In talking to many folks about Healing Hereafter, I often hear, “I could never write a book; I wouldn’t even know where to start!” Looking back to the beginning of this project, I realize both how clueless I was when I started and how much I’ve learned about the process to make it so comfortable now. To give hope to those of you who have important things to write to the masses (and you all do!) and to have some fun sharing the craziness of one (already crazy) author’s own experience, gather ’round for the next few weeks as I and my family share what it’s like to write a book!
From everything I’ve read and from my own experience, you gotta start by both having and specifically knowing the reason for writing. My inspiration? Money. OK, just kidding. I actually had both long-term and sudden impeti (sp?) that became Wonder Twin Powers to activate my book. For at least 11 years now, I’ve worked with students and adults in contexts that generate many good, tough questions about the Christian faith. So I began writing biblical and (what I felt to be) rational answers to benefit them, me, and any future folk who’d ponder such things. Eventually, I had about 100 of these bad boys (or bad girls to avoid being sexist!) loafing on my computer, and together they were becoming a more complete work…but still loafing.
Then BAM! A random e-mail from a buddy asking me what I thought about a popular book a few years back. I read it, and pretty much everyone’s reaction to it seemed to be God setting a fire in my heart to combine all I had learned into a comprehensive and coherent whole. Never looked back once; not sure I would have been able to anyway. These inspirational impeti (I’m just gonna go with it) have powered me all the way to this period. How did they actually get the pencil to the page? Well, that’s for next time…:)
