Monday, April 30, 2012

Considering changing

In 2000, I began having the desire to write a book. I had no idea what & at the time I was quite taken with fiction. I got no enjoyment what-so-ever from non-fiction. I read...or didn't actually read...enough non-fiction with all my college classes. What a waste. So boring. Non-fiction lacked any creativity. Did I also mention I was a tree-hugger & had liberal leanings at this time of life? ;)

I had always hated writing, despite actually being not terrible at it. I actually enjoyed & won an award in journalism in high school. The educational system has many different formats of writing composition. They incarcerate you into a form of writing that stifles creativity, is not fun at all, & even less fun to read. It is unnatural & boring. I think that's why I enjoyed journalism writing...it's a little more free & moldable. 

In college, I would write short stories in my free time. No teachers telling me I had to write a certain way, no chance of anyone grading my work, I just wrote as if I was talking. It was liberating & so much fun.

Fast forward several years & now I rarely read fiction. In fact the last fiction book I read was probably 5 or so years ago. I read lots of non-fiction now. I have always loved research & that is what I do a lot of. For several years I have been toying with the idea of writing a non-fiction book. I have been feeling the desire more strongly over the last few months. And I think I'm ready to get serious & really start my research.

My original idea was to write a comparative religions book that would be lay person friendly & could easily be used in a small groups, homeschool, or Christian school setting. And I still really want to do that but when I think about how I want to do that, I realize how little most Christians even know about their own religion. Christians are probably more ignorant of their own religion's theology & doctrines than any other religious group. I have many reasons I think this has happened but I don't want to get into them now...maybe the intro to the book. ;) So, I have decided that I should probably start with my first book being a simple overview of basic Christian theology & doctrine. I may add on comparison study of some of the major denominations within Christianity if space allows. And then, once I've learned from all my mistakes, then make my second book a comparative religions book. 

Anthony has suggested I publish them through iBooks. Not a bad idea...especially for a new author who doesn't have any experience. However, there is something about having a physical book to sit on your book shelf. I may publish it through iBooks & take any criticism & fix any issues & then publish it through a publishing house. Anyway, those are things to face along the way & not to worry about now.

I want to do this/these books right. I want to make sure that I have my facts straight. So...I have lots of studying & research to do. To practice at how I want the chapters & topics to go, I am considering creating a new blog just for my writing. What do you think? I like this blog but it was really created at a different point in my life & the title wouldn't really go with my intentions with these posts. So, any thoughts?

If I do create a new one, any suggestions as to what I should call it?