What Makes a Story “Preachy”?

And the Goal of Christian Writing

No one wants a preachy novel.

But what do we really mean by “preachy”? If we’re not careful, our desire to avoid preachiness could send us in the wrong direction as we seek out books for ourselves and our children. For the opposite of a preachy story is not one without a message. The opposite of a preachy story is a story that incarnates a message.

More on that below. But first, what exactly makes a story preachy?

Three Preachy Pitfalls

There are several ways a story can mishandle its message.

The first is when it is presented in an unfitting manner. Most often this happens when the narrative style is hijacked in order to directly spell out a lesson. You’re reading a story, and suddenly it becomes a pamphlet, explaining to you the precise position you ought to adopt. That just doesn’t fit. You were promised one thing (a story!) and got another (a lecture!). In such cases, the “preachy” label is well deserved.

A story likewise has gone off the tracks if its message is annoying. This happens when the author makes the point unnaturally obvious or lays it on too thick. The author is trying to corner us. But he won’t succeed. We can just put the book down and be done with it! Not so with a message-bearing story that captures our very hearts.

Bad execution can also make a story feel preachy because it turns the focus away from the thing being said and onto the author’s attempt to say it. The message might be right, but a half-baked plot, clunky prose, or awkward dialogs ruin the book and strike a painfully awkward tone. This gives us the same sensation we have when someone begins preaching to us uninvited—hence we call it “preachy.”

And Yet…

The solution is not to seek out stories that don’t say anything!

We don’t want preachy books—true enough. But, as Christians, we certainly want them to be true—even when they are fiction! And this requires a message. Neutrality is a lie of secular culture. It doesn’t exist. A book will either tell the truth or it will lie. And if it tries to say nothing, it is still saying something—namely, that there is nothing worth saying and nothing that matters. But nothing could be further from the truth.

What Christian Writing Is For

The goal behind Christian writing cannot simply be to sell books. Those who serve Christ are witnesses of the truth, so our books must be true. But to be true, they must say something.

“This is how to make Chicken Tikka Masala.”
“Ice is less dense than water.”
“God knows all things.”
“Freedom comes through submission to Christ.”

Recipe books, science textbooks, and theological works ought to say such things directly. Novels ought to show such things through story. That’s the difference. Not whether to have a message or not, but how to present it.

So how exactly ought a narrative to present its message and exalt the true, good, and beautiful?

Answer: Not merely as a delivery mechanism.

A story is not a U-Haul. It is not a card on Valentine’s Day containing a message of love. It is the kiss and self-sacrifice that make that love manifest.

Stories are not meant to carry messages; they are meant to incarnate them. They are not little paper bags with labels, identifying the seeds inside. They are oaks and furs and cypress trees full grown, revealing what was in the seeds themselves.

I do not mean to exalt narrative over exposition. Both are needed. A treatise like Isaiah expounds upon the providence of God, and a narrative like Esther demonstrates it. Both are wonderful, but only one is a story.

The Stories are Soul Food podcast answers this “How?” question in its very name. Narratives are not to instruct readers in what is glorious, but rather to give readers a taste of that glory. They are meals to enjoy.

But more than anything else, stories ought to smell like those God writes. Both through Scripture and the reality unfolding around us, God gives us the model for good narrative. We certainly will not improve upon what he has and is writing. But as those created in his image, we will do well to reflect it as much as possible.

Why I Write and Who I Write For

I write gospel-infused, fantastical fiction to help Christians grow in wonder, wisdom, and worship.

So…

If you want to engage your family in wonder—woven all through reality…
If you could use more wisdom—rooted in God’s Word and fleshed out in story…
If you long for sweeter worship—fueled by a deeper love for Christ…

Then subscribe and give my writing a chance. I’d love to serve you.

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