Blogger: Mary Keeley
For the past few weeks Mike Boyle, D.Min, Associate Professor of Pastoral Studies at Moody Bible Institute, taught a series, “Discipling for Transformational Leadership,” to our Sunday school class. To help us understand the dynamics involved, he took us through a study of the ways Millennials and Baby Boomers think, their values, and how those came to be. I couldn’t help thinking the insights are beneficial for writers as you develop and understand your characters or structure convincing messages for your nonfiction audience.
Readers connect with characters in their age group who think and react to the up and down roller coaster of the story in ways that are familiar or at least understandable to them. Nonfiction authors, these insights can be valuable for you too as you structure compelling arguments to bring home your points.
While the age group examples in this discussion are contemporary, authors of historical fiction also can learn how your characters’ values were formed by the life and culture of that age group’s formative years. An in-depth study of cultural shifts during the time period of your story will help you to be true to how your characters thought and approached life.
Let’s cover Baby Boomers first. They were coming of age in the 60s and 70s. What are you reminded of when you think of those years? Flower children. Rebellion against authority. The ushering in of the drug culture. Have you heard of Woodstock?
One of the most interesting gaps Professor Boyle filled in for me is how societal values shift like a pendulum. When Baby Boomers grew up and desired to settle down and have families, the pendulum began to swing back in the opposite direction. Remember the widely popular The Way, an edition of The Living Bible, published in 1971 to reach this age group?
As they became Christians and entered the church their presence influenced a change in the culture of the church as well. Regretful of their wild oats sown, they were eager to change their image by following the letter of biblical law to gain respectability and good, upright character. That’s how outward appearance and behaving the right way became all-important to this generation. Over the years the pendulum kept swinging past the middle to the opposite end of the spectrum: legalism.
Millennials are the youngest children of the Baby Boomers. They have grown up watching their parents value their appearance and achievement over attention to them or a sincere concern for the hurting world around them and are unimpressed. But they don’t know the background of how their moms and dads got this way, and their parents aren’t eager to tell them about those wild oats days. The lack of understanding of their parents’ generation has left them disillusioned about that group’s values, which they consider shallow and repressive rather than transparent and relational. It points to natural tensions between these two age groups, including within the church. How might you exploit this tension as you bring redemption and reconciliation to your multi-generational characters?
The pendulum is beginning to swing once again as Millennials push away from legalism. Professor Boyle suggested ways in which this group hopes to affect change in the church:
- They want the church to be more relational, less program driven.
- They want to see more emphasis on transparency, less on appearance.
- They want to see more mutual serving, less top-down mentoring/discipleship.
Does this information affect the way in which you will develop your younger characters in the future? This generation of readers won’t connect with a contemporary character their age, who is a complacent churchgoer following the values of the Baby Boomer generation. Take the time to be sure your characters are true to the values of their generation or your nonfiction book relates to the values of your audience.
Have you thought about how cultural changes affect people’s values and therefore, your characters? How are your characters doing? The church is in the midst of a cultural shift. Are you ready to adjust your approach to your nonfiction book to be sensitive to your audience?
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Carol McAdams Moore
This post makes me consider today’s kids (8-12) and the multimedia approach to children’s church: music, dancing, drama, video, etc. It does engage them. (I’m not faulting it.) Your post, however, is nudging me to think of faith through their eyes. How do they view the faith walk of their parents and grandparents? How do we as adults guide them in the everlasting truth of Scripture? How can I best write to this audience of young readers?
In a few weeks, I will be attending a SCBWI event. Several popular children’s writers will be teaching. In preparation, I am reading books by those authors and have been thinking of the children (8-12)who attend church and how to write to connect this generation to a faith that applies to their high tech, multimedia lives. It does apply!
Mary Keeley
Carol, that age group needs authors like you to weave faith into reality for them. This morning I heard a report on the radio about the alarming percentage of children who are addicted to video games. Those games, horrid as many of them are, are seeping into their cultural view. If anyone can contribute toward influencing the pendulum to swing away from that, you can. Go for it.
Norma Horton
Great post and reminder, Mary. Thanks for sharing this slice of the Moody experience with us.
NLBH
Mary Keeley
You’re welcome, Norma. It’s a fascinating study. I see how the application can add depth to characters that will help readers to connect with them.
Jeanne T
Wow, Mary. I hadn’t even considered this. You’re right though. If our characters are going to resonate, they need to be relatable to our target audience. It’s like knowing the ins and outs of a subculture. When I went to the Philippines YEARS ago on a missions trip, we were taught about a certain hand gesture that’s very common here (using your fingers facing up to signal “Come here.”). If I was to use it there, it would be insulting. Knowing that nuance of their culture helped me avoid turning people off.
