Differences Between Inspirational Fiction and Christian Fiction

While researching agents and publishers for my books, I discovered two rather different but related genres – inspirational fiction and Christian fiction.  I thought they were one and the same; they are not.  Here is what Wikipedia describes as inspirational fiction:

“Inspirational writing includes a personal philosophy that attempts to persuade the reader to incorporate into his or her own life. The writer of a piece of inspirational writing draws upon personal experiences of his own or of others. The desired result strives to benefit the reader emotionally, physically and spiritually. . .Well-done pieces rely upon honest expression that creates an emotional impact without being preachy.”

                This means that any writing which causes change in the characters or the reader  – either physically or emotionally – is inspirational. 

Christian fiction has a strong sense of Biblical truths.  It is written by and for Christians with clear Christian themes.  In other words, the motivation for change in the lives of the characters in this type of novel is based upon Biblical truths rather than morals stated plainly throughout the story.

There are many subgenres in both inspirational and Christian fiction, most notably is the romance.  However, there are many others such as mystery, historical romance, suspense, western (although this generally falls under historic depending on the time period of the story), and several others.  This is by no means an exhaustive list or a profound explanation, but someone asked for some information and I thought others might have the same question.

Happy Writing!

Christine