A few summers ago, I got the idea for a prompt journal. It was around that time I realized my biggest adversary in my creative life wasn’t rejection, impostor syndrome, or people being rude on the internet. What gets me down the most is burnout. Writer’s block, art block, whatever you want to call it. Paralysis and lack of motivation seemingly from some invisible well running dry.
I created the journal pretty quickly. Several of my immediate family members didn’t know I was working on it until the proof arrived. I wanted to make something to help other creatives—especially writers, artists, and poets like me, who might be facing the same things.
What is the journal, exactly?
It’s a collection of 101 prompts. But these aren’t the usual art or story prompts. They’re not one word or even one sentence written at the top of the page. I wanted to go deeper than that. I wanted to jump-start the creator’s mind by beginning to expand on the ideas before handing them over.
Writing the prompts in the journal was a good exercise for me in itself. Each prompt is a suggestion—or multiple suggestions in one—of a story. These stories are both full of possible detail and wildly open-ended.
But there was another element I wanted to address with this prompt journal. I know a burnt-out creative mind is easily overwhelmed, so I wanted to make sure that—while giving you plenty of fuel for your smoldering artistic fire, I also provided some guardrails to keep you from pushing yourself to make every prompt a whole project. I only give you two pages per prompt to explore your story. As a result, you should feel the delight of finishing a mini piece after completing each prompt.
Another unique thing about the Burnout Journal is the fact that I intended the prompts to be used for whatever creative medium you like. You could be drawing, writing flash fiction, composing poems, experimenting with comic strips or even just rambling on in prose. Here’s an example or a completed spread, using prompt no. 2. I opted to draw a map and write up a little mock travel guide to my fictional self-portrait island.
Who is the Bunout Journal for?
Artists and creatives. I know. That covers a lot of ground. Though I’m not really in the camp that insists literally everything is a creative art (come on, now. Let’s not get silly.) I do think most people have a creative streak in them. It might not be highly developed as it is in those of us whose lives revolve around it, but I think a lot of people could get something out of this journal. Or should I say, put something into it.
However, there is a reason I aimed it at artists and creatives. Here’s the thing: if you’re kind of more of a normal human, burnout is going to manifest in other areas of your life probably more strongly than your creativity. You might struggle with energy or motivation to do things or feel sort of blah and directionless at work or in your social life. But if you’re a creative artist, when burnout hits, the main feeling is going to be, “Help! I can’t CrEAtE sTUFF!”
And maybe that’s the main difference between creatives and more normal people.
Where can you get it?
I published The Burnout Journal through Amazon KDP, so it’s available from Amazon right here.
Hopefully I can be a part of your escape from burnout and provide you with a refreshing way to shake off the doldrums and get back to doing what you love. Feel free to reach out to me in the comment section if you’re feeling creatively stuck. I’m working to make this blog a resource for frustrated creative types, so if that’s you, don’t hesitate to request post topics!
Unfortunately, if you struggle long enough as a Christian artist, you’ll probably eventually go from asking, “Is it because I’m not a good enough artist?” to “Is it because I’m not a good enough Christian?”
Over the past couple of years, I’ve become ever more strongly aware of the power artists have. I’ve been watching other artists and discovering what I want to do and what I don’t want to do with this power. I find in the Christian author community, there are really three approaches people tend to take to making sure their work counts.
An author has a platform. And to make the most responsible and impactful use of it, she needs to be at least one of these three things:
Teacher: a practical mentor helping others become better for the glory of God
Preacher: a voice of truth using art to teach moral lessons
Activist: an advocate using art to raise awareness and inspire action
The Problem
These are all very good things to be. For years, I tried to find out which vocation best suited my skills and personality. I tried teaching. This blog used to be dedicated mainly to writing tutorials and essays detailing what I had learned studying the craft. But honestly, I felt a little bored writing them. What’s more, I didn’t feel qualified since my techniques and insights were constantly changing.
I’ve never been much for preaching through my art. I hope my work reflects eternal truth and provokes thought in my readers, but I’m never sure exactly what I’m trying to say. Most of the time, I’m just vibing with a vibe and hoping it comes out pretty. I’m shallow like that.
Then there’s the big one. It’s pretty much considered irresponsible and cowardly not to be an activist these days. If you have any platform at all, you really need to be speaking out on The Things. There’s way too much wrong in the world for anybody not to. So, of course I needed to be an advocate for justice.
But I did not want to.