It seems if we know the mindsets/cultural nuances of the various generations we will be better able to write characters that are realistic to our readers. And yes, I need to do some adjusting of some of my characters.
This is a light bulb moment for me. 🙂
Meghan Carver
Totally off topic, Jeanne, but I’m preparing a presentation to our church about the Philippines since we have missionaries there. It’s exactly that type of information I’d like to include, examples of the details of integration. Thanks for sharing that bit of information!
Jeanne T
Wow, Meghan. How fun. 🙂 For the record. we were taught they point the fingers downward and motion that way for “Come here.” 🙂
Mary Keeley
“It seems if we know the mindsets/cultural nuances of the various generations we will be better able to write characters that are realistic to our readers.” Exactly, Jeanne.
Meghan Carver
What a wonderful opportunity, Mary, to have a Bible professor teach your class! The picture of the Bible brings back many memories. My parents were just before the Boomers, but my mom had that Bible. I remember thumbing through it and then returning to the picture on the front and thinking how happy the people looked.
You make so many good points here, and bring up great thought-provoking questions as we develop characters. A character’s ideas about and their reactions to their culture can make or break a book. I think of Cynthia Ruchti’s When the Morning Glory Blooms and the tension between Becky (mother of a teenager) and her unwed teen daughter who kept her baby. Becky seemed to be reeling at the effect the cultural changes had on her family. Yet the end was sweet as the teenage daughter began to change after seeing those same effects. Anyway, it was a powerful book for me, and I guess I can’t stop babbling about it. 🙂
Mary Keeley
Meghan, I have that same memory of that Bible. (It speaks to the importance of a book’s cover design!) Yes, Cynthia Ruchti’s novel, When the Morning Glory Blooms, is a perfect example of her effectively incorporating that natural tension.
Cynthia Ruchti
Such a good post, Mary. Makes us all think. And that was the idea, wasn’t it?
In When the Morning Glory Blooms, I was constantly challenged to envision how those very elements would affect a scene, and how the timelessness of God’s grace would reveal itself in each era.
A twenty-something young woman I’d met at a woman’s retreat wrote the other day to share that she sometimes sees her generation as hopeless. What a challenge for both fiction and nonfiction authors!
Cynthia Ruchti
Thank you, Meghan! Exploring the cultural differences–and surprising similarities–in those three eras–the 1890s, the 1950s, and the present day–and how culture affected reactions, relationships, faith, shame, guilt, healing, character growth lingers with me still.
And Meghan, your “babbling” is music to my ears!
Jennifer Zarifeh Major
GREAT post today, Mary!!
And doesn’t that Bible cover bring back memories! Especially of camp.I have “it only takes a spark…” going through my head.
My main characters are a Navajo man and a white woman. They fall in love and get married.
Annnnnd there we go. Most people in this day and age see no problem with that, but some do.
I grew up in a multi-ethnic family, and believe me, I’ve heard EVERY stupid question and comment possible. I lost quite a bit of my Anglo family because my mom chose a man of colour to love. By ‘quite a bit’ I mean everyone except my mom and 2 siblings. We did see the cousins and grandparents occasionally, but my mom and new dad NEVER came with us. Hmmm, I wonder why? It could be the litany of insults hurled at my Dad.
My story takes place in the late 1800’s, when marrying outside one’s ethnicity was an abhorrent sinful thing to do. Let alone that one of the couple is Native American.
Well, let me tell you, marrying an Arab in the 1970’s was viewed almost exactly the same.
I can take the heart of my home and transfer that to my MS and take my reader to a lovely, uncomfortable place. Will their heart be changed? Will they see people differently? I hope so.
One line in the book that challenges the heroine because she has to accept that her husband is considered less than human because of his colour is “What do you see?”
I want my readers to ask themselves, when they look around their church or their office, “What do I see? WHO do I see?”
Mary Keeley
Good point, Jennifer. If an author matches values with the characters accurately, they can help readers to gain understanding of how tensions came to be and how to work through them.
Lindsay Harrel
Very interesting information, Mary. Since I’m part of that millennial generation, I’m nodding my head at your assessment of millennials wanting more connection and authenticity. And you know, regarding my parents and in-laws and a lot of my friends’ parents, the explanation of Baby Boomers’ values brings a lot to light for me! I can see how helpful this would be in creating my multidimensional cast of characters. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Mary Keeley
You’re welcome, Lindsay.
Jaime Wright
Awww, my husband’s a Moody Alum. Such a great Sunday School class topic. Wow. And a very poignant blog post!
