The Limits of Creativity in Christian Writing, by Jim Swanson

As Christian writers, it is important for us to realize that the world is saying through its fiction that there are no limits. "The only limits on your life are in your mind," they tell us. But this is not true.

First, fiction in literature may not seem to have limits but if it doesn't sell, then it won't be published. Thus what people want determines limits based on what the public will buy. The bottom line is the dollar.

Second, a person could experiment with a new form of writing, a new way to express an idea. But if the new form doesn't communicate, then it is worthless. We must write in a way that gets the message across to the readers. To do this, we are bound by grammar rules, spelling, and syntax.

What is creativity? "Creativity is a fresh way to rearrange what is already here according to God's principles." Only God can create out of nothing. We must work with what He has already made. To gain permission to work with His creation, we must submit to the limits God places on creativity. He did this through His laws and through His example. Take, for instance, the human body. Though all of us are basically the same, yet within that uniformity is vast diversity. With ten billion different possibilities for fingerprints, for example, we see diversity within the uniformity of having a gripping texture on our skin. We see infinite variety within the limits of His design. God seems to be saying, "Yes, use the imagination I have given you to convey a message, but be sure it conforms to what I have already established as true."