And this is where the guilt comes in. I didn’t want to repost things. I didn’t want to join movements. I didn’t want to create propaganda with my art. For a long time, I thought this was wrong of me. They say if you’re silent, you’re part of the problem.
Should I have just done it?
It seemed selfish. It seemed weak and cowardly. I was supposed to style myself as a warrior and dive into the fray wielding my weapon—creative art. I mean, I’m literally a Christian dystopian author. How could I not go into the battle of social and cultural issues? Isn’t that what the genre is for?
But I didn’t want to do that to my art. I didn’t want to be known for my views and opinions. I didn’t even want to be known for my morals. (!?) I’m not a role-model and I wouldn’t want anyone looking up to me as a standard—for literally anything. I didn’t want to use my platform to put my creative life on display as an illustration of my ideology. The thought of taking the stage that way paralyzed my brain.
People would start following me for my beliefs and my stances on issues rather than for my work. My career would be swallowed up. Sure, I would probably get a lot more attention if I spoke on hot-button topics. But it would almost certainly destroy my love for sharing my art.
But if I didn’t take a stand, was I really doing anything for my true mission here on earth? Was I ignoring God’s call? Was I rendering my work meaningless?
More than anything, I wanted God to use my work. Could He still use it if I refused to teach, preach, or fight for justice?
The Entertainer
Entertainment. Pop-culture. Distractions from what really matters in life. I engage in it pretty much every day—always chasing that temporary high of a song with a great beat-drop or an atmosphere that gets me out of this monotonous headache called reality. I want to laugh and dream and borrow emotions from other people’s hearts until I can feel again. I want somebody to articulate things I couldn’t quite grasp before and remind me I’m not alone.
What a waste of time.
And yet, it was in the middle of my time-wasting that I discovered something that would begin to open my eyes to my true mission as a creative. God showed me something beautiful—something that gave me hope and a new sense of meaning for what he was asking me to do.
And who did He use to reveal this to me?
A kpop idol.
Doing it all wrong
This was not the correct way for me to learn deep truths, was it? Somebody should have told God that’s not how it’s supposed to be done. You don’t use messed-up, secular pop star boys in heavy eyeliner to inspire revelations. Well, who’s gonna tell Him that?
Turns out He can use whatever He wants. Even artists who aren’t teachers, preachers, or activists. He can use people who might never even have invited Him into their creative work. He can work through anyone. And he does. He probably works through everyone, at least once.
I was sitting around worrying that somehow my art wasn’t going to point anyone to God and would languish in meaningless darkness until it disappeared in the ashes of time. I thought maybe it was because I was too greedy or jealous, or scared, or self-absorbed to do what I was meant to do.
I thought I was going to completely fail because I didn’t follow a very particular method of using my platform and beating my work into a very particular mold and He dropped an artist from an extremely different situation in front of my face and showed me something no one in the Christian author community ever could have.
Something Beautiful
Art can be used in many ways. Yes, it can preach truth or inspire action. It can be a powerful vehicle for driving the culture in a certain direction or bringing injustices to light. But that’s not all it was meant to do.
I could rant for a lot longer about what I think entertainment could be if more Christians would realize it had value in itself. It might be a bit of a controversial opinion, but I’m not sure we were supposed to focus on the dead-seriousness of life every waking minute. Of course, retreating into the world of entertainment can be overdone. Everything can be overdone. Even doing good work in the real world will eventually burn you to the ground if you never step back from it. Constant battle has destroyed too many people.
Art can be a means of deep connection to lift spirits, ease loneliness, and bring attention to things the world tries to rush past. We need the escape and the playfulness it can offer. We can grow and learn through the secret doors it opens inside us.
Ultimately, art is communication. For me, it’s a way to reach out to a world that is becoming increasingly more isolated, alienated, segregated and alone and tell anyone who’s listening they’re still alive. There’s still hope, still laughter, still room for dreamers. And I want to show them something.
I want to show them something I saw in my mind. It was fascinating. It was beautiful. Maybe it even meant something, I don’t know. But I want to share it. And that’s why I’m going to start sharing it right here.
The New UnsweetenedDarjeeling.com
In the next post, I’ll be talking in detail about what to expect from this blog from now on. But I’ll give you a quick preview here.
I’m going to branch out into a fuller range of arts. You’re going to get to see drawings and paintings and multimedia work that you’ve never seen before. There are also going to be an ongoing fiction series…but I won’t spoil anything! Stay tuned.
