What is Edgy Christian Fiction?

Edgy fiction: the buzz words of today's Christian publishing industry. How these buzz words are defined depends on who you ask. It can depend upon an author's or reader's chosen genre and it varies from market to market-including within the Christian fiction market. The edgy fiction badge can be worn with stubbornness or it may proclaim "I take risks." For some readers, the badge equates to a danger sign; others will interpret it as something new and refreshing, not the same old.

Searches on the internet provide a glimpse into the numerous meanings of edgy in the Christian market. Most comments accentuate the positive nature, however, there are others that complain "Excuse me, but can we leave the envelope right where it is?"

Opponents of this trend feel edgy has reached its limits. Interestingly, some felt it had reached the boundary back in 2005. At that point, Christian publishing houses had successfully experimented with realism in plots, conflicts and characters, however it is possible that readers could not fathom any new approaches to edgy or gritty that wouldn't push the story into the 'abyss of secular fiction' - heaven forbid.

Author BJ Hoff on her blog Grace Notes speaks to writers when she asks,

My question all along about this pesky subject of pushing the envelope and writing or publishing "edgy" fiction has had to do with motive: in other words, do we write it because it seems to have an "edge" (cough cough) with some publishers and secular reviewers, do we write it for shock value, or do we write it because in some way the Holy Spirit has pressed upon us that it's the best way, perhaps the only way, to write our story?

On her post "One Way to Write Edgy, Unsafe Fiction," Hoff contends that depicting realism in certain subjects is the lazy writer's out. There are hundreds more comments in the blogosphere that echo the concern that edgy equals profanity and sex-and readers want no part of this. Some writers scoff sarcastically that edgy novelists consider themselves more artistic.

Three years have passed since the above posts and Christian fiction has continued to become edgier in new and creative ways. A.P. Fuchs, the Canadian Christian horror writer maintains that:

This world needs edgy Christian fiction, one filled with characters who aren't saints even if they are Christian. That's my main gripe with Christian fiction. Characters aren't believable. They're too "Christian-ish.

We've all read stories where it was difficult to relate to the character because they were so incredibly good. Edgy means writing characters who act like sinners. We are all fallen; the best of us are sinners-even saints aren't excluded. And, in the interest of the novelist's standard of "showing not telling" sometimes the characters sin "on stage," with the caveat that sin is always portrayed as bad, as having consequences.

Another related aspect of edgy Christian fiction is no-holds-barred character conflict, according to Sherry Thompson, author of Seabird. This includes, but is not limited to:

-faith or its lack thereof;
-temptation, i.e. discerning one's true motivation for wanting to do something and then making a choice;
-unresolved guilt;
-resolving conflicting goals within one's own life;
-resolving conflicting goals between oneself and another character or characters; and
-resolving conflicting goals between oneself and the physical setting itself.

"These central character conflicts need to be couched in an interesting storyline," adds Ms Thompson.

Subject matter is important to edgy Christian fiction. It used to be that Christian novels would not broach certain subjects: divorce, homosexuality, pre- and extra-marital sex, tobacco and alcohol use, drug abuse, for example. To some readers and writers, discussing yesterday's forbidden subject matter makes a novel or story edgy, while others are adamant that edgy means nothing more than the inclusion of foul language and gratuitous sex. Sherry Thompson stresses that it "has virtually nothing to do with swear words, who is or isn't divorced, implied sexual relations, instances of alcohol-consumption, or matters of that sort. I take it as a given that good fiction will include REALISTIC CHARACTERS appropriate for the story, thinking and performing activities suitable to their personalities." This is fiction with issues not generally addressed in the CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) market.

At the Christy Award website, a description of what makes a novel Christian tells that:

Fiction published for the Christian book market does not include the gratuitous demonstration of sin -- whether language, violence, sexual situations, or the more hidden sins of idolatry and self-worship. Credible characters in a fallen world, of course, will sin. But the Christian novel's presentation of the grit and grime of human circumstance will not be done for its own sake or to titillate, but to point the reader toward hope, toward God.

