When my agent and I sat down to discuss my debut novel, Wish You Were Here, she gave me a lot of specific feedback to improve the manuscript. One thing she said surprised me:

The spiritual aspect of the novel is weak. You either need to strengthen it or remove it completely and we’ll pitch the book to the general market.

Wish You Were Here was an inspirational contemporary romance – and yet the spiritual thread was almost non-existent. Why? I was:

1. a novice novelist.
2. so nervous about writing a heavy-handed “we now interrupt your regularly scheduled reading” spiritual message I skimmed over the spiritual truths.

What: As the author, you decide what kind of spiritual journey your main character is on. A character’s spiritual journey involves what they believe about God when the story begins – and how their belief changes as the story progresses. In My Book Therapy, we recommend discovering a specific event – a Dark Moment in your character’s past – that shapes who your main character is and, consequently, affects their relationships with others and with God.

Why: Every author, whether they are writing for the general market or the Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) market, weaves the truths they believe into their novels. As a Christian, I present a biblical worldview in my contemporary romance novels – and I try to do that in a natural way that flows with the story, instead of slowing it down.

Here are a few tips to help you develop your main character’s spiritual journey:

1. Know the Lie your character believes. To do this, you need to know the Dark Moment of their past that shaped who they are and how they interact with others and with God.
2. Write a scene early in your book that confirms this Lie in your character’s life. Your character thinks she’s the one who’s never been picked all her life? Prove it. Have her younger sister get engaged. (I did this in my novel Catch a Falling Star.)
3. Bring Voices of Truth into your character’s life. They believe a Lie about themselves and/or God, so create someone who knows the Truth – and tells them. Maybe a neighbor or a co-worker.
4. Throughout the rest of the book you must:
   1. Allow your character to realize the Lie they believe
   2. Give them a chance to try to overcome the Lie
   3. Face their Black Moment – where once again the Lie seems true
   4. Achieve their Happily Ever After where they embrace the Truth about who they really are and about who God is

Consider the manuscript you’re working on: Have you developed the spiritual journey for your hero and heroine?