[Galenmarek]

Here's something I have trouble with.

What's the best way to incorperate God into writing? I write mostly fantasy, and sometimes I don't know how to best represent God in my stories. Any Advice?

[Sargus]

Galenmarek, on 12 May 2010 - 09:46 AM, said:

Here's something I have trouble with.

What's the best way to incorperate God into writing? I write mostly fantasy, and sometimes I don't know how to best represent God in my stories. Any Advice?

It's often best to not try to force it.

Well, OK, I guess that depends on your intended audience. If your intent is to write for Christians about God, or perhaps to write directly to non-Christians about God, then you can be more clear about it. As a writer of fantasy, you have a lot of ways to do that, including showing God exactly as we know Him in our own world. Different worlds may have a different image of God, however, (he may appear to them as a lion, for example) so you can get creative with it if you wish. Just try not to be blasphemous or anything.

[Red Five]

Galen- I really, really, recommend you read Jeffrey Overstreet on this subject. He has a blog at lookingcloser.org. He's a Christian author (of fantasy) and movie critic I discovered recently, and his insights are great. He says quite a bit about fantasy and/or Christian art in his post about The Golden Compass and his review of The Passion of the Christ, as well as scattered blog entires and interviews, if you want to check those out.
Anyway, my belief is that it should never be forced. One of the biggest fundamental problems with Christian art today is that it is one of two things- a safe, unoriginal copy of something secular, made only so Christians have a wholesome alternative, or something original that is made as nothing more than a sales pitch for Christianity. I don't think that these were the reasons God gave us artistic expressions.
Honestly, you should just tell stories. This is what I believe- the person a writer is will be reflected in his or her writing. This is true of everyone who writes. Therefore, if you are a Christian, Christian truths are going to appear in your stories, with or without your trying.
God gave us all gifts. If he gave you the gift of fantasy, that is what you are to use. Don't force it. Don't try to change the way you're writing something so you can incorporate some sort of message.
I'm not trying to say you shouldn't write about God. By all means, if you come up with an idea for a story talking about how man relates to God or something like that, then write it. That seems to have been what CS Lewis did with the Narnia books, and there's a reason why even secular audiences still cherish those stories. What I am saying is that you shouldn't take a story and twist it into something it's not in order to change it into a message of salvation.

EDIT
Also, you say you're having trouble with it, and I just wanted to let you know that that's just fine- writing overtly Christian stories might not be your gift. It certainly isn't mine. I stopped trying long ago. Stories can be about many things, and as I said, God's truths will be reflected in them regardless of what they are.