It happened again the other day. I’ve lost count of how many times that makes. It starts out the same. “Hey how are you? What’s new?” they ask me.
Here it comes, I think to myself. Even when I mention I’ve written two books and published one, as casually as possible, I get the same reaction.
“You wrote a book?” they say with both astonishment and fear.
I can’t really blame them, especially the people who’ve known me for many years.
Please allow me to explain. My journey to writing is much different than other authors I know.
I was the kid who rarely did his homework and almost never studied. Although I was a voracious reader and loved to learn new things, after high school, the last thing I wanted was more school. I’ve always had a passion for everything fitness related. I spent a year earning my personal fitness trainer’s license from the International Sports Sciences Association. At the time I got my license, the ISSA was the number one certification in the world. As a personal trainer, I enjoyed helping others become healthier and feel better about themselves at the same time. During the next few years, I worked with and consulted people from all walks of life. I trained military personnel, police officers, fitness and strongman competitors, high school athletes, as well as housewives and everyday people, just wanting to improve their health and lose a few pounds.
It was rewarding work which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Through the years, I worked as a gym employee and as an independent contractor, renting space at gyms in order to train my clients. However, in a small town, it was difficult to earn a good living from training alone. I always had another job on the side to supplement my income. Personal training and fitness consulting would be the first of many career paths I would pursue in the following years. Eventually, my side jobs turned into careers which earned me much more than training could.
A few years ago, like many others, I found myself working in a day-to-day job that I did not enjoy and couldn’t imagine doing for the rest of my life. I felt I was at a crossroads and had to decide if I should finally take a leap and further my education, try a different field of work or just stick it out at my current job, which paid okay and had a great benefit package. Very important when you have four children.
After months on my knees, seeking guidance, the idea to write a book came into my mind. Write a book?! I was sure I’d received an answer to someone else’s prayer. But the idea wouldn’t go away. With a background in fitness and years of training under my belt, I assumed if I were going to write a book, it would be a non-fiction book on personal health, nutrition or exercise. I started to collect ideas.
Eventually I began writing a book which would help an individual select a good personal trainer. The book would also be a “how to” manual for trainers. As I began to follow what I believe to be heavenly instructions, I had an uneasy feeling. Writing a fitness book just didn’t feel right.
Now even more confused, I once again prayed for guidance. It didn’t take long before the feeling hit me that I should write a novel. A novel!? Imagine my surprise.
Well, really it was shock and disbelief. I had NEVER written ANYTHING creative in my life! No short stories or poetry. I’d never jotted down an idea for a story, or documented a dream like a few authors I know have. Nothing! The urge or desire to write anything had never even entered my mind.
Yet, the urgency I felt to write would not subside. Eventually, the idea began to almost haunt me, and I began to feel as though I had to write. Going to a job I strongly disliked each and every day, only added to the desire to change my situation.
One night at well past midnight, when everyone else in the house was fast asleep, I snuck out of bed and sat down at my kitchen table. Resigned to the idea that I’d at least try to write a story that made some kind of sense, I found a yellow notepad and began to write.
I made up my mind. If I was going to write a novel, it would have to be a great book. I know this may seem like a silly thing to decide, but I still wrote it down as my first goal in this new adventure. Other goals on my list included the fact that it would have to be unique, unpredictable, and real. I hate it when characters react to real-life situations by doing something unbelievable or far-fetched. I also determined it would need to be fast paced, have characters which were both likeable and relatable, a story that would keep readers guessing until the very end, and would--at some point--make them want to throw the book across the room. Let me clarify that last one.
My favorite author, Matthew Reilly, is the master at messing with his readers, like when he kills off a favorite character, for example, then later on, you find out that the character is not dead. You think “Oh, that #&*@$, he did it to me again!” I love that!!
After I made my goal list, I sat there for a long time. It occurred to me that I’d set a goal to write a “good” book without having any idea what my story would even be about. I wanted to write an unpredictable and unique story, but what the heck was it about? I had no clue.
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