As a Christian writer, I have many convictions about my storytelling.
But a lot of them were vague, or I couldn’t quite put them into words. And I know a lot of other writers who felt the same as I did. But there was no concrete, written out declaration of our mission.
Until October 2018.
When Story Embers announced their manifesto for Christian storytellers, I was curious and excited. I wasn’t sure if this would be something I would want to sign or not (in case I disagreed with something in the manifesto), but I still tried to learn as much as I could about it. I was pleasantly surprised with how thoroughly done this was and how it put into words what I felt as a Christian writer.
Before I go on, I want to tell you just a bit about Story Embers. They are a website/organization dedicated to helping storytellers write well and write stories to glorify God. In my opinion, they are the best resource for Christian writers and I definitely recommend checking them out and joining their community if you haven’t already.
Okay, so I went point by point of the resolves in this manifesto and I wanted to share my thoughts with you. There are fifteen resolutions and I’m going to split this up in a three-part series.
Now, to the manifesto:
01. We resolve to be passionate and dedicated in our pursuit of excellent storytelling, knowing that we are reflecting the Creator’s image within us and fulfilling God’s commands to take dominion over the earth, love fellow image bearers, and steward the resources He has provided.
My thoughts:
I love the “passionate and dedicated” part. I love that we want to throw our whole beings into this craft and show the world what we love to do. And I love they’re recognizing that writing, as an art, is a reflection of God in us, because He is the ultimate artist.
02. We resolve to fearlessly embrace and wisely exercise imagination as a gift form God, trusting Him to use it, not by limiting our creativity but by benevolently directing it.
My thoughts:
“Fearlessly embracing” imagination is just a beautiful thing. There’s nothing to be ashamed of for being a creative person; it’s how God made you. Letting God guide our creativity is the best way we can go about this business.
03. We resolve to look for ways to explore meaningful themes while delighting our readers, avoiding futile attempts to depict truth devoid of beauty.
My thoughts:
This is so important in Christian storytelling. Our stories should not just be solely to entertain. They need to mean something. Let God lead you as to what message He wants you to impact the world with in your stories.
04. We resolve to infuse our storytelling with truth, being bold and unafraid of our stance while presenting it with love and tact, recognizing that truth in storytelling is best communicated when shown, not told.
My thoughts:
Let your faith shine through in your stories unapologetically. Sometimes it’s scary to be bold about our beliefs, but think of how it can change people’s hearts for God. “…presenting it with love and tact…”; we should approach storytelling from a humble heart. Don’t try to beat your reader over the head with your message; your theme will be stronger shown in the characters’ lives.
05. We resolve to avoid pointing readers toward false sources of hope or unbiblical answers to thematic questions, but to seriously consider how we can naturally and powerfully portray or allude to God’s reality in our stories.
My thoughts:
Why would we ever point readers towards a false hope? How can we not show them some of the joy and security we find in our Father? Strive to show God’s realness in your stories.
I signed this manifesto months and months ago, excited about its contents and thrilled to join with other storytellers on this! If you want to learn more about the manifesto, then click here.
It’s hard to stop; these points are already so good. You’ll just have to come back next week to read more on my thoughts about this. 😉 What do you think about this short series?
Which was your favorite resolution from the manifesto today?
9 Comments
SE is such an amazing place for Christian writers! I’m glad you’re breaking the manifesto down into small sections. It’s a good reminder 🙂
Yes, is it! 😀 Thanks, SJ! <3
Oohh, they all sound amazing but I think number 5 got me the most. I have read the manifesto once before. Back then I didn’t appreciate it as much. But now looking it over again and seeing your thoughts about it, I’m reconsidering its meaning for me. Plus that now I realise that direction and purpose in writing is important.
That’s awesome, Miranda! The manifesto is so great <3
That’s really neat! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
😀 Thanks for reading!
Story Embers is such a fantastic place! And their Manifesto puts so many important truths for Christian storytellers into concise, rich words. I loved reading this! Excited for the next part of the series! 😄
YES! I’m so glad that Story Embers exists! Thanks for reading! <3
[…] If you don’t know already, this is the second post of a three-part series where I give comments and thoughts about Story Embers’ Christian Storytellers Manifesto. If you missed the first post, click here! […]