Welcome Brad Leach to Thyme for Writers as he shares Our Five Year Mission — To Seek Out New Life and New Perspectives…
Romance writers want to entertain readers – and to help them. This is especially true with writers of faith. If something from their story encourages a reader, it gratifies the author. With the fantasy genre, I hope to do the same.
I remember how a Star Trek episode (the original series) helped me see racial issues in a new way. I attended junior high in the early 70’s, and race relations had been turbulent. Think 1960’s. StarTrek had the Enterprise come across a planet where the entire population had died, save two humanoids. Beaming up these two individuals for a rescue, Captain Kirk and his crew were surprised to discover a violent and mutual hatred existed between the two men. Each survivor demanded that Kirk intercede with his power and authority to render “justice” against the other.
It was obvious that these aliens had a peculiar pigmentation pattern that divided their bodies vertically. One half of their body was black, and one half was stark white. Doctor McCoy noted that they were clearly derived from the same species. The only difference, but a major one to the aliens, was which half of their body was white or black. One alien’s right face and hand was white, while the other alien’s right hand and face was black. This minor difference over which side was black versus white festered for centuries, culminating in planet-wide violence, that killed all but these two survivors.
Now the aliens blamed each other. The Enterprise members had to break up several assaults. The crew couldn’t understand such bigotry, while the aliens couldn’t understand how these humans accepted the differences between Asians, Blacks, Whites, and Vulcans. Someone had to be superior, someone subjugated. The episode ends with the aliens transporting back to their dead world, driven by their hate to try and kill each other.
I then imagined how earth’s racial strife might look to some alien. They wouldn’t have had the biases, the history, or the past wounds and insults that our various cultures had suffered. They would only see deep divisions over minor differences. Then I imagined how God must view such differences. He made all these places and cultures. Did He make skin of one color so it could hate another color? Star Trek didn’t solve bigotry, but it let me bypass the culture to see the issue in a different way.
And I found that equally amazing. Fiction’s power to take an issue, give it a new setting and different particulars, to produce a fresh perspective, intrigued me. Take the Wizard of Oz. Running from something – Dorothy’s black and white home, means running towards something else. In this case, technicolor trouble via a witch. Star Wars? Giving in to the dark side of our nature leads to our corruption.
So how can Christian writers put forth Biblical ideals in new ways? Can a romance novel personalize the pain adultery causes? Could ten mystery books illustrate a violation of each of the ten commandments? How about a science fiction trilogy chronicling an enslaved human race, rebelling against aliens, and after several impossible showdowns, leaving on a 40-year voyage for a new planet?
In what ways can your story offer helpful lessons in a new light? As authors reflecting Christ’s message, let’s strive “to boldly go where no man has gone before” so that people may see what they’ve never seen before.
(C) 2018 Brad Leach