Why I Chose Writing as a Career

This post is a little more personal to me.

If you didn’t know, then let me fill you in a little bit.

I studied Youth Ministry in college, got my BA in Youth Ministry, and served as a Student Ministries Pastor for 4 years in Columbus, OH.

Through an unforgettable and unfortunate series of events I found myself looking to transition into a new career, at least for a while, right as I was about to have my 2nd child. Ouch.

As I took everything in and began to reassess what it is I like and want to do, I decided I wanted to write.

And that’s why I chose writing as a career! (Well, there is a bit more to the story, so let’s talk about that I guess)

Born to be Writing

Now, for some background, this was a career decades in the making. 

When I was growing up I would say that I wanted to be an author some day. So I knew I liked writing, I loved telling stories, and, most importantly, I was pretty good at it.

Some of my favorite parts of being in ministry was being able to create and tell stories. I view all of Scripture as a Story we get to participate in and continue on, but I digress.

I Don’t Need No Education…Do I?

Now, you may be wondering, “Okay, so Dylan likes to write and tell stories and decided to try and make a career out of it? With no degree? No formal education or training?”

Well, yes.

And no.

I may not have earned a degree in writing, but I have a wealth of knowledge and experience in writing and telling stories. 

How to Become a Storyteller

As I just mentioned, a lot of what I did in ministry was a form of writing and storytelling.

I have also taken loads of different courses on creative writing, SEO writing, ghostwriting, storytelling, etc.

I want to be incredibly talented in my field.

I enjoy doing good, hard work. 

If you are familiar with the Enneagram, then it’ll help if I tell you that I am a Type 9 with a strong 1 wing. I like to people please and I like to be a perfectionist. So the two of them combined means I do my best to make everyone happy and to do the job right.

The Creative Muses Take Me (Sometimes)

I am also a creative person, in a sense.

I can’t create or admire art to save my life.

But I love great characters and great plots. I even forgive bad characters if the plot is great.

If you’ll indulge me for a moment, a great example of this is my love for the tv show Lost.

Oh my gosh, that plot was all over the place and whole storylines were left unresolved. But I loved every last minute of that show. I could go on for days about the characters and how well they were written and developed and seemed like actually human beings instead of characters created for entertainment.

I agonize so much over my own characters I create that I go through in-depth simulations to determine what they might do in certain situations that they will never be in within the context of my story. (Maybe someday I will do a post about how I learn more about my characters in my writing)

But it is important to understand who those characters are and let them have a life of their own outside of my own story. It makes them come alive.

And great storylines?

A graphic novel called Are You Listening? (affiliate link warning: if you decide to purchase this book through my link, then I am compensated as well) takes a roadtrip to visit family with unexpected travel companions. The story that unfolds in the context of simple conversation that happens naturally in the car along the way…absolutely stunning. I sometimes stay up late at night thinking about how simple and absolutely perfect this storyline is.

It is nothing amazing, but ebbs and flows so naturally with major reveals taking place naturally and all the characters involved playing important roles. (content warning: this particular story does involve the mention of a rape and LGBTQ+ characters coming out to family)

How Does This Translate to My Writing Career?

Even when I am writing for clients I try to seek out the story that can be told. 

Whether it is about the best drapes you can find or the newest in game tech there is always a story that can be told – just the characters and storylines change a little bit from what we are used to.

So, that’s why I chose writing as a career. 

And I hope it never changes (regardless of what winding paths my career ends up taking).