lisa
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Posts: 29
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Post by lisa on Jul 15, 2018 11:25:34 GMT -6
I have a question that I would like to get some input on but before I get to my question let me explain my situation. You see in my spare time I write cozy mystery books which helps supplement my income. Cozy mysteries tend to be lighter in that they typically contain no gore, no swearing, no sex etc... Murder, She Wrote would be an example of a cozy mystery. They're essentially just simple, funny mysteries. I've written some clean romantic suspense books in the past which, according to my readers, were more mystery than romance. Those two books were a little more serious than my cozies but they also contained no sex or swearing. I've moved away from the romantic suspense and have focused the bulk of my writing on the cozy mysteries.
I've always been a Christian but since last September I've become hyper aware of what being a Christian is and what it means to be a follower of Christ. I've stopped watching many of the movies and shows that I used to love. I haven't cut tv and movies out completely but I've tried to be more aware of what i'm watching and not so dismissive of how bad it's gotten. I know my salvation is through grace and not works and I can't lose it but I also don't want to do things that God would not approve of. So my question is ... how bad is it to watch, read and/or write murder mysteries? Even ones that are considered cozy? I've prayed over this question but I still don't know whether it is a sin or not.
Perhaps this is a silly question but I'm starting to wonder if something I enjoy and that has always seemed harmless is also something that is a sin and would just like to get a sense of what other Christians think about the issue.
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Post by barb84 on Jul 15, 2018 12:38:10 GMT -6
This is a good question! I confess I have always enjoyed Agatha Christie books and watching old Perry Mason shows. I am anxious to see what others have to say.
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Post by Natalie on Jul 15, 2018 14:15:02 GMT -6
I do not think that it is a sin to have a job, hobby, past time etc that we enjoy. Yes, it should be one that does not dishonor God. It also should not take up all our time and our thoughts because then we are putting it first and not God.
It sounds like you're trying to honor Him by leaving out what the world finds entertaining but goes against God's word.
I think that if it is something that you should not continue then God will make it clear to you.
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Post by Natalie on Jul 15, 2018 14:21:37 GMT -6
I forgot, I also wanted to say that murder is part of our world, and so is solving those murders. I think you can treat those things in a way that is honoring (for example, not depicting them graphically). Similarly, I think we can watch shows that deal with murder.
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lisa
New Member
Posts: 29
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Post by lisa on Jul 15, 2018 16:39:42 GMT -6
Thank you for your replies. I guess what's bothering the most is that cozy mysteries tend to be on the funny side and that they also involve murder. I don't know, it just struck me as odd to be constantly creating characters and then killing them off. I was thinking of possibly writing mystery stories without murder but I don't know how interested people would be in those types of stories.
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Post by klb on Jul 15, 2018 18:23:19 GMT -6
Lisa - I agree with what Natalie and Barb have said. God talks about murder in the Bible as well. I don't believe that it's unGodly or immoral to write about it. I think God will really put it on your heart if there's is something you shouldn't include - for the main reason being that you are truly seeking to do the right thing and being conscientious about it. Would love to read some of your books!
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Post by barb84 on Jul 15, 2018 19:06:51 GMT -6
I read a lot of Nancy Drew mysteries as a teen, I don't think there were murders in those, but I enjoyed them.
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Post by mike on Jul 16, 2018 7:05:12 GMT -6
Perhaps you could take certain biblical stories and turn them into modern day cozy stories? This would also draw readers to truth!
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lisa
New Member
Posts: 29
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Post by lisa on Jul 17, 2018 16:57:51 GMT -6
I'm not very good at speaking or dealing with social media so I've been thinking quite a lot about how I could use my writing skills to share the gospel. I've thought about adding Bible verses to my stories but my stories are so light that I feel it would be disrespectful. In more serious works they might fit okay but my stories are as far from serious as you can possibly get. I'll have to give some thought about the modern day cozy story idea of yours, Mike. Thank you for the suggestion.
