My Why I Write will differ from other authors. But I will relate my story in the hopes it connects with you and inspires you to pursue your own journey.
My First Why I Write
My very first why began as a child which I will get to in a moment, but my first why I write in importance began as a Christian. It didn’t occur until I had been a Christian for quite a while and had experienced many failures as a writer.
It began during my morning devotions. Sitting at my desk in the upstairs office, I was reading Genesis chapter 6:13-116 KJV.
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
14Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
As I read those words it suddenly hit me that God was giving Noah a description that Noah, a farmer, would only understand in general. He would have needed someone who understood the terminology and the plan or ‘blueprint’. Thus began the concept for Refuge: The Genesis Chronicles.
This story not only became my first published work, but it became the foundation of a later series of books that began with Perished: The World That Was. More importantly, it immediately became my Call to write. God called me to write Christian fiction and gave me the plot right out of His Word!
My Original Reason
I referred to this earlier. As a child I loved to read. I had a child’s imagination which I have never outgrown. I would watch television shows that showed men running and flying through the air using a fuel tank strapped to his back. I watch this man and others fight evil in outer space, and my imagination was fired up.
As an adult I tried to learn the art of putting my imagination on paper, but I continually failed. I tell people I enrolled in the School of Hard Knocks to learn the craft. But one never intentionally enrolls. This is a school with no campus, no buildings, no teaching staff, no curriculum, and no possibility of properly learning how to write. Enrollment is by default.
For years I struggled to learn the craft and I would run into that proverbial wall, usually around chapter five and I would stop. The story I was writing would end up in the nearest trash can.
The Lord’s Training
Once I had received God’s call to write, He then began my training. The first lesson? Getting rid of most of which I had learned in the School of Hard Knocks. That was a painful yet important lesson.
Then He took me through the research for the book, the putting the book together, His taking me through the wall, and finally choosing a publisher. God allowed me to research agents, experiencing rejection, and finally seeking a publisher on my own.
But He wasn’t done. He then allowed me to experience the success and failure of Self-Publishing before He introduced me to becoming an Indie Author and later an Indie Publisher.
My Why I Write Needed a Coach
During the training I realized I needed a coach. But finding a coach can be expensive and it must be someone you can trust. It wasn’t until I joined a writer’s group that I met the man who would become my coach.
You might ask what did he teach me about writing? Nothing. I already had the writing concepts down, but where I needed a coach was in areas such as marketing myself as well as my books. To believe that if God called me, He also equipped me. And if He equipped me, He also empowered me. It wasn’t easy, but I learned.
You Now Have Heard Why I Write. What about you?
Take time and evaluate your why. It will help you understand your own motivation and provide insights that can help you both as an author and a marketer. It just might have a mighty, inspiring, and purposeful impact on your writing journey!
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R. Frederick Riddle is an author, teacher, publisher, and the owner of T&R Independent Books. The website is at Home – T&R Independent Bookstore (trbookservices.com). You can learn more about R. Frederick Riddle and T&R Independent Books at Facebook, and at LinkedIn.
