Pitfalls When Writing YA Christian Fiction

Because most novels for teens are written by adults, they sometimes forget what they liked to read as teens. In YA Christian fiction, adult authors want to produce novels that contrast or contradict themes in the secular market. But that attitude can lead to pitfalls when writing YA Christian fiction.

Too Perfect?

The key to creating a main character for a YA novel is to make them likable and relatable. But sometimes adults authors want to make their teen main characters (MC) role models for teen readers. That’s not bad in itself. But if authors think the only way to create a role model is to create a perfect main character, the story will suffer for it and turn away readers. A perfect teen MC is not relatable and eventually will become unlikable. All major characters need flaws and giving the MC of a Christian fiction novel flaws makes them human.

Too Easy?

Teen MCs also need to wrestle with their problems. Giving a teen a problem that is solved simply by listening to an adult is not only unrealistic but also undramatic. As a parent of teens, I know full well there are times I’m not sure what advice to give my kids. Or I do know what they should and tell them, but then I have to let them come to agreeing with that view in their own way and in their own time.

Since I have to let my own teens struggle with their own problems, I should do the same for my teen MC and, honestly, all my characters. Authors of YA Christian fiction need to show how our faith works in a complicated world. Our faith does have the answers, but often it’s a struggle to discover what that answer is, and teen readers benefit when they see teen MCs with struggles they can relate to.

Many rookie authors, regardless of genre, have a hard time letting the characters they like suffer. But the suffering and struggle is what makes the characters grow and is the gas that propels the story vehicle.

What do you think? Should characters be flawed and struggle? Writers, is it hard to make your characters flawed and give them struggles?

Here are more tips on writing Christian fiction.

August 28, 2025 0

What Christian Fiction Isn’t

If you are unfamiliar with Christian fiction, you may have some preconceptions about these kind of novels and short stories that may be inaccurate. This was brought home to me when my college-age niece read the short story that kicked off my Rae Riley Mysteries, “A Rose from the Ashes”. She wasn’t expecting a story about a girl looking for her father because her late mother wasn’t sure of his identity. So here are a three points about what Christian fiction isn’t.

Christian fiction isn’t disguised sermons

At least, it shouldn’t be. If a work of fiction comes across as a sermon, then the author should really have written a nonfiction book. In Christian fiction, like in the secular market, the story is king. All the elements the author puts into a story should serve the goal of the story.

For me, that’s a mystery. If I put in a faith element that doesn’t mesh with the mystery, I have to take it out. Since my main character Rae Riley is a Christian, it’s easy for me to incorporate her faith as she solves a mystery because her behavior is based on her faith. But I still have to weave her code of conduct into the overall goal of solving a mystery.

Christian fiction isn’t only about pleasant topics

A lot of Christian fiction tackles a lot of serious topics. What hard topics a writer includes depends on the audience he or she is writing for. I write cozy mysteries. Those readers don’t like violence or sex dealt with in a graphic way, either in the Christian or secular market. I also write for teens, who have parents, and have to keep that audience in mind as I write.

In A Storm of Doubts, Rae’s father, Sheriff Malinowski, discovers a body that’s been in the woods a few days in the summer. When he tells the closest relation that he has to get fingerprints to verify it’s the person he suspects it is, I don’t go into detail about why fingerprints are necessary. And that makes sense for the sheriff not to go into detail either because he’s being sensitive to the feelings of the closest relation. So he just says the body had been damaged because it’s been exposed to the elements. Readers can fill in the gaps in their imagination without me filling in grisly details they don’t like.

Christian fiction isn’t only about a salvation storyline

Even readers of Christian fiction, if they haven’t read very widely in the genre, think there always has to be a character who moves from unbelief to belief. The Christian faith covers all life experiences, and any one of those can be used as the basis for a plot or growth of a character.

I’ve written three novels, and no character has a salvation arc in them. In my latest one, Rae and her family deal with different kinds of fear. Fear is a huge part of life, and my characters confront it based on their beliefs.

So now that I’ve told you some of the things Chrisitian fiction isn’t, if you read Christian fiction, what do you think are the common denominators in the genre?

Here are more posts on writing Christian fiction.

August 14, 2025 2

How to Weave Themes into Christian Fiction

YA Christian author M. Liz Boyle is back to describe how to weave themes in Christian fiction. This is a critical skill for writers of Christian fiction. If we’re too subtle, readers don’t notice the theme. If we’re heavy-handed, it reads like a sermon with a few fictional characters. So glad to have Liz share her experience with this technique.

Writing Christian fiction has many merits and can be done in many ways. From fantasy and allegory to historical fiction that explores the lives of Biblical characters, Christian fiction comes in many forms. In the contemporary Christian fiction stories I write for young adults, I seek to honor God and Christ by including two main elements:

A Biblically-based theme that the characters learn

Whether it’s a specific verse, such as pressing toward the prize of the upward call of God, or a broader theme, such as the Golden Rule, I aim for my characters to be impacted with a theme which readers can glean too. A way that I include Biblical themes is to challenge my main character with the opposite of the theme she will learn. For instance, in my book Ablaze, the main character Marlee learns about forgiveness. She learns how to forgive when she endures a few situations that make forgiveness difficult. Meanwhile, a secondary character extends forgiveness to Marlee, which shows her how to forgive the characters who have hurt her. This journey really shapes who Marlee is by the end of the story, and readers who are also learning about forgiveness can relate to Marlee’s character arc. This leads into the second element I like to include in Christian fiction:

Characters whose faith is strengthened throughout the story

As a teen and now as an adult, I want to read about characters who are like me – already a Christian, but not perfect by any means. Salvation stories in which a character resists God’s call throughout the story and eventually chooses to become a Christian definitely have their place, but I also think there’s a need for stories that show how Christians live out their faith in the day-to-day. How do characters handle life’s stressors? How do characters change and grow over the course of the book? In fiction and in real life, our experiences help shape who we are. Hopefully in the course of our lives, our faith grows stronger. I like to reflect this in fictional characters. Similar to what I described in the first element, we can challenge the main character’s faith throughout the book to eventually strengthen her faith by the end of the story. For instance, if the main character is a believer, but her trust in God has been jaded by life’s harshness, I’ll have her go through trials and conversations that prompt her to keep clinging to and trusting God. My hope is that readers will be encouraged in their own faith when they see my characters press on in their Christian faith and eventually reap blessings.

Thank you for having me on your blog, JPC Allen! Writers, I hope you find these descriptions helpful as you write Christian fiction. What other pointers do you have? Readers, what are your favorite aspects of Christian fiction?

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Adventurous teenager Marlee Stanley has a knack for finding herself in natural disasters with her sisters and the Miles boys. When their adventures take a turn for the worse, will Marlee cave under pressure, or will her faith in God be strong enough to guide her to safety? Check out the books on Amazon!

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Liz is the author of the Off the Itinerary series, the wife of a professional tree climber, and the homeschooling mom of three energetic and laundry-producing children. Liz once spent a summer in Colorado teaching rock climbing, which she believes was a fantastic way to make money and memories. She resides with her family in Wisconsin, where they enjoy hiking and rock climbing. Liz and her husband have also backpacked in Colorado and the Grand Canyon, which have provided inspiration for her writing. She makes adventurous stories to encourage others to find adventures and expand their comfort zones (though admittedly, she still needs lots of practice expanding her own comfort zone). Follow Liz on her website, Facebook, Instagram, GoodReads, and BookBub.

July 20, 2023 2

Tag: Tips for writing Christian fiction