Author Crush Month: Brad Zockoll

When I contacted Brad about writing with us this month, I joked that he wrote more in one month than I did all year. Only, I wasn’t really joking. He is a powerhouse when it comes to output. He’s always got some new idea, some new project on the go. He’s constantly on the lookout for a new opportunity, and that is why he is my author crush this week.

The words “writing” and “routine” don’t seem to work alongside one another in my little universe.  I find almost nothing routine in my efforts to pen a novel or an article – I’ve been classified as A.D.D. since college, and rather than fight it, I let it work for me.  Hey, you go with what works for you, right?

I’ve been churning out various works for about fifteen years now, and the funny thing is, whenever I’m introduced to someone as a writer, I get tongue-tied. They’ll usually ask me what I write, and that’s when it gets foggy. You see, I write at almost any opportunity. I’ll tackle any assignment. For instance, this last month’s laundry list of the works I’ve finished looks like this: a Christian adventure novel, a non-fiction work on Koine Greek, a series of blog articles for a veterinarian’s hospital, a batch of research articles for a car corporation, and some humorous prose for a magazine. I’ve seen the writer’s market get more lean, so I’ve done everything I can to keep working. It keeps me fresh, excited and energetic. Sound like a ton of work? I love it.

Probably the easiest way for me to explain my writing habits is to number them as they jump into my head.

1. I put in at least a half an hour a day of writing. Sure, I have assignments that keep the pressure on, but even if I get a break in contractual work, I still putter with the pen. My father is a gifted musician who’s been playing a trumpet professionally since he was 15 (he’s now 83 years old.) He practices scales and tunes every day. Every day. I learned the habit from him. He practices to “keep his lip” so that he’ll be ready for the next professional gig. I practice to “keep my fingers” so I’ll be ready for the next contract job or novel.

2. I write like I speak. I learned this years ago from one of my first editors. I go with the flow as I venture into a new thought, and before you know it, I’m tearing through pages of narrative or dialogue. My first novel, Seven Silver Keys, was a gargantuan effort – it was all handwritten on yellow note pad – but I slowly got the rhythm of how I can best get words to flow from my perspective. Any time I try to imitate another author, no matter how much I admire him or her, I fall flat on my face. (And my editors let me know it.) I don’t try to go back and edit – that’s for later. I get the rhythm going.

3. I always look for “what ifs”. I’ve been teaching writing workshops for quite some time, and my students always like it when I take them into the hallway of the building and ask them to look beyond what they see. I call it the “what if” moment. What if this building were to tilt at forty-five degrees? What if this were the only habitable structure on earth after a nuclear fallout? What if we had to live in this building if it had been turned upside-down? What if a miniature amusement-park train ran through this hallway and served us meals twice a day? The fun exercise of “what if” breaks the monotony of the mundane. It’s how I was able to start – and complete – my apocalyptic novel Risking Daylight.

4. I write because it completes me. That’s why I’ve never been able to stop. In the 1981 Academy Award winning Chariots of Fire, Olympian Eric Liddell says ” When I run, I feel God’s pleasure.” Ah, I cannot agree more. Whenever I get clicking and see the words and sentences limber up and sprint their way across the page, I get a deep satisfaction that few other things in life can match. The sheer emotional experience is what gets me in front of the computer every day.

Brad Zockoll has written nine novels for Focus on the Family Publications’ magazine division as well as worked in numerous sports opportunities such a Meadowlark Lemon of Harlem Globetrotter fame. He’s been a newspaper columnist, cartoonist, radio scriptwriter, textbook author and blog editor at various times going back to 1981. He currently resides in Knoxville, Tennessee and teaches Koine Greek and Old Testament Survey in addition to writing.

You can learn more about Brad on his website www.zockollwriter.com or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/zockollwriter