I’m aware that I might lose some of my audience here. I’m not going to be running a traditional author blog anymore. Like I mentioned, I’m not as interested in writing tutorials and essays about writing. It just isn’t where I am in my artist’s journey. I don’t feel like I know much anymore. But that’s fine with me, because I’ll finally get to start sharing my real love with the world—the art itself.
If you’re reading this post, you probably know what “gritty” Christian fiction is. You might even write it yourself. In fact, there’s a good chance you consider yourself a gritty Christian author.
We all know the story. None of us were satisfied with Christian fiction growing up. No variety. Cookie-cutter stories about cookie-cutter people with cookie-cutter problems. In the end, there was always a cookie-cutter solution. Boring.
Then we grew up and became authors. Now we take matters into our own hands and write the books we needed when we were younger. As a result—with the help of the explosion of indie and small press publishing—we now are living in a world with rapidly diversifying Christian fiction. Fresh tropes, rare genres, unique characters—there’s literally a whole press dedicated to Christian speculative fiction, which was once a rarity. Horizons expand every day.
One particular horizon is the world of “gritty” Christian fiction. These new books don’t shy away from the tough issues. They’re not afraid to show evil as it truly is or address the ugliest problems society has to offer.
But there are some myths circulating in the gritty Christian fiction community. I’d like to tackle them first off.
Myth #1 Gritty Christian Fiction is More Realistic
Actually it isn’t. If you think about it, all fiction has things it cuts out and things the author chooses to focus on. That selective focus is a major part of writing a cohesive story. Real life is overloaded with elements you could be paying attention to—and yet you only look at so many things at one time. Otherwise, you start to go crazy and will probably end up in a coma from overstimulation.
What an author chooses to focus on and how much detail they decide to portray it in is entirely up to them. In the end, it doesn’t have anything to do with the realism of the story.
What actually makes a story feel believable or unbelievable are things like chains of cause and effect, character actions and motivations, and pacing. A reader can forgive the omission of certain details as long as the author has a good grip on those things. Unfortunately, I’ve read too much fiction by Christian writers claiming they added grit to be realistic, but bombed out pretty badly on actually writing a realistic story.
Myth #2 Gritty Content is Deeper and More Meaningful
This one gets implied a lot, and it bothers me. Just because a story includes depictions of alcoholism, abuse, eating disorders, mental illness, or sexual assault doesn’t make it meaningful.
“But it’s raising awareness.” Most of us are already aware, so it has to do a little more than that. I’m sure the definition of “deep” and “meaningful” is relative and subjective, but factually a book with all the gritty issues covered could be a total farce if it’s executed badly. The grit isn’t going to save it.
Whereas a book that was “squeaky-clean” by most people’s standards and had no content warnings could actually be an intensely moving, life-changing, world-shaking story. The argument that a story has to be dark to be deep is usually a strawman that relies on claiming anything else is “fluffy” and “watered-down.” And we’ll get around to how handy this rhetoric is later.
Myth #3 Gritty Christian Fiction is Daring and Unique
This is my favorite myth. Most authors I have noticed branding themselves as “gritty” seem to think they’re a rarity. The truth is, they’re really not. It’s kind of like the “not like other girls” complex. Everyone has it.
Quite possibly every work of Christian fiction I have ever read includes some dark, serious or unsettling element. But then again, I haven’t read a lot of those feel-good clean romances off the mainstream Christian market. But that’s for the Hallmark audience. They have the right to exist, too. Still, it’s simply not true that grit doesn’t come up in Christian fiction quite frequently.
In fact, I’d say including big issues like the ones mentioned above is almost a trend right now. I see a lot of authors use hashtags like #mentalhealthrep #disabilitiesrep and #enddomesticabuse in posts promoting their books. It’s a quick way to draw attention to the themes of your book. (And I’m not knocking it. It’s a good shortcut to getting people to care about your story when they’re too lazy to read a blurb.) What I’m saying is, these authors are not outliers. There’s quite a community.
The Problem with Branding Yourself as a Gritty Christian Author
In spite of the apparent advantages of branding your work as “gritty,” there are actually some major problems with leaning too heavily on that image as a brand-identity.
First of all, it’s too subjective. How gritty are you, really? Everyone is going to come in with different expectations when they start reading a gritty piece of fiction. (This goes for “clean” Christian authors too. No one is going to have the same standards.)
The second issue is it can actually start a little drama within your would-be community. Being particularly vocal about your opinions of “clean” vs.. “gritty” fiction can wind up with you, intentionally or unintentionally putting other Christian authors and readers down. That’s something you probably should avoid if you want any friends.
