Gen Xers Keeping It Real Through Writing

As I said before, I'm reading Tricia Goyer's new book, Generation NeXt Marriage (excellent book, by the way) and it's got me thinking a lot about my generation, our characteristics, and how we are affecting writing in general and fiction in particular.

Gen Xers want authenticity. We're sick and tired of a plastic world where everyone's happy and everything's wonderful and peachy-nice. Real life isn't like that. We know it and everyone else know's it so let's just be real about it. That attitude is filtering down into our writing.

What we're seeing is a new generation of writers (Gen Xers) coming on the scene writing about life as it really is. Sure there are triumphs, sure there are happy times and love and joy, but there's also misery and shame and hurt and guilt. People are flawed and sinful and, let's face the truth, everyone struggles with something.

And that's the kind of characters we're finding more and more in today's books. People who may or may not be Christians but are real people. They have problems, struggles, weaknesses, sins that have dug nails into them and won't let go. Say goodbye to the days of perfect little Christians conquering the world around them with light and goodness. (Hey, that's good stuff and it does happen sometimes but for the rest of us, we struggle just to keep our flashlights on). Gen Xers are writing about people who are challenged and sometimes fail and sometimes grow. Like the characters in the Bible, their flaws are exposed for all to see (or read about).

And I think it's refreshing.

More thoughts to come . . .