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Post by boraddict on Jul 17, 2018 20:27:53 GMT -6
Hi Lisa, How many books have you written, do you have a loyal audience, and how would the loss of income from the sale of your books affect your life? Which it is, affect or effect? If I were a writer I would dive right into the gore of it all but leave the details to the imagination. Like, a boy walking into a new town looking for a break in life. He is befriended by a family that allows him to pitch his tent in their yard. As they get acquainted he learns that they work at the factory; the only factory in town. Now, this could get scary. Then one day the mother comes home petrified. Her husband and two sons are still at the factory. The boy now panicked runs across town to discover what has happened to his new friends. The entire town is in hysteria with cars crashing into stores and speeding to get away from this once peaceful town. As he passes through the main doors of the factory he finds everyone scared and couching down in the main foyer; a group of about twenty-five men and women. "We can't do that" one man screamed as the father and his two sons began scouring up the stairs. The boy followed suit into a blase of gunfire. The father and his sons had killed the man in the chair. They (the three) quickly disconnected large hoses from the man's body that seemed to supply some substance that was made in the factory. "Hurry, help us" they yelled. With the hoses disconnected the four of them quickly pulled the dead man from the chair and the father scurried into his place. Frantically the two boys connected the hoses to their father. "Wow," the father exclaimed as the first hose was connected. "He canceled the trip." The boy in amazement said "what trip?" The father turned to him and said "the Saviors trip. They canceled the Saviors trip. Don't you get it? The Savior was coming from the third planet to ours but his trip was canceled." "What does that mean?" the boy asked. "It means the wickedness of this world remains until the Savior comes. Our factory leader was holding that wickedness at bay and lost his mind when he learned the Savior's trip was canceled." The father quietly relaxed in his new chair, his two sons still connecting the hoses to him, and he looked upon the scores of pictures on the walls from bygone eras. "I never knew" he calmly said. "These pictures have been on these walls my entire life. But I never knew that these men had once sat in this chair." The boy in astonishment turned to look at the pictures on the walls. Countless numbers of them. Men that had once upon a time sat in the chair. The End That would be my murder mystery. Hope you like it.
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lisa
New Member
Posts: 29
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Post by lisa on Jul 18, 2018 18:01:32 GMT -6
Hi Boraddict,
I've written about twenty books across 3 pen names. I have a pretty loyal following on my oldest pen name which is the one with the most books and I seem to be gaining ground with my newest pen name. I have a day job so loss of sales wouldn't kill me but I'm trying to get out of debt and need the income at the moment. I should be writing at the moment for my biggest pen name (at this business you have to keep writing in order to make the same amount you made the last month) but I've been so fascinated and excited by the thought of Jesus coming back soon I can't concentrate. I really like your story by the way. The funny thing is that I like suspenseful /scary movies and books (although I've recently decided to stop watching or reading anything truly gory and /or scary) but when I write I veer more to the lighthearted, almost comical stories. I tried writing serious stories before but had difficulty sustaining the tension. Have you ever considered writing? It can be a lot of fun once you get started.
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Post by boraddict on Jul 19, 2018 0:29:35 GMT -6
Hi Boraddict, I've written about twenty books across 3 pen names. I have a pretty loyal following on my oldest pen name which is the one with the most books and I seem to be gaining ground with my newest pen name. I have a day job so loss of sales wouldn't kill me but I'm trying to get out of debt and need the income at the moment. I should be writing at the moment for my biggest pen name (at this business you have to keep writing in order to make the same amount you made the last month) but I've been so fascinated and excited by the thought of Jesus coming back soon I can't concentrate. I really like your story by the way. The funny thing is that I like suspenseful /scary movies and books (although I've recently decided to stop watching or reading anything truly gory and /or scary) but when I write I veer more to the lighthearted, almost comical stories. I tried writing serious stories before but had difficulty sustaining the tension. Have you ever considered writing? It can be a lot of fun once you get started. Lisa that is so funny because I can barely spell my name. I would recommend that you continue your life just as you have. Keep the good books flowing for your target audience. I on the other hand love scripture and the analysis game thereof. For instance, I just figured out that Revelation Chapter 16, the big daddy in the room, is mostly filler. I have to laugh because no one will believe me. I found this two days ago when I noticed that the "golden vials full of the wrath of God" are not something bad but something good; the resurrection. It is so very well hidden. Thus, Chapter 16 is simply filler down to Verse 16:18 where the destruction begins as a result of the resurrection in Verse 15:7. I can prove this via my analysis of the third woe in Chapter 11. Some months ago I noticed that chapters 9 through 11 are the chronological base chapters for the entire book. Thus, every aspect of the Book of Revelation applies to Chapters 9 through 11. It means that the book is about the three woes. The first woe is the attack of the beast upon the world, the second woe is the Savior's response, and the third woe is the resurrection that to the wicked is a woe because of the changes wrought upon the earth due to the resurrection. It is similar to Noah's flood; however, in this case, it is fire and destruction that destroys the population of man from the planet. Remember that during Noah's time the firmament fell and in our time the firmament will be restored. It will take a lot of fire and heat to return all that water to its original location covering the earth in the radiation belt (I think). However, as my mystery story shows, we do not know when the Savior is coming. Thus, just keep on doing that which you are doing. According to Ezra's eagle prophecy, three will follow President Trump to hold the office of the presidency. So as badly as I want things to mature, I believe we are yet a few years away.
