David Rough
Karen,
Thank you so much for your question. The answer takes on a strange complication for me. I think the complexity revolves around the word inspiration. Part of me recoils when I hear it because my mind immediately associates with the biblical doctrine of the inspiration of scripture – that the writers of the Old and New Testament were moved by the Holy Spirit as they recorded the truth of God’s word. I want to please God with my writing and create positive characters that carry with them good stories, but my books are far from infallible and should not be canonized.
But, if I take your question like I think you meant it, my motivation, my source of insight, my vision for my writing, then my answer would flow out of my passions. I love to hike and breathe the fresh air of creation. So, my first book (Hike it Forward) was a natural expression of my personal five-month experience on the Appalachian Trail. Trying to capture the pre-hike, the people I met of the journey, the breathtaking views, the adversity, the adventure, and the completion of the hike was a joy of self-expression. My young adult novel (Prion-4) also has the hiking theme and captures my hiking on steroids. I read a lot of young adult literature and some of it is rather disturbing to me. I wanted to write a clean book with action and adventure that any young person could read without being exposed to graphic violence, crude language, or immoral relationships. I have written one book on spiritual warfare (We Are All Warriors) with the hope of helping Christ-followers to successfully navigate through the challenges of living for Jesus. My source of insight for this offering was my reflection, study, and application of the Bible to 21st-century life in America.
I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with my sister by writing several children’s books. I attempt to capture the stories in words while my sister captures in words in drawings. I think her illustrations are wonderful. A large portion of my motivation for these books arises from my years as a dad of four terrific kids who wanted a bed-time story. Instead of reading, I would make up stories: sometimes funny, almost always filled with adventure, and often told in a series. Diane and I worked first on one of those series about Princess Polly and Sir William the Brave. I wanted friendship and character development to be highlighted in these stories. They are not blatantly Christian stories, but The Provider is present, directing the affairs of men, and biblical character qualities are easily taught through the adventures of Polly and Billy.
Many years ago, I wrote a Christmas musical for children called Toothpick. It was never performed or published, but I so enjoyed writing the story and composing the music. I found it in an old file in the attic and decided to pull it out and reminisce a bit. A few months later, Diane and I transformed the play into a book and Toothpick was in print (without my catchy tunes).
Diane and I have another book just about to come out. It should be available next month (April). It is based on a true story about her husband’s boyhood dog, Rex. The title is Remarkable Rex and I found it so much fun to take a true story and fill in some major gaps with some creative story-telling.
So, making a long answer to a short question even longer, I imagine you can tell that inspiration comes in various shapes and sizes. Each book takes on a life all its own with unique aspects of motivation and vision. However, for me, I know that to be genuine a story must reflect personal experience, a deep passion, and a pure motive.
Thank you so much for your question. The answer takes on a strange complication for me. I think the complexity revolves around the word inspiration. Part of me recoils when I hear it because my mind immediately associates with the biblical doctrine of the inspiration of scripture – that the writers of the Old and New Testament were moved by the Holy Spirit as they recorded the truth of God’s word. I want to please God with my writing and create positive characters that carry with them good stories, but my books are far from infallible and should not be canonized.
But, if I take your question like I think you meant it, my motivation, my source of insight, my vision for my writing, then my answer would flow out of my passions. I love to hike and breathe the fresh air of creation. So, my first book (Hike it Forward) was a natural expression of my personal five-month experience on the Appalachian Trail. Trying to capture the pre-hike, the people I met of the journey, the breathtaking views, the adversity, the adventure, and the completion of the hike was a joy of self-expression. My young adult novel (Prion-4) also has the hiking theme and captures my hiking on steroids. I read a lot of young adult literature and some of it is rather disturbing to me. I wanted to write a clean book with action and adventure that any young person could read without being exposed to graphic violence, crude language, or immoral relationships. I have written one book on spiritual warfare (We Are All Warriors) with the hope of helping Christ-followers to successfully navigate through the challenges of living for Jesus. My source of insight for this offering was my reflection, study, and application of the Bible to 21st-century life in America.
I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with my sister by writing several children’s books. I attempt to capture the stories in words while my sister captures in words in drawings. I think her illustrations are wonderful. A large portion of my motivation for these books arises from my years as a dad of four terrific kids who wanted a bed-time story. Instead of reading, I would make up stories: sometimes funny, almost always filled with adventure, and often told in a series. Diane and I worked first on one of those series about Princess Polly and Sir William the Brave. I wanted friendship and character development to be highlighted in these stories. They are not blatantly Christian stories, but The Provider is present, directing the affairs of men, and biblical character qualities are easily taught through the adventures of Polly and Billy.
Many years ago, I wrote a Christmas musical for children called Toothpick. It was never performed or published, but I so enjoyed writing the story and composing the music. I found it in an old file in the attic and decided to pull it out and reminisce a bit. A few months later, Diane and I transformed the play into a book and Toothpick was in print (without my catchy tunes).
Diane and I have another book just about to come out. It should be available next month (April). It is based on a true story about her husband’s boyhood dog, Rex. The title is Remarkable Rex and I found it so much fun to take a true story and fill in some major gaps with some creative story-telling.
So, making a long answer to a short question even longer, I imagine you can tell that inspiration comes in various shapes and sizes. Each book takes on a life all its own with unique aspects of motivation and vision. However, for me, I know that to be genuine a story must reflect personal experience, a deep passion, and a pure motive.
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