believe this

One of the themes in THE SILVER SCAR is faith, obviously. Trinidad practices a convoluted version of it, but it's steadfast, unshaking. I thought it would just be too trope to take him on a faith journey (something that smacks of evangelism to me). However, faith is one of the devices providing distinct contrast and comparison between Trin and his main antagonist. The more I dive into these characters, the more similarities I find between them. Coolness. But it's not enough.

No worries, I'm not going to launch into my own version of faith, or any of that. One of my critters told me recently that the last thing he considers my book to be is preachy. (Thank God, no pun intended!) I like to tackle issues of faith, primarily Christian, but of other faiths as well. It's fertile ground for conflict and an aspect about the world I like to explore. But I try not to judge or push my views. In fact, my characters often carry different views than me.

And therein lies a problem.

TSS a futuristic, religious thriller. On the surface it sounds like a winner. Cool. Sold. But I know where I've been with it and I've realized I've not gone deep enough. In fact, I've barely cracked it open. Sometimes I wonder if the depths I want to plumb will conflict with selling the damned thing. Sometimes I wonder if what I'm trying to say in the book conflicts with what I believe. It eats at me. So I had to ask myself the tough questions in the wee hours.

Why am I holding back? What am I afraid of? and most of all Do I believe?

SENTINEL is easy for me in that respect. I believe in the book. It's pure story, really for fun. Not a lot of depth there. I happen to think that's okay. Not saying it's perfect, but I don't experience a lot of doubt when someone else doubts it. I know that it's the story I set out to tell.

THE SILVER SCAR is different. It's a deeper story. Oddly enough, other people believe in it. Some of my betas are quite adamant that it's my best work so far. I believe in the story, too, but I can't yet articulate why. And I'm pretty sure I need to answer those questions before moving forward.

What questions are you asking yourself about your writing? And more importantly, what are your answers?