How to Write Christian Fiction for Teenagers

Christian fiction is arguably more popular these days than it was twenty years ago. There are publishing companies and literary agents specializing entirely in Christian fiction for teenagers, and there are also numerous magazines and other publications that can provide potential markets for your work.

If you are passionate about writing Christian fiction for teenagers, don't give up after one or two rejections. Continue to produce quality short stories or novel manuscripts and submit them to numerous agents and publishers. You never know when you might get that fabled acceptance letter - with a healthy first advance.

Explore Christian Values

In order to write Christian fiction for teenagers, you will need to understand Christian values, which may be more complicated than you think. Read plenty of Christian fiction in your spare time to get an idea of how other authors accomplish it. Look for the ways in which Christian values are woven into the story and plot lines, as this can be difficult when you first begin.

Establish Convincing Plots

Just because you are writing Christian fiction for teenagers doesn't mean that you can't use real-life situations to bring across your point. In fact, the more believable you can make your plot, the more likely your book or story is to sell. Publishers (both magazine and book) are looking for Christian fiction that brings Christian values into real-life circumstances with which teenagers may be faced.

Try Not to Preach

The point of Christian fiction is the same as for any other type of fiction: To entertain. If your plot, characters, dialogue and other aspects of the work aren't entertaining, no one is going to publish (much less read) it anyway. Don't go on for six pages about the importance of abstinence or the structure of the Holy Trinity. Instead, work those ideas into your plot so that teenagers don't realize their being instructed.

Don't Swear

Many teenage fiction authors use swear words, heavy sexual content and other secular devices in their writing, but you aren't given that same freedom when you write Christian fiction for teenagers. Instead, use other tools at your disposal for plot points and character descriptions. You must keep your writing appropriate for your audience and purpose.

Narrow Your Focus

When writing Christian fiction for teenagers, you don't have to make every paragraph about Christianity. You can always use a more specific plot line and add Christian values into the mix as you write. For example, your novel might be about Christian teenagers who have to move to a remote area of the Middle East because their father has been transferred. There are many issues they would have to deal with, so incorporate them all along with the Christian undertones.