OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
This is a guest post from Jeff Bennington, author of Reunion, a supernatural thriller.
Like many people, I’ve had multiple occupations in my life, scrounging through positions like a dumpster-diver, digging for the secret to my soul. I’d go to work and think about writing a book some day. Then a few years later, I’d think about it again. Sometimes I felt inspired to write a few songs or poems, but determined that I had experienced a chemical imbalance, melancholy blues, or lack of vitamin D. That was probably an accurate diagnosis, but the point is, I never noticed the red flags flying, waving, snapping their thunderous threads, clapping for my attention.
The red flags had a message. And if you could have analyzed my life, and examined the evidence, you might have noticed that I was on the wrong track.
I didn’t see it. I was too busy with my fledgling attempts at success to hear the call. I had strapped on a pair of fulfillment-blinders and kept my gaze firmly fixed on that which left me passionless. I was spiritually self-medicating on a false perception of what life was meant to be and who I was. I didn’t know I was a writer. I didn’t know, although I suspected, that God had gifted me in that area. Yet I had never experienced the level of satisfaction one gets when transposing his thoughts and dreams into a full-length novel.
Oh sure, I enjoyed writing college papers and telling my kids absorbing bedtime stories, but that was different. That was business. That was just being a dad.
That was my ignorance.
I was clueless about what it meant to be a writer until sometime in 2007’ish. I’ll save you the gory details about what I’ve penned since then, because at this point, only three of those works are even worthy of discussion. However, I will tell you this; my literary reviews cover the full gamut, “This is the best thing since spring water!” and “Poor writing skills⎯One Star⎯YOU SUCK!”
Most writers can relate to the pain and joys of writing, a craft that can never be perfected, at least not in the eyes of the author. The way I see it, the craft of writing requires diligent study, loads of reading, thick skin, saint-like humility, and a consistent routine. But there is one secret that the master-craftsmen never reveal. It’s a secret that’s been kept in literary vaults since Moses locked the Ten Commandments into the Arc of the Covenant.
What’s the secret?
The secret of an aspiring author is that writing, as in good writing, has nothing to do with money, it has nothing to do with an author platform, snagging an agent or getting that elusive contract. The secret every would-be, aspiring, want-to-make-it-someday author needs to know is simple; if you don’t love it, if you don’t drink literature by the gallons, if you can’t enjoy sitting still, dreaming, rewriting, plotting, taking criticism, breathing life into a new character and feeling absolutely passionate about your words and what they mean to no one else but yourself⎯you will never know how excellent you can be.
In my opinion, writing has less to do with the skill of carving stories out of words, and more to do with the love of the sculpture, including the pieces of stone that crumble to the ground.
Go to www.JeffBennington.com to learn more about my new book REUNION and my blog tour. REUNION is available on April 15th.
“David Ray killed eight students and then turned the gun on himself. He thought the shooting and suicide would fix his world. It didn't. The massacre threw Tanner Khan and the other survivors into chaos.”
Image (top) : Flickr CC secret passageway by stuck in customs
aobibliophile™ says
hi Creative Penn! hi Jeff! stopping by to show my support for the tour and to my buddy bloggers who are participating. c”,)
Jeff Bennington says
Hi AO. Hi Joanna. It’s a great day to be a writer and I hope I’ll inspire a few today with this post. I know from experience that writing has its ups and downs. Sometimes we just need someone to pump us up!
Steve C Thomas says
Hey Jeff! Just came over from twitter to check out your post. I like what you have to say about writing for your own pleasure and satisfaction.
I think some of those thing you mentioned that aren’t important, are, but you are right about the fact that if it ain’t right for you, then it ain’t right for anyone. (Phew! Run-on sentence or what?)
Tell your stories man. Make your own eyes light up and then the eyes of everyone else!
Jeff Bennington says
Hi Steve,
Thanks for dropping by and for your encouragement. I agree that there is a business side to writing, and that time is valuable. Sometimes we have to decide what we spend on our time on in relation to what we get back. You make an excellent point though, “if it ain’t right for you, it ain’t right for anyone.”
LJ says
Very well said. I felt every bit of this post to my core.
Jeff Bennington says
Oh, LJ. You just made my day! Write on!
Jim Crigler says
Jeff:
Thanks for that. It expresses just what has happened to me in writing.
Sarah Allen says
This is great 🙂 Very needed right now, and so true. The passion has to fuel you.
Sarah Allen
(my creative writing blog)
Jeff Bennington says
Hi Jim and Sarah,
Thank you both for dropping by. I’m glad I could be an encouragement. So grateful for the computer age…sites like Joanna’s keeps me from being isolated and feeds my motivation on a regular basis.
Brenda Wallace says
Don’t remember who asked this at a writing conference, but the question was “Why do you write?” The bottom line answer they gave was “Because I must.”
Lovelyn says
If you don’t have the passion to write you won’t be successful as a writer. Becoming a successful author is hard work and you have to deal with a lot of rejection. People you don’t feel like they have to write are more likely to give up.
Thanks for the great post, Jeff.
Sheilagh Lee says
so true Jeff you have to love it and the craft itself. Wonderful interview Jeff.Exceptional novel too. I loved it.
Memoirs of a Single Dad says
I think I’m able to tell books that were written for passion vs. books that were written for purpose. Not that purpose-written books are bad – they’re just not the same. It’s like reading a text book. Text books are very utilitarian but not often ‘great reads’. Great points in this article; thanks for posting!
Jeff Bennington says
I can tell a difference in my writing when I’m doing it out of passion vs purpose. You are spot on, Memories. Thanks for visiting Brenda, Sheilagh, and Lovelyn!
Newbie Author says
Jeff,
My trek to find the author within is similar. For years, I suppressed my creative side while I pursued a business career. A few years ago, my personal creativity burst its cage and now preoccupies my thoughts, all-day, every day.
My business obligations still demand most of my time. I dream of the day I can quit my day job and dedicate my time to writing. For now, I simply find pure joy in those moments when I can immerse myself in my writing.
Jeff Bennington says
Hi Newbie,
I’m excited for you. In my opinion, the government should mandate a test to determine if each individual leans toward his or her left or right brain. Then, they should slant the students education in that direction, presenting many options that the child can choose from that match their particular bent. What do you think? That way the creative kids will grow up in an invironment that completes who they are and drives them to succeed in something they love….and the same goes with the left brainers.
Newbie Author says
Jeff,
I like your test idea. It reminds me of a test I took in high school to help select a career path. My score for ‘Adventure’ was off the charts, like 97 percentile. My profile didn’t match any of their canned career paths. That didn’t matter because, I was determined to chart my own path.
But with your idea, I would have at least been immersed in education that matched my interest.
Kimber Dunn says
I’m familiar with this internal fight as well. So many times I wish I could sit down and type out all the feelings, thoughts and ideas floating around my head, but my busy hectic life interferes and leaves me overloaded with no time to release the words within. I too dream of the days I’ll be free to sit beachside or in a park, fingers clicking away on the laptop a project that isn’t work.
Gef says
A good point about the act of sculpting the story. While it might be nice to get the story perfect on that first draft, I’m not sure I’d even bother with the craft if it was that easy.