I recently was invited along with seven other authors to answer some questions for an upcoming article that will appear in
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. The article, geared for teens, tackles the
 |
Me wearing my granddaughter's
sunglasses
at a Bar-b-q restaurant |
age-old question, "So, you want to be a Writer?" Once the article appears, I will post the link below. In the meantime, I thought it would be good for you, my readers, and the teen readers of this article to see my full responses to the questions asked.
When did you know you wanted to be
a writer?
It really kind of grew
into a passion. There really wasn’t one “Aha!” moment. No shooting star,
skywriting finger of God, message in a bottle, nothing like that. I just
started getting ideas, and the urge to get them down on paper would not
relinquish.
What is your educational
background?
I have a B.A. from
Houghton College (Houghton, NY) in Bible, with a minor in theology. I have an
M.A. in Christian Studies from Wesley Biblical Seminary (Jackson, MS), and an
M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from National-Louis University (Wheeling, IL).
I also have taken several courses from the School of Hard Knocks. J
How long did you write before you
considered yourself professional?
I still feel that’s an
ongoing pursuit. My friends and fellow writers probably see me as a
professional, now with five books published, three more on the way and
contracted, and a literary agent. However, there is always room to grow, learn,
and gain perspective on your own writing, for you’re never quite as good as you
think you are.
What were some of the milestones
on the way?
I currently have Book 4 of
my Blake Meyer Thriller Series available in pre-order! It releases April 25. I
also have the last two books of the series and another standalone novel
contracted. All three will be out between Dec. 2019 and the fall of 2020. I
have also submitted the first two novels I wrote (The Serpent’s Grasp & 30
Days Hath Revenge) to contests, because I wanted to see how my writing
measured up. The Serpent’s Grasp was
my debut novel, and it won the 2013 Selah Award at the Blue Ridge Mountains
Christian Writers Conference for First Fiction. My second novel (30 Days) was a Silver Medalist in the
2013 Reader’s Favorite competition in the Christian Fiction category. So, with
that success, I’m planning on submitting my standalone novel, The Letters, to any and every Christian
contest out there when it comes out in January 2020.
What is the most rewarding?
Most rewarding? To see my
grandchildren take an interest in reading and writing because “Papa T” is an
author. That’s better than any review I could receive, although good reviews are
like the dessert!
What advice do you have for a high
school student who is considering a career in writing?
Pay very close attention
in English class. As an assistant principal in a high school, I know what I’m
talking about. The writer’s tools are words. His nailing, her sawing becomes
the sentence. The sentences are pieced together to make a structure we call
story. However, the story is the blueprint, from which all the other parts are
derived. So, listen to your English teachers. Learn the language. Subjects.
Verbs. Strong verbs. Weak verbs. Direct and indirect objects. All those things
that cause your classmates’ eyes to glaze over are the diamonds, the pearls,
for a budding writer. Then, pay attention in your other classes, too, for you
never know what bit of information from a science class or a history lesson may
spark something in your imagination that causes a story to emerge.
Please give a brief statement of
the kind of writing you do and who you write for.
I write suspense
thrillers. The Serpent’s Grasp is a Jurassic Park meets Jaws kind of book. The Blake Meyer Series is for those who love
the TV show 24 with Jack Bauer. Yet,
my upcoming book, The Letters, is set at Christmas, and has been called “A Christmas Carol-esque” by some readers
with a strong, redemptive message. As for who I write for, I write
for everybody. But mostly, I write for me. It’s what I love to do. Some people
like gardening. Others like fishing. I like writing.
Until next time!
Kevin
Robin Patchen beat me to it. I was going to write a post that would have been eerily similar to hers, so I’ll refrain from stirring those roiling waters of writing for yourself versus writing for your readers again. (You can read her post here…after you’re finished with mine, of course!)
