There’s something deeply satisfying about a story worth chewing on. As much as we appreciate a great story’s offer of an escape, we also hunger for meaning to follow us back into real life and transform the way we see the world.

The problem is, communicating meaning requires labor—and the reader isn’t exempt. If a storyteller simply spoon-feeds us a message without making us work for it, it’ll be much less likely to stick in our hearts, let alone our memories.

In order to truly own a story’s meaning, we need to be pushed to confront difficult questions ourselves. A well-told story will point us to a thematic destination, and while it will offer help and guidance, it won’t carry us.

But as authors, how do we give our readers the tools to wrestle through to their own conclusions?

A Study of Shattered Spells by Josiah Degraaf is an excellent example of how to do this well.

This book thoughtfully (and sensitively) engages with difficult questions about how to respond to abusive people and protect others from them. It’s the kind of story that begs for moral answers as much as it does the resolution of the plot.

However, it doesn’t rush to offer quick relief from the tension—it takes its time, allowing readers the space to process the options. Where it would be easy to settle for a simplistic answer, this book refuses to allow its protagonist the excuse of an easy way out.

As a writing instructor, Josiah has spent many years helping Christian authors build meaning into their stories. As an author, he offers a powerful demonstration of the thematic techniques he teaches. In this series, we’ll look at three of the strategies he uses to make his readers think:

⚡Creating impossible dilemmas.

⚡Experimenting with potential answers through characters’ choices.

⚡Developing opposing characters worth arguing with.

Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be exploring these techniques in detail. On Monday, I’ll be back with a post on how to create impossible dilemmas for your characters (and readers) to wrestle through.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear your thoughts! What is a story that has challenged you to think more deeply?