Judith Heaney
Jul 10, 2017 · 2 min read

Yes to this: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, the writer writes, the painter paints, the dancer dances, etc.” And, yes, I, too, think that who you are will naturally infuse your art. When I was in graduate school, my playwrighting professor told me there was always a “something more” to my work. She considered it deeply layered and appreciated that component. Much of that was due to who I am and what I believe and how that presents itself in my work.

Even so, there remains a tension within some circles about what a writer (or any artist), should tackle as a writer who is a Christian. This has always bothered me because I don’t believe in setting limits on what I am allowed to write in my stories.

As to excellence, my point is that too often films and books presented by Christian filmmakers and writers are mediocre at best. They are clunky and forced and heavy-handed and feel that way to the viewer or reader. And I’m not talking only about films or books meant to evangelize; there are Christian genres that lack the attention to detail and excellence and fall short of the potential in the story itself.

In his book, Addicted to Mediocrity, 20th Century Christians and the Arts, Franky Schaeffer writes, “Whenever Christians, and evangelicals in particular, have attempted to ‘reach to world’ through the media — TV, film, publishing and so on — the thinking public gets the firm idea that, like soup in a bad restaurant, Christians’ brains are best left unstirred.” I appreciate his points that we must avoid creating “shoddy” work in favor of pursuing excellence in our work as artists.

I look forward to exploring and discussing these ideas more.

    Judith Heaney

    Written by

    follow my writing journey at http://judithheaney.com.

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