by Peter Leavell, @PeterLeavell
My advice is often repeated back to me. Well, the bad advice is, anyway.
“Switch genres.” What, I said that?
“Try to sell your book on preaching sermons to the general market.” Was that really me?
“Good grammar sells books.” No WAY! Did those words come from my mouth?
“Don’t write what people want to read, write what’s in your heart.” Um, I’ve since learned that, as Dr. Frank Luntz has so wisely demonstrated, “It’s not what you say, it’s what people hear” that matters.
I try not to agonize over the people who have run with my advice and achieved my personal level of mediocrity. Yet I do. So, how to fix the problem?
Let’s start with the cake. Coffee cake is a delicacy. And it only tastes good if the ingredients are true and good, well measured, and combined with perfection.
You are a sapient coffee cake made up of ingredients. You make yourself. You must put in good things, measure correctly, and bake yourself at the right temperature.
Philippians 4:8 offers a list of ingredients:
“Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” (KJV)
With a list of ingredients to find, the best place to find them is a search in Theology, a study of history, a constant read of literature, some deep reflection on philosophy, and a skim through the maths and sciences. Don’t forget a good washup with your experiences. Bake until cooked through.
Soon, when you are pulled from the oven by Him, the surefire cockiness of your advice will lose its edge, and you’ll find yourself listening to people and discussing with them, rather than firing off bad advice at them.
As a writer, people listen to you. You can be a cannon who lobs cylinders of destruction, or you can offer a mixture of measured ingredients that is sweet and savory all at once. Yes, it sounds strange, but you, my coffee cake friend, can be the writer God intended you to be. Look for good things as you study how you should live and offer good counsel with mentorship and in your work. Blessings!
Philip Anderson keeps his past close to the vest. Haunted by the murder of his parents as they traveled West in their covered wagon, his many unanswered questions about that night still torment him.
His only desire is to live quietly on his homestead and raise horses. He meets Anna, a beautiful young woman with secrets of her own. Falling in love was not part of his plan. Can Philip tell her how he feels before it’s too late?
With Anna a pawn in the corrupt schemes brewing in the nearby Dakota town, Philip is forced to become a reluctant gunslinger. Will Philip’s uncannily trained horses and unsurpassed sharpshooting skills help him free Anna and find out what really happened to his family in the wilderness?
Peter Leavell, a 2007/2020 graduate of Boise State University with a degree in history and a MA in English Literature, was the 2011 winner of Christian Writers Guild’s Operation First Novel contest, and 2013 Christian Retailing’s Best award for First-Time Author, along with multiple other awards. An author, blogger, teacher, ghostwriter, jogger, biker, husband and father, Peter and his family live in Boise, Idaho. Learn more about Peter’s books, research, and family adventures at www.peterleavell.com