Mary Keeley
Jaime, the class has been eye-opening. This series is over, but Mike Boyle is coming back to teach another series in two or three months. Maybe more fodder for another blog post…
Cheryl Malandrinos
One of the best training class I ever took in Corporate America was one that taught us how to understand and relate to people in different generations. I spend a fair amount of time around kids these days, selfishly letting our house be the playhouse in the neighborhood so I can observe how tweens act and their interactions with others. I hope that ends up trickling down into my writing.
Mary Keeley
I’m sure it will positively affect the young characters you write about, Cheryl. I like your creative “hothouse” for your research.
Wendy Lawton
Timely for me, Mary. I just read a historical novel set in the late 19th century in which the main character had 21st century values and world view. I found it jarring and pretty hard to swallow.
I think it’s important for authors who write anything other than contemporary fiction to immerse themselves in the time and place, catching the very essence of the milieu.
Gabrielle Meyer
Wendy, I completely agree. There is a fine balance in writing a historical novel that a modern woman can relate to–but at the same time, keeping the historical character deeply rooted in her era. It’s a challenge, for sure. One way I’ve found to immerse myself in the historical time and place is to read books and diaries written during the years I’m recreating.
Mary Keeley
Wendy, I appreciate your example of what happens when the values don’t match the character. Even if the mismatch is not as obvious, I think readers (and agents and editors) can sense something isn’t right and thus are unable to deeply connect with the character.
Andrew Budek-Schmeisser
A lot of food for thought – thanks!
The greatest influence my faith had was through Nevil Shute’s “Round The Bend”. It made me think about many aspects of legalism and ecumenicism.
As a result, none of my major characters are ‘complacent churchgoers’. They’re all looking for the Truth that lies behind the veil that modern Christianity seems to be trying to repair.
I guess complacency doesn’t really like torn fabric, and that may be the most important Truth of all – about ourselves, and about Our Lord.
Mary Keeley
Interesting, Andrew. Are your characters of different generations, each looking for Truth from their age group’s value perspective?
Andrew Budek-Schmeisser
Yes, Mary, that’s generally the case. There’s generally a ‘step’ of one-half to one generation between major characters – and some minor characters are further removed.
I taught at the college level for many years, and saw that as the generations changed, so to did the values and faith bases.
By staying in touch with former students, I’ve also been able to track changes over time, at least to a small degree. It’s interesting – those who were atheists have drifted into agnosticism, and those who were agnostic have, in many cases, swum into Christ’s embrace. I’d love to claim credit for that, but I think it was more experiential than any discipleship or example from me.
Mary Keeley
You were a part of their experience, Andrew.
Jenni Brummett
Mary, I appreciate how this vantage point helps us to hone in on our target audience even more.
If I better understand what is significant to my reader in the context of their values. If I pinpoint what they stand for, and what they won’t put up with. If I discover what hurts they hide, and what they’re willing to disclose, then I’ll be better equipped to showcase faith and hope through my stories.
Mary Keeley
Exactly, Jenni. That’s a good way to go about researching the values of your characters–so you can then “showcase faith and hope” to your readers.
Michelle Lim
Mary, this is such a helpful discussion! Sometimes it is easy to forget the differences in a generation’s mind set. This has given me some great ideas about how to juxtapose the characters in my novels based on age. Thanks for sharing this!
Mary Keeley
So glad it helped, Michelle.
Marilyn Luce Robertson
Mary, thanks for sharing this view into our characters AND our audience. This serves as excellent advice not only in the writing, but in the marketing as well.
Thanks so much!
Mary Keeley
Good point, Marilyn.
Gabrielle Meyer
As a historical writer, and as a student of history, I’ve often noticed the pendulum that swings in each generation. I’ve even noticed it in my own family. In some ways, I think it’s a little harder for a historical author to deal with the shifting culture. We not only have to understand our modern reader’s point of view, but we also have to understand our historical character’s point of view, and then try to find a way to relate the two! Thankfully, as Christians, our culture might change, but the Truth always remains the same.
Mary Keeley
Gabrielle, I agree it’s harder for historical authors to be pinpoint where the pendulum is. It takes conscious effort to become aware of the cultural values of the day and transfer them to the character. A contemporary reader can learn a lot about the time period when this is done effectively.
Susi Robinson Rutz
Another excellent post, Mary. I’m reminded of my School & Society college professor standing at the front of the classroom with arms swinging from side to side like a pendulum as he explained how culture affects the way we teach and train our children. Through the ages, constantly changing cultural ideals shift from the far side of conservative and restrictive to the far side of liberal and permissive, and then back again. I see lots of brainstorming about this concept to inform my future writing.
