Most readers might think of titles like “Love Comes Softly,” “The Shack,” or the “Mitford Series,” when the topic is Christian fiction novels. Among the most prolific authors of this genre is C.S. Lewis, whose fantasy series, “The Chronicles of Narnia,” continues to entertain readers today, although it was first published in 1950. This same author wrote an epistolary novel approximately a decade earlier that remains popular and relevant to today’s audience.
An epistolary novel is a story mostly comprised or based on written letters. Some books in this category also feature other types of correspondence or writing, such as diary entries, magazine articles, newspaper clippings or even, digital exchanges like email or text messages. Lewis’s “The Screwtape Letters,” is fictional, featuring letters from a “senior demon” named “Screwtape,” written to “Wormwood,” his nephew, who is a “junior tempter.”
The Screwtape Letters Epistolary is about tempting mankind
Lewis’s epistolary novel incites readers to think about mankind’s morality (or lack thereof), temptation, spirituality, and more. “Uncle Screwtape” writes 31 letters to “Wormwood,” giving instructions on how to lead a specific human away from God. Other examples of famous epistolaries include, “Frankenstein,” by Mary Shelley, “The Color Purple,” by Alice Walker, and, “Dracula,” by Bram Stoker.
If you’d like to try writing a Christian fiction novel in this style, there are several things to keep in mind. It’s a challenging type of story to write. First, you must decide what the medium for the correspondence in your book will be, such as hand-written letters, diary or journal entries or some other form.
Give each correspondent a distinct voice
Reading an epistolary novel can be confusing if the author has not given each character who is exchanging correspondence a unique, distinct voice. The last thing you want is for readers to be flipping pages back and forth, trying to figure out who is writing (or texting or completing a journal entry). This may be accomplished through the style of language and vocabulary or by changing the font on the page to show each character’s handwriting; perhaps one writes in neat, manuscript form, while the other scrawls in hard-to-decipher cursive.
Avoid letters that lead to nowhere
If you’re telling a story through correspondence or diary entries, etc., you must make sure that every letter or entry you present to your readers is, in some way, advancing the plot. Avoid using filler letters to bridge a time gap; it’s more realistic to think that several days or weeks might pass in between letters. In short, don’t have a character write without a purpose.
Make sure the type of correspondence aligns with the time setting of your story. You wouldn’t have a character set in the 1800’s sending an email; unless, of course, it’s a time travel plot. The medium, style, voice and content must match the overall tone, setting and narrative of your novel.
