A mistake many authors make is trying to be too realistic in their writing. By this, I mean they want to drag a reader through garbage and profanity in order to make a point about the evil nature of their characters or their own experiences. I hear things like:

1. But the character is evil, this is how he would talk and think!
2. The Holy Spirit told me to write it like it happened!

First off, the Holy Spirit will never ask you to drag someone else through a sinful experience. When you read the Bible, you will see that the Scriptures tell of horrid experiences in general terms, not in explicit detail. Take a page from the Holy Spirit and write about evil, wrong, and sin in general terms.

In fiction writing or even biographical writing, you do not need to write profanity simply because the person you write about uses profanity. There is no need to explain the lustful thoughts of a pervert to your readers. It is senseless to describe a scene of fornication or adultery simply because that is what the characters do. It is unnecessary to describe in horrid detail the results of a gunshot, knife wound, or other forms of bloody violence.

Why Readers Read Your Book

A person picks up your book, depending on its nature, for one of three basic reasons:

1. To escape reality or for entertainment (fiction)
2. To get help or to improve (non-fiction)
3. Curiosity (fiction and non-fiction)

If that is the case, there is no need to go into great detail about a rape scene—even if the event happened to you and it is your story. It is pointless to drag a reader through that experience. Those who have already been through it don’t need to read about yours to understand how horrible it was. Those who have not been through it need to know how you overcame it, how you dealt with it, how the Lord helped you through those dark times—what they don’t need is to be dragged through the experience in your book. That’s not why they read it.

In fiction writing, characters should be dynamic, flawed, and relatable—but they should be bigger than life. That helps the reader. If the character is evil, fine, but don’t make the reader wallow in his evil just to make him evil. If the character is a womanizer, fine, but let’s forego the lurid details—and for the sake of your testimony as a Christian, don’t glorify sin!

Examples of Writing in General Terms

The following examples will give you ideas of writing in general terms.

• CURSING: The ball slammed into Mike’s face, knocking him back a step. Swearing profusely, he whirled around to stare into the crowd. “Who threw that?” When no one answered, he swore again, using every foul word in his vocabulary. “Someone better answer me!”
• PHYSICAL TRAUMA: The torture lasted for hours, during which they did unspeakable things to me and violating me in ways that only the Lord would be able to heal me from. When it was over, I could only lay there, wondering what I had done to deserve this.
• VIOLENCE: Katie tried to flee, but she was yanked back by her hair. She screamed, but it did no good. The knife still plunged into her stomach. Her face turned white, and she slumped against the alley wall as her assailant fled, leaving her to die alone. Katie knew the wound was fatal, knew she would die, but she wasn’t ready yet. She had too much to do. So she did the only thing she could do. She prayed.
• SEXUAL PERVERSION: Bill’s eyes lit up when he saw the beautiful woman. His lust blossomed in his mind, sending a thrill throughout his body. He watched her with wicked eyes, following her as she walked down the street. He licked his lips, eyes darting back and forth. She was alone. It was dark and the hour was late. Perfect. He stepped out of the shadows to follow her. Thirty minutes later, he left the dark alley and the woman he had violated, leaving her moaning in a trash heap. He needed to get away before some cop came by. His lust sated, he slunk into the shadows and disappeared.

In all the examples above, the idea of sin is clearly expressed, but the details are missing. Readers don’t need the realism, the details to understand or to get how bad or wicked it was. You can tell your story without the so-called realism that plunges a reader into the sin itself. Don’t force your readers into a sinful experience just to satisfy some idea of realism. It isn’t necessary.

Hope this helps! Happy writing.