Writing Emotionally Difficult Scenes in a Christian YA Mystery

The author describes dreading a stretch of her novel-in-progress, since she writes her books in order and knew she was approaching the scenes that unsettled her most. The reason, she explains, is that these scenes forced her to face some of her deepest fears. She traces that fear back to childhood: as a seven-year-old, she was sometimes punished for things she had not done, and she felt powerless to defend herself. That sense of helplessness, she says, has stayed with her throughout her life.

The post then turns to her YA Christian mystery, A Threat at the Feast. In it, a young sleuth named Rae Riley watches her deputy boyfriend, Chris, be arrested and charged with a crime he did not commit. The author admits she did not want to write that trapped, helpless feeling, but she recognized that the story needed high stakes to be worth reading. She drew on her own fears and used research to add concrete detail, such as the limited jail visiting options in Ohio and the tight security needed to separate inmates with very different charges. She also notes that Rae comments on the unfairness of people awaiting trial being held under the same restrictions as convicted prisoners.

Her main encouragement to other writers is not to shy away from scenes that cut deep. She believes the emotional difficulty of writing such material pays off, because a hard-won resolution feels sweeter and more meaningful, much as real life unfolds. When a story reflects life that honestly, she suggests, a writer can ask for nothing more.

Source: Read the original report