My favorite part about being a writer is brainstorming new stories. However, even after years honing my craft, I’m the first to admit that my process starts a little differently with every story.
Sometimes I start with the character, like a fledgling actress searching for her long-lost brother and her place on the stage. Other times a plot situation captures my attention, like a devious diva who moves to a new stage only to discover she’s now on the bottom rung. With my latest release, the process actually started with the theme of embracing God’s love instead of a list of rules.
I love weaving meaningful themes into my stories. Of course, I hate message-driven fiction as much as the next avid reader, but I also want to leave the pages with more than an entertaining experience. I want to have grown. To have learned something. To have Truth seep into my soul when I least expected it.
A well-crafted story puts a character on a journey where the external conflict results in an internal change. At the beginning of the tale, she believes a Lie, but as the pages unfold, whispers of Truth and the pressure of overcoming obstacles start to soften her heart. By the time she reaches the Black Moment and all seems lost, she is finally ready to embrace that Truth and change…setting up a final showdown where she takes action in her new life. Ideally, my readers are emotionally invested in the story to such a degree that they experience a parallel journey and therefore can absorb the same truths along the way.
In The Wardrobe series, I set out to tell the stories of three different actresses at a dinner theater with one interwoven theme of God’s love. Taken from Zephaniah 3:17, they each learn that “The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Sure, each woman faces various challenges and discovers true love, but along the way they also personally encounter the God of Love.
If I’ve done my job as an author to weave a powerful theme throughout the pages of a fictional romance, readers will also encounter God in the middle of their journey. And that’s why I write. To impact hearts through stories.
—
Candee Fick is a multi-published award-winning author. She is also the wife of a high school football coach and the mother of three children, including a daughter with a rare genetic syndrome. When not busy with her day job, writing, or coaching other authors, she can be found cheering on the home team at sporting events, exploring the great Colorado outdoors, indulging in dark chocolate, and savoring happily-ever-after endings through a good book.
Get free first chapters: http://eepurl.com/1OSfH
Find all of her books: https://www.amazon.com/Candee-Fick/e/B0056B94VE/
Candee Fick says
Thanks for letting me share my heart for Truth-filled stories with your readers today!