song for your enjoyment.

Be back soon.

I hope...

Tick.
Tick.
Tick...

Karen

New York, New York

We'll get back to first lines soon, but I'm winging my way to New York tomorrow morning and most likely won't have much time to be online or write posts. So stay tuned!

Until then, here are some New York tidbits for you:

Grand Central Freeze

Subway Hero

Extreme Sightseeing

New York, A Wonderful Town!


Peace.

Karen

Fantastic First Lines: Why?

Okay, so some of you shared your favorite first lines. Now I want to know one simple thing...

Why?

Why are those your favorite first lines? What about those line captured you? Drew you into the story?

Here's my analysis on the first lines I listed:


"It was Nathan's fault that I became God. It is, as I would learn, hell to be God." The God Game, Andrew Greeley (okay, that's two lines, but even just the first line is great.)

Line: "The city was silently bloating in the hot sun, rotting like the thousands of bodies that had fallen in street battles." A Voice in the Wind, Francine Rivers
Why I Like it: The drama and powerful word choices caught me. And stirred a question I wanted answered. What had happened? Thousands of bodies? Why?? I could tell as soon as I read this that someone monumental had happened, and would likely continue.

Line: "This is my favorite book in the world, though I have never read it." The Princess Bride, S. Morgenstern
Why I Like it: Intrigue! The protag's favorite book, but he's never read it? How is that possible? And, too, this has a kind of playful tone to it that I loved.

Line: "A storm struck on the night Laura Shane was born, and there was a strangeness about the weather that people would remember for years." Lightning, Dean Koontz
Why I Like it: This line stirred my curiosity right off: Who is Laura Shane, and what's the significance of the storm? And why are people still remembering that night?

Line: "The Herdmans were absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world." The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Barbara Robinson
Why I Like it: Hyperbole at it's best. This was a kind of challenge: the worst in the history of the world? Oh yeah? Let's see you prove that. And the author did. Admirably!

Okay, so what is it that captures you about first lines?

Karen