John David Bethel On Five Things You Need to Know to Become a Great Author
Writing has broadened my perspective on life. Creating worlds and people within them has allowed me to better understand how connected we all are.
Most of us live a very self-contained existence. We work with a finite number of people; we go home to our families; we have a small circle of friends; we interact in the same environment and with the same people on a regular basis. When writing, I have to broaden my horizons. Different characters live in different worlds. They have different interests and diverse connections.
Writing has taught me to look around. See more than what’s in front of me. If we all can do that, we’d better understand each other and the worlds we live in.
As part of my interview series on the five things you need to know to become a great author, I had the pleasure of interviewing John David Bethel.
John David Bethel’s career as an author is deeply influenced by his childhood spent moving globally as the son of a Foreign Service Officer. This nomadic lifestyle interrupted his traditional education, compelling his parents to emphasize reading, which instilled in him a lasting passion for literature despite his struggles with academics.
Bethel’s novel “Blood Moon” draws from the harrowing true crime case of kidnapping and murder brought to his attention by private investigator Ed DuBois. Utilizing firsthand accounts and extensive interviews, Bethel crafted a non-fiction novel that gives readers an immersive view of the crime. This method of integrating real-life experiences into his writing has shaped his approach to storytelling, particularly in his other works like “Mapping the Night,” where he explores how ordinary characters react to extraordinary threats.
Bethel describes the solitary and demanding nature of writing as his most significant career challenge. He maintains a rigorous schedule, dedicating several hours daily to writing, which often isolates him from family and friends. Overcoming personal disruptions, such as family losses or relocations, has taught him the importance of resilience and focus in maintaining creative momentum.
Currently, Bethel is developing a prequel to “Mapping the Night,” focusing on FBI agents Eileen Prado and Ira Fisher as they uncover a connection between a recent suicide and a historical murder, drawing inspiration from a real unsolved case.
Through his novels, Bethel aims to empower readers with stories of resilience against physical and societal challenges. He aspires to inspire broader cultural understanding through his writing, advocating for a movement that encourages individuals to expand their perspectives and appreciate the diversity of human experience.
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you share a story about what brought you to this particular career path?
As the son of a Foreign Service Officer, our family never lived longer than a few years in the same country. This lifestyle interrupted my school years with stretches as long as a few months without sitting in a classroom. My parents filled the gap by insisting that I read for a few hours every day. Not an ideal substitute for traditional learning — I still have trouble with math, and the sciences remain a mystery — but it instilled a love of literature. And that translated to wanting to try my hand as a writer.
Can you share the most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your career?
The subject of my novel Blood Moon is based on a true crime of kidnapping, torture, extortion and multiple murders. The details of this horrendous crime were brought to me by Ed DuBois the private investigator who solved the case and brought the men responsible to justice. He originally wanted to collaborate on a true crime book and he put me in touch with the victim, Marc Schiller. Given my background in fiction, I got permission from DuBois and Schiller to write a non-fiction novel using the information from Schiller’s journal about his captivity, and the voluminous files on the investigation provided by DuBois. This first-hand information from the victim and private investigator, plus hours of interviews with Schiller provided me with a “fly on the wall” perspective of the crime. It also took me inside Schiller’s life at the time, experiencing a small dose of his fears, anxieties and even his pain.
It was invaluable as a lesson on how to write crime fiction and influenced my approach to Mapping the Night. Two of the protagonists have no experience with the situation they encounter when faced with a deviant like the Uptown Savage. I mined much of what I learned from Schiller about his experiences with his captors to describe how these “crime novices” would react and deal with their situation. How they would harness their fears and anxieties so they would not be paralyzed into inaction.
Each novel is a learning experience.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in your journey to becoming an author? How did you overcome it? Can you share a story about that that other aspiring writers can learn from?
The biggest challenge is the writing. The actual “sit down and start pounding on the keys” work. It requires a tremendous amount of discipline to dedicate hours of your life to plopping down in front of a keyboard, alone with your own thoughts, and not getting up until you have exhausted yourself for the day.
For me, it means no less than four hours no matter what else is going on in my life. That is a chore not only for me but for those in my life. As my wife says, “You’re gone not only during the hours you’re holed up your office, but for most of the rest of the day because your mind is still on what you’re writing.” And that means that I’m unavailable to those around me for at least six months.
There have been times when events caused an interruption in my writing. A death in the family, relocating to another city for example. Periods when my routine was interrupted. It was not only frustrating being away from the story, but reinserting myself and picking up on the train of thought — the flow — was difficult. There are usually false starts before the engine is humming again. And the only way to get that engine humming smoothly is refusing to give in to any frustration or desire to get out of that chair.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I made plenty of mistakes but I can’t say any of them were funny. There was a trial and error period as I developed my writing process that was very instructive, and perhaps from outside looking in could have been viewed as funny.
Most writers have their own approach. Many work from a detailed outline and prepare elaborate backstories for each of their characters. This provides a strong foundation that takes them from the first sentence to the final one knowing where they are going and how they are going to get there. I tried that approach initially but found it took the fun out of writing for me. I wanted to write the way I read. Being surprised about what is around the corner. About how characters react to their situations. I discovered early on that the outline and backstory process would not work for me. When I begin writing I have no idea where I’m going. I have the kernel of an idea and begin writing.