Lastly, and I’ll repeat myself here, no, it really isn’t that unique. You have to find what truly gives you your own inimitable flair when it comes to branding. If you put all your emphasis on something too many others in your community are emphasizing, you’re going to blend in.
Putting in the work of finding your true brand-identity as an artist is very important, and actually a lot of fun. I’d recommend you check out this post to get started.
If You Want to Write Gritty Content
So, am I against writing about tough issues and including gritty content in Christian fiction? No. Definitely not.
By all means, tackle the tough issues. Hey, some people might even consider my work gritty. It’s entirely up to you what you write about, and God definitely wants Christians to address the hard things in life. But I do have a few quick words of advice if you’re going to write gritty fiction.
Respect your reader’s right to object to your content. Some people are going to be uncomfortable with some of what you write. They might give you bad reviews or DNF you. Never lash out at readers. You’re not a politician. You don’t need to argue, explain or publicly defend yourself. You’re an artist. It’s okay if you’re not universally liked or understood. You’re not here to win people over to your side and score points. Your real readers will find you.
Here’s one more thing to consider: You may or may not want to brand yourself as an “issue writer.” I’ll do a whole post on this sometime. But You might have to decide if you’d rather be an artist or an activist. If the issues you’re trying to bring to light become the point over and above creating great fiction, it might end up hurting your development as a creative. This is happening in a lot of western mainstream entertainment right now.
I guess what I’m saying here is, don’t become a propaganda machine. This is the real reason a lot of Christian media crashes and burns. Not because they’re not talking about real-world problems, but because they’re preaching about them instead of telling stories.
Sometimes I’ll admit I don’t know what I am. Sometimes I don’t feel like a whole person—just a creative void that somehow manages to produce art. But nothing can truly come from nothing. The art we create comes from who we are. In less words, you need to find your artist brand.
Art is very much wrapped up in the individuality of the artist. You would never create what you create if you were someone else. But sometimes it’s hard to find the foundation of who you are as an artist. Exactly why do you do what you do? What’s your inspiration? What’s your goal? What’s at the heart of it all?
These questions matter when you are in the process of creating art.
Why is it so important to know who you are as an artist?
Your personality and character will come though and shine if you stay true to who you are, what you want, and what you believe in as you work. To put it simply, to live up to your full potential as an artist, you have to find yourself.
Now you might be a little critical of the idea of “finding yourself.” Maybe it sounds kind of vague or cheesy, or maybe, as a Christian creative, you have a negative reaction to the whole idea. After all, it sounds self-centered. It sounds like you’re focusing too much on yourself instead of on God, who should be the center of your creative life and your mission.
Of course, God should be at the heart of your mission, but here’s what you need to remember: anything you want to do for God with your art he could have done himself with no help from you at all. But he didn’t leave you out. He wants to use you. And he wants to use you specifically—as a unique individual. Exploring and examining the person he made you to be isn’t self-centered at all. It’s a way to find clues to how he wants to use you.
What elements of your identity come into play when you create?
The best of your work will probably lean hard into your personality. When your art grows up from your deepest roots, it will be alive with originality and rare beauty. In order to find your artist brand, you need to find what makes you different and study it. I like to analyze this uniqueness this way:
Your inspirations are the other artists who have influenced your work. Everyone is drawn to different artists for different reasons and as an artist yourself, you have probably picked some things up from other creators you love. This isn’t copying. This is one of the things that makes your work unique.
Your heart—the things you value at the core of your being—will also influence your identity as an artist. What you love and what you consider to be the important things in life will probably show up in your art sooner or later.
Your mission is the reason behind what you do. Why do you create? Who and what do you do it for? You’re bringing art into the world—what value do you want that art to carry with it as it reaches out into the hearts and lives who come in contact with it?
Your aesthetic and your irony or contrast are the more concrete elements in your artistic personality. The aesthetic is your themes, your subject-matter, the genre and tropes and motifs your fall back on. The contrast is the effect that you get from juxtaposing elements of your aesthetic in unexpected ways, and is an often overlooked part of artistic voice. Don’t overlook it. It’s going to help you stand out once you discover and develop it.
How can you pin down what makes you a unique creative artist?
So, that’s a lot to think about and I know I just barely touched on it. That’s why I recommend you sign up to get the key to the Secret Library and grab my Artistic Identity Workbook, where I take you through a simple but thought-provoking questionnaire to help you explore and define all those elements listed above. I designed it as an easy first step on the journey to find your artist brand and explore it.