It is generally accepted that Christian or any good fiction should not contain gratuitous . . . anything! But, what about non-gratuitous sex or violence that is not intended to titillate? Dr. Simon Morden, in his essay "Sex, Death and Christian Fiction" asserts that "Good writing would use a violence incident to advance the plot or to show character. Good writing would not look away. Good writing is not always safe."

What Simon Morden suggests is akin to "edgy," at least in the Christian market. Brandon Barr, co-author of When the Sky Fell agrees in his statement that edgy Christian fiction shows ". . . real life without softening (or glossing over) the dark and horrible aspects of humanity."

There are other readers and writers who posit that edgy is a more general description for some types of Christian fiction. Reviewer Karri Compton says that it ". . . pushes the envelope, so to speak. Not just for the sake of doing it, but in hopes of being fresh, new, relevant, real, interesting. True, there is nothing new under the sun, but we strive to be different, turn things in a new light."

Another definition that relates to overall concept suggests that the bar is constantly moving along the continuum. "Edgy Christian fiction pushes the envelope of what defines current,typical Christian fiction." (Cindy Emmet Smith, author of The Cracked and Silent Mirror). Today's edgy is tomorrow's accepted standard.

A creative explanation of the general sort comes from Michelle Sutton, founder of the popular Edgy Christian Fiction Lovers group. "Edgy fiction is compulsively readable and daringly different. Not shy, and not fluffy, with a flavor that is sort of tangy and yet tragically bittersweet at the same time. That's my definition. That's what I write and what I love to read. :)"

Another angle relates to an entire genre: SFF (science fiction, fantasy, horror); generally authors and readers do not bring this concept to the edgy table unless it is the genre in which they write or like to read. Compared to the mainstream market, SFF in the Christian fiction industry is woefully lacking in representation. There are a few authors who have been deemed acceptable in content, and profitability, in the CBA market: Donita K. Paul, Ted Dekker, Frank Peretti. Other than these novelists there are a handful of fantasy writers who have gained readership, but SFF remains a risky venture for the ECPA houses (Evangelical Christian Publishers Association).

Science fiction really suffers in the CBA market, more so than any other genre, for several seemingly-insurmoutable reasons:

1. There have been no sci-fi crossover films or popular culture fiction to shoehorn publishers into risking bets on new authors, as has been the case with fantasy (e.g. Lord of the Rings);

2. Christianity and science appear to be a contradiction in terms. Many evangelical Christians don't see creation as God's second book. They are openly hostile to science - consider this: it has been science that has tried to kick out the underpinnings of Christianity with the theory of evolution. Another feature of science fiction that causes problems is timeline. Sci-fi is generally set in the future, whether the near future of cyberpunk or the far future of space opera. These timelines are out of sync with some evangelical eschatology, the belief that the Lord's return can occur any day now. There is no long term future of mankind, therefore any futuristic fiction can be deemed theologically blasphemous.

3. Science fiction has, traditionally, taken such an anti-Christian worldview it's no real surprise that mothers dodge children around the aisle. ECPA houses aren't willing to take the chance on a big publishing effort for this genre when they believe that it is incompatible with people's firmly entrenched biases.

The fact that SFF is not widely accepted in the CBA Christian fiction market renders the genre edgy. It is important to note in passing, however, that SFF is more acceptable in the general Christian fiction market and the independent houses that publish these works are becoming a force to be reckoned with - but this a topic unto itself.

There is no all-encompassing definition of this phenomenon in Christian fiction. Edgy is a connotative adjective and the manner in which it is employed is determined by one's experiences with fiction: Like beauty, edgy is in the eye of the beholder. I'd like to posit that writing edgy Christian fiction is about giving heroes and heroines character flaws, while showing that they live their lives in example to others. Readers like real characters pursuing heroic tasks as long as their sins are portrayed as a negative and have consequences to be faced.