Into the Light

In order to avoid working on Violet's Monster: Volume I this morning, I'm going to write a blog describing where I am in the process of drafts, revisions, timelines, characters, etc., and talk a little about what I'm discovering about myself and my writing.

Something Anne Rice wrote (her essay on why she will not renounce her earlier work) that I read yesterday has been bouncing around in the back of my mind. She was pointing out that she's villainized for writing 'dark fiction' when, in fact, there are several great and classic stories that are 'dark fiction,' which show the truth of humanity and are revered (she's not comparing hers, she's just saying that dark fiction isn't all bad) - Frankenstein, Dracula, Faust, Paradise Lost, Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, etc., just to name a FEW.

I've been worrying over my own story. I know that my teen fiction is dark. My superhero universe is dark and tragic. I didn't want my kids' stories to turn out that way, but the deeper I delve into Violet's Monster: Volume I, I realize that it is getting darker and darker.

Then I had the thought this morning, "If my book is dark, the truth will be able to shine brighter." What I mean is, if I'm writing this story to say something about what I believe, then if it does turn out dark, there is more of an opportunity (at least for me) to have a candle of truth to light a spark in the darkness.

Goofy, light stories are wonderful, and can often point humorously toward the truth. I can't write humor. Jokes are painfully difficult for me. But I can delve deep inside myself and bring out the pain and darkness, then shine a light on it in hopes that others can see the truth through me and my writing, the truth that God is putting into my story.

It's somewhat comforting when I think of how dark Judges, Job, Jonah, Genesis, etc. are...I guess I'm more an Old Testament person?