That’s just a starting point, but I hope it can help you feel more focused and inspired to continue to do what you do best. You are a fantastically unique person—and once you tap into that in your artistic life you’ll never have to worry about being boring or unoriginal.
“Gospel-focused,” “Faith-centered,” “Based on sound doctrine.” That’s what some people are looking for in Christian media. Others are just looking for “clean,” “family-friendly,” or “positive” content.
There’s a lot out there advising Christian creatives on what they should and shouldn’t create. A lot of people out there think they know what the mission of the Christian artist should be.
It’s like they pick up a Christian book or turn on a Christian film and—instead of sitting back and being immersed in a great story, they sit at the edge of their desk chairs and whip out their pens and clipboards. Let’s see if this one hits all the right points. Let’s calculate the relevancy score and see if we can check all the Romans Road boxes in the correct order.
Should every Christian novel be a “How to Get Saved” guide? Is doctrine the highest priority in art? As Christians, we know leading people to Christ is probably our highest calling on Earth. But exactly how are we supposed to do that with our creativity?
Is Art an Evangelism Tool?
Pop quiz: who consumes Christian media?
This is always the first question that comes into my head when someone suggests the prime directive of Christian media is evangelism. I think you will find the vast majority of people consuming Christian media are…Christian.
Which raises the question, who are we trying to evangelize, here? We’re preaching to the choir.
But maybe you argue that the basic Gospel message bares repeating. Maybe you want to remind and reinforce what your audience probably already knows. Maybe you want to explore some of the details of doctrine.
With all due respect…go write a sermon. Go study the Bible and some commentaries and works of scholarly theology and write a thesis. Get it out of your system. Then come back and we’ll talk about art.
What is Art For?
We have a weird approach to art in Christian communities, sometimes. Nobody would ever tell a Christian dentist, auto mechanic or airline pilot that the first priority in their career should be evangelism. We would never look down on them if they spent the majority of their time learning to better seal teeth, repair radiators, or navigate the sky.
But we know the artist’s influence is unique. Our voices are extremely powerful. It doesn’t matter how famous or popular we are, either. Our potential to affect people’s hearts and minds is enormous. That’s the nature of art. It moves people. It can connect people and create empathy. It can heal, inspire, and enlighten those who consume it in unexpected ways.
I’m not saying you can’t present the whole gospel in your work—or even that you can’t use your work to bring attention to some real-world issues. That’s between you as a creator and God. But too many Christian artists and people who take it upon themselves to instruct Christian artists seem to assume that is the only right way to use you gift.
But in choosing this informational, educational approach where the goal is to more or less tell our audience what to think—it’s quite possible that we’re abandoning the very magic that makes art uniquely powerful.
Where Does Art’s Power Come From?
Art is different from other forms of human communication. It tends to be subtle, unpredictable, and a little ambiguous.
And it doesn’t seem to matter which soapboxes you get up on or how important the message is. A great message can’t save bad art. There’s no substitute for being good at what you do.
Creating art is an act of trust. You have to do it with an open hand, not afraid of other people’s interpretations or reactions. As a Christian creative, you’re not going to be able to harness the full potential of your artistic process until you let God do the speaking. And let your audience do the thinking. Exactly what the audience gets out of your work isn’t your responsibility.
Your responsibility is to pour your all into creating something you love and let God use it as he will.
So, How Can You Find Your Mission as an Artist?
It’s going to take time, and you’re going to have to ask yourself a lot of questions.
It’s alright to not know for certain why you do what you do. In fact, if the only answer to your “why” is “because I love it” right now, that will do. But eventually, if art is a big enough part of your life, it’s likely to become a ministry.
What do you want your art to do for people? What do people need that you can create for them? Sometimes we forget that acts of service are one of the most powerful forms of evangelism. You can serve people with what you make. You can lift spirits and heal wounds. You can lead people through dark times and dark places. You can make people feel seen, loved, and understood.
My advice is that you find your voice, enjoy the process, don’t stress, don’t preach, and don’t worry about checking boxes. Invite God to speak through you and trust that he will use your work.
I thought of this final tip recently, and it revolutionized how I think about creating. I’d often asked myself who I was writing for. Who’s going to read this? What will they get from it? It’s impossible to really know that. But I wanted my spirit of wanting to give something to come through.
So, my last tip is, always create for someone you love.
You don’t have to worry about the masses or the message most people need. All you need to worry about is one person you care about. Do it for them.
Because, as a Christian creative, whatever your mission may be, your motivation will have its roots in love. That’s a good place to start.