Mary Keeley
Susi, I like that comparison. Happy brainstorming.
Janet Ann Collins
In the late 1940s and 1950s adults had been through the Industrial Revolution, two World Wars, and the Great Depression. They wanted everything to be safe. But the younger generation found that stifling and rebelled with the Civil Rights movement and many became hippies. Our modern world has been anything but safe with wars, natural disasters, etc. and it will be interesting to see if today’s teens grow up to seek safety like that previous generation did, or just keep escaping into fantasy worlds through video games, etc.
Mary Keeley
Janet, yes it definitely will be interesting to observe where the next generation will settle as far as values are concerned. With real wars and rumors of wars, and those in video games too, perhaps they will tire of it and go full circle to seeking safety. And the pendulum swings…
Kathryn Barker
I am fascinated that the Jesus Movement, in it’s latter years, became more conservative…even in some cases a bit legalistic…hmmm…guess there is truth in the pendulum swinging concept!
Great post Mary…much food for thought…now I need a cuppa tea!
Mary Keeley
Kathryn, I’m with you. Tea (or coffee) is important when thinking.
Peter DeHaan
I love the three bullet points; I think I was born a couple of decades too soon.
Mary Keeley
Peter, I had the same reaction to those bullet points. We think younger than we are.
Kathy Boyd Fellure
Excellent post, Mary. Thank you. This relates directly to my writing.
I am a Baby Boomer that writes to reach Baby Boomers and their children and grandchildren that are lost. I led that Hippie lifestyle and came to Christ at 30. So I can relate.
Never read The Way Bible though. I went from a KJV to NIV and back to a KJV. So many people I grew up with that are now in our later 50’s and 60’s are still searching in all the wrong places and trying any substitute to fill the God void. It breaks my heart.
There is a huge number of walking wounded that still do not want to surrender to the one gospel of Jesus Christ, but the friendly alternatives that offer brief respite but never quench the eternal thirst for the only Savior.
But almost all are avid readers, of books. And if you can write characters that they can relate to, identify with, and desire the hope found in salvation ~ the Boomer generation will rise up to be mighty warriors for Christ, at all costs with the courage to stand alone in the midst of apostasy.
Mary Keeley
Amen, Kathy. You can relate to that generation and you see their futile search. With your God-given gift to write, create characters like them whose journey leads them to “the hope found in salvation. What a blessed privilege that is.
Angela Mills
I had to Google millennial to see if I was one, because I so identify with your 3 points, but looks like I missed it by a few years 🙂
Seriously, though, this post sparked an idea for my lead character, thank you!
Mary Keeley
You’re welcome, Angela.
lisa
This is so interesting and a great topic. I remember seeing that copy of the Bible. In every generation we seem to hold onto really positive aspects of faith that we want to replicate. On the flip side challenges and weaknesses that should not be held too closely.
Voni Harris
Interesting. My WIP is about the effects of a parents’ secrets on a Millenial kid in his 30s. As for myself, with a birthday in ’66, I am smack between Baby boomers and Gen X. In some definitions, I am in the last year of Baby Boomers, and in others, the last 5 years or so of the Baby Boomers. In still others, I’m in the first few of Gen X. But I can’t really relate to either as a group. All that aside, it is important to understand trends when you’re trying to understand audience. Thanks! blessings, Voni
Andrew Gilmore
So would you say, when writing a non-fiction book, it is important to focus the content toward one generation only? Is it folly to try to speak to, say, Millennials and Gen X-ers in the same book?
Mary Keeley
Andrew, not necessarily, if you are writing on a broad topic of interest. There is overlap from Millennials through Gen Y-ers and Gen X-ers. But it would be wise to research where these groups’ values differ as it applies to your book.
donnie nelson
I truly believe, with the holy spirit as your muse, any writer can
develop transparent characters and tell uplifting stories, using 21st Century tools, that will change the lives of children around the world.
Marci Seither
One of the first Mount Hermon tracks I took was with Roger Palms, who talked about the importance of this issue and understanding not only how different generations processed information, but what they valued.
Knowing who your audience is and how to best communicate with them is crucial. This is also very important information to keep in mind when it come to marketing.
Thanks so much for sharing this post. Great topic!
Lynn Hare
Mary, this blog post helps us reframe generational dynamics. As a Baby Boomer who’s raised three Milennials. I think the pendulum swing is definitely moving in the direction of relational & transparent interactions, and, as you said, away from legalism. My readers as experiencing the same things with their families. Thanks for this blog post – you always pick great topics.