Read What Scares You
by Ron Estrada
Last week I encouraged you to write what scares you. Find a theme that you’d just as soon avoid and dive in. The emotional ride it takes you on will grab the reader and take her along, too. That’s our goal.
Having said that, now I’ll encourage you to read in the same manner. What topics do you find disturbing? We can list the same ones we did last week–racism, porn addiction, slavery. For Christians, the list would include books that challenge our faith, even attempt to poke holes in it. Books like The Da Vinci Code will, no doubt, ruffle your feathers. But understand why. Dan Brown took something sacred and and started taking jabs at it. He roused emotions. And emotion sells books.
I recently broke down and listened to The Shack on audio. I’d listened to all the naysayers who claimed the author presented some liberal version of the Gospels. But I had to see what made this such a huge hit. Again, the author steps right in and hits us where he will cause the most discomfort (sounds like a certain Savior I know…). He presents God the Father as a tall black woman, the Holy Spirit as an Asian woman, and Jesus was pretty much left “as is,” with a change to more modern clothing. Much of the theology will have you running to your bibles, but that’s okay. William Young appears to be okay with it, too. And my opinion? I think God is happy when something is written that makes us explore our faith and beliefs more deeply. Can you learn from that and use it in your own writing?
I mentioned last week that I read The Help. Again, a topic I’d normally avoid. I’m aware that the U.S. has an unfavorable track record when it comes to racism. And I really don’t need to be reminded of it in my fiction. However, Kathryn Stockett hands it to us in a very surprising format. We don’t see the physical brutality usually associated with the 1960s south. We see a quiet form of oppression. But, more surprisingly, we see the joy and love felt by these women despite their circumstances. Again, sad topic, but presented in a way to make the reader get up and shout praises to those characters who overcame injustice.
The same applies to our non-fiction reading as well. Staunch Conservative? Pick up a book written by a liberal. You’ll disagree, but you’ll learn something about his motivation. Even our how-to-write books could use some variation. Are you a panster? Read a book about outlining. Strictly a romance writer? Read a book about creating a thriller or mystery.
Our novels contain elements from every aspect of life. You have to sample every flavor if you’re going to write a story that does more than express your personal opinion. Step out of your comfort zone. Read what scares you!