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Post by venge on Jul 20, 2018 12:31:01 GMT -6
Hi Boraddict, I've written about twenty books across 3 pen names. I have a pretty loyal following on my oldest pen name which is the one with the most books and I seem to be gaining ground with my newest pen name. I have a day job so loss of sales wouldn't kill me but I'm trying to get out of debt and need the income at the moment. I should be writing at the moment for my biggest pen name (at this business you have to keep writing in order to make the same amount you made the last month) but I've been so fascinated and excited by the thought of Jesus coming back soon I can't concentrate. I really like your story by the way. The funny thing is that I like suspenseful /scary movies and books (although I've recently decided to stop watching or reading anything truly gory and /or scary) but when I write I veer more to the lighthearted, almost comical stories. I tried writing serious stories before but had difficulty sustaining the tension. Have you ever considered writing? It can be a lot of fun once you get started. Lisa that is so funny because I can barely spell my name. I would recommend that you continue your life just as you have. Keep the good books flowing for your target audience. I on the other hand love scripture and the analysis game thereof. For instance, I just figured out that Revelation Chapter 16, the big daddy in the room, is mostly filler. I have to laugh because no one will believe me. I found this two days ago when I noticed that the "golden vials full of the wrath of God" are not something bad but something good; the resurrection. It is so very well hidden. Thus, Chapter 16 is simply filler down to Verse 16:18 where the destruction begins as a result of the resurrection in Verse 15:7. I can prove this via my analysis of the third woe in Chapter 11. Some months ago I noticed that chapters 9 through 11 are the chronological base chapters for the entire book. Thus, every aspect of the Book of Revelation applies to Chapters 9 through 11. It means that the book is about the three woes. The first woe is the attack of the beast upon the world, the second woe is the Savior's response, and the third woe is the resurrection that to the wicked is a woe because of the changes wrought upon the earth due to the resurrection. It is similar to Noah's flood; however, in this case, it is fire and destruction that destroys the population of man from the planet. Remember that during Noah's time the firmament fell and in our time the firmament will be restored. It will take a lot of fire and heat to return all that water to its original location covering the earth in the radiation belt (I think). However, as my mystery story shows, we do not know when the Savior is coming. Thus, just keep on doing that which you are doing. According to Ezra's eagle prophecy, three will follow President Trump to hold the office of the presidency. So as badly as I want things to mature, I believe we are yet a few years away. I would be careful to use anything outside of recognized canon of the bible. Esdras is known as apocrypha. It is not accepted by most. And its "prophecy" that it holds, would be suspect.
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Post by boraddict on Jul 20, 2018 18:29:45 GMT -6
Venge, I expected a response to my Revelation analysis but not to my Esdras reference. That was a very nice catch on your part; however, and you knew there would be a, however. If the prophecy is correct, then we have some years yet to go.
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Post by venge on Jul 21, 2018 14:57:56 GMT -6
Venge, I expected a response to my Revelation analysis but not to my Esdras reference. That was a very nice catch on your part; however, and you knew there would be a, however. If the prophecy is correct, then we have some years yet to go. Haha, very well then.....very well!
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