For example with Mapping the Night, I began with a scene I read about in a newspaper article covering the investigation of serial murders in New York City. The police found the young son of a victim applying ice to his mother’s forehead trying to revive her. He said it was what she did when he was sick and he wanted to “make her better.” That haunted me and it was my jumping off point for the novel. I had no idea where I was going with it, but I had fun getting there.
It took me a few false starts on my initial novels to understand how best to begin and continue my writing. Just jump in and let the story take me along for the ride.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
I enjoyed continuing the development of the characters of Eileen Prado and Ira Fisher in Mapping the Night. They first appeared in Wretched. I plan on writing a prequel to Mapping the Night that has these two FBI Special Agents investigating the suicide of a man which immerses them in the decades-old murder of the daughter of a popular United States Senator. It is based on the murder of Senator Charles Percy’s daughter, an unsolved true crime.
Can you share the most interesting story that you shared in your book?
The most interesting story in Mapping the Night isn’t a story but a character. Warren Winston leads his life in the dark. He roams the upper East and West sides of New York City between the midnight hour and dawn. He has to. He suffers from xeroderma pigmentosum. Basically, he’s allergic to light. Too much of it and his skin burns painfully causing infections and other life-threating complications. During one of his “walkabouts” he spies a “dancing man” the strangeness of which only becomes fully clear when the deaths of various women occur in the neighborhoods where Warren encounters this man. Warren works on a parallel path with New York’s finest and FBI Special Agents Prado and Fischer to discover the identity of the Uptown Savage.
What is the main empowering lesson you want your readers to take away after finishing your book?
The novel is peopled with a number of strong characters who refuse to allow challenges, whether physical or societal, to limit their ability to live their best life or prevent them from reaching their goals and maximizing their potential.
Based on your experience, what are the “5 Things You Need to Know to Become a Great Author”? Please share a story or example for each.
I think it would be presumptuous of me to presume to be a great author, but I can provide some suggestions on how to move forward as a writer.
I mentioned one of those qualities earlier. Discipline. Sit down every day and don’t get up until you have exhausted yourself. I do that every morning when I am writing a novel.
Don’t allow yourself to be swayed by how well your work sells, or (more likely) doesn’t. I write because it’s what I do. I’m a writer and a writer writes.
Find honest people with whom you can share your manuscript. Honest critics who will tell you where you have fallen short and where you have succeeded. I have developed a group of readers and writers that I trust to help me improve my craft.
Know when to stop rewriting and editing. Striving for perfection can suck the life out of a novel. Understanding when to push away from the keyboard is more an instinct than an art. I know when to stop because I know when to stop.
Learn to accept rejection. I have so many rejection letters I could paper my walls with them. Rejection is a function of a craft where subjectivity is the norm. I know I can write and I know I can write well. Others have very often begged to differ. So be it. Move on.
What is the one habit you believe contributed the most to you becoming a great writer? (i.e. perseverance, discipline, play, craft study). Can you share a story or example?
Again, no claims to being a great writer, but whatever success I’ve enjoyed is due in large part to something I’ve mentioned a few times in our discussion. Discipline. Sit down and write. Do it consistently and without allowing for interruptions. No excuses. When I’m working on a book, I “go to the office.” I don’t allow myself any leeway. It’s a job, and to be successful, I have to apply myself.
Coming in a close second is being willing to take criticism. When fully engaged in the task it’s possible to become so invested in the product that you lose perspective. That is, you’ve worked so hard to get it right, it’s difficult to accept that sometimes you get it wrong. Accept criticism gracefully and allow yourself to carefully consider what you’re being told. In the end, it’s up to you to accept or reject edits and even rewrites, but I’ve found that critiques can be helpful and can improve your product.
Which literature do you draw inspiration from? Why?
I’m avid reader, a habit inculcated in me at a very young age as I mentioned earlier. I read all genres but admit to being drawn to the type of novels I write. Political and psychological thrillers. I’m not sure I’d say that other authors provide inspiration but how they work their craft definitely interests me.
Early on I don’t think I developed fully three dimensional characters. I put them in the center of the plotline and let it revolve around them without offering readers a depth of insight on why the character took a particular course of action, or reacted to their circumstances as they did. The story itself worked and the plot remained intriguing — judging from the comments of critics and readers — but I discovered complexly drawn characters in the novels I was reading. They had relationships that impacted how they pursued their work; they had backgrounds that affected how they viewed their workmates and antagonists; and so on.
It’s that kind of inspiration I draw from the literature I read.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Writing has broadened my perspective on life. Creating worlds and people within them has allowed me to better understand how connected we all are.
Most of us live a very self-contained existence. We work with a finite number of people; we go home to our families; we have a small circle of friends; we interact in the same environment and with the same people on a regular basis. When writing, I have to broaden my horizons. Different characters live in different worlds. They have different interests and diverse connections.
Writing has taught me to look around. See more than what’s in front of me. If we all can do that, we’d better understand each other and the worlds we live in.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
I can be found on:
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jd.bethel/
Author page www.johndavidbethel.com
X @wordlikes
email jd.bethel@yahoo.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jd.bethel/
