How I became a writer Part XV

Title: How I became a writer

Part XV

As the pastor of Austinburg Baptist Church I have been tempted to quit three times.  The first time was during my third year when I thought I wasn’t cut out to be a pastor.  I cried out to the Lord on vacation and boy did he answer:)  BUT that is a story for another day.  The next time was about year nine, when I was discouraged with how things were going.  The worst was about year twelve or maybe thirteen.  I WAS leaving the church for sure and told my wife so.  I didn’t say a word to anyone at church about it at the time because I don’t believe in holding people emotionally hostage.  Pastors that tell their people they are considering quitting or close to quitting are making a foolish mistake, in my humble opinion.  I was very serious about quitting, though, and didn’t think anything would change my mind.  God was quiet about it, so I began to plan for when and how the resignation would happen.  I’m not a fan of secretly approaching other churches as a candidate when you haven’t resigned.  So as scary as it was, I was going to tell my church before I put my name out there. 

Gail had a pastor friend come and talk with me.  I wasn’t thrilled but I respected him as a person.  I warned him that my mind was made up but he could talk to me if he wanted to.  He did and the power of the Holy Spirit came through his words hitting me like only God can.  Nothing changed except for me...I knew for 100% that it was NOT God’s will that I leave!  When Mother’s Day hits I will be starting my 20^th year as a pastor at Austinburg Baptist.  I’m glad I didn’t leave and at a different time I was able to return the favor to that godly pastor.  Oh, he wasn’t thinking about quitting, but he did have a blow in the wider field of his ministry (not his local church).  I was able to encourage him at that horrible point and sometimes a little encouragement goes a long way:)  He too still pastors the same church and is doing a wonderful job!!

I was at that “quit point” in my journey as a writer.  I had no official “call” to writing as I did in the ministry... all I had was this intense desire to write.  It was like an compulsion... an addiction very similar to an alcoholic.  No matter how much time I had off, when I started writing again the need flowed back, as if I never stopped.  I didn’t understand it.

The Bible says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him,” and so I asked God what this was all about.  He was quiet at first so I considered something radical... what if I actually read books on how to write?  Are you smiling at me?  Well, I deserve it:)  I should have done that years before but better late than never, right?  Sometimes God will not do things for you that you can do for yourself.  Down to Steele Memorial Library I went and walked the long aisles until I reached the “how to write a novel” area.  There were so many choices, which one should I study first?  As the Lord would have it, I came across “Writing Popular Fiction” by Dean R Koontz.  I was a big Koontz fan back then (“Lightning” was an amazing book!), so I checked it out.  I was not disappointed!  Koontz gave me a Masters level course in understanding genre but explained it simply enough for a high school class room!  Why does it matter if you understand genre?  Oh, it was far more important than I realized or have space to talk about here!!

I was blessed to pull it first and I think God was behind that.  “Oh, come on!” you groan.  “You can’t mean that.”  Yes, I can:)  First, a few years later, I wanted to read Koontz’s book again and found out it was gone from the library.  Since it was written in the early 70s I’ll bet it was discarded or sold at the annual book sale.  Second, it was written by a professional author, who earlier in his professional writing career, went to whatever genre was selling under different pseudonyms!  I’m sorry but that takes some serious talent and a intimate knowledge of what makes genre’s work.  This is illustrated in the following passage from his book.  “In my third year as a freelance writer, the science fiction market temporarily dried up, due to editorial overstocking at several houses with the largest monthly science fiction lists.  Since I was selling far more science fiction than anything else, I was caught in the pinch.  I was learning the suspense form, but had not yet had great success with it, and I was several years away from writing the big, serious novels I’m now concentrating on.  I needed new markets, fast.  The previous year, I’d dabbled in erotic novels, as a sideline, but I did not feel like returning to that category and, besides, it was not flourishing as it once had.  What to do?  For a year, an editor friend had been urging me to try a Gothic novel since the form is perennially one of the most popular in the paperback field.  I declined, principally because I didn’t think I could write believably from a woman’s viewpoint, but also because I did not like Gothic novels.  I felt they were so formulized as to be mirror images of one another, and I didn’t see how I could write in a field for which I had no respect.  When the science fiction market remained tight, however, I finally tried my hand at a Gothic.  I finished the book in two weeks, attached a female by-line (half the Gothics published today are written by men, but the by-line must always be female), and mailed it off.  The editor read it, made a few suggestions, and bought it for $1, 500.  That’s $750 a week; not a fortune, but a pleasant enough income to make it worth most any genre writer’s time.  Three months later, I wrote my second Gothic, again in TWO WEEKS (emphasis mine), and received a $1, 750 advance.  My third Gothic, a few months later, took me ONE WEEK from the first page to the last and earned another $1, 750 check.  Within a single year, taking only five weeks away from my serious work, I made $5, 000 from my Gothics, enough to relieve immediate financial problems and let me get on with my more important work.”  What a writer!!  (Remember that was a lot more money when he was writing!)

Koontz explained not only how the genre worked, but also different popular plot lines in the genre and some basics on how to write them.  He also went over heroes and gave examples of different kinds of them in different genres.  Koontz also pointed out the strengths and weaknesses of the genres and major pitfalls to be careful of.  Occasionally he would also give small but brilliant writing tips.  This wasn’t an academic in the classroom but someone who had worked in the business and actually lived off his writing before he became a success!  His book was brilliant and I learned so much about writing from it!  It was a great first step!

“Writing Popular Fiction,” Dean R Koontz, second printing, @ 1974.