How to Write

A Workshop on Writing: Personal Reflections

Recently, Dr. Jason Duesing asked me to share about writing to the rest of our faculty at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In my previous post in this series, I discussed the why of writing. Today, we’ll examine the how.

2. How to Write

In a recent book on writing, the author addresses three important dimensions of academic writing: behavioral habits, writing habits, and the social dimension of writing. I’ll address each of those briefly in turn below.

Behavioral Habits

Writing is a creative process, so be creative. I have included an entire chapter on creativity in my book Excellence: The Character of God and the Pursuit of Scholarly Virtue.

Time

When is a good time to write? As much as possible, I’ve tried to work around my family schedule. In some cases, this involved getting up and writing early in the morning, as when writing my Johannine theology. In other cases, it involved doing some of my writing in our family van in the parking lot of a baseball field.

Place

I like writing in coffee shops or other stimulating surroundings. Also, I prefer writing in locations where people can’t find me. This helps me focus on writing without interruptions or even the possibility of interruptions.

Rhythms and Rituals

I like to ride my momentum and to focus on one project at a time. For example, I was able to write my part in a forthcoming volume on the Holy Spirit in only two months as I was gripped by this fascinating topic and literally couldn’t stop writing until I was done with the entire project.

Writing Habits

Learning to Write

Writing is often caught rather than taught. I never took a formal writing class. Rather, I read everything written by D. A. Carson, my Doktorvater, and emulated his approach to publishing. I did read several books on writing, though, of which my favorite was Joseph Williams’s Style.

Craft of Writing

There are things we can do to become better writers. One is to consciously build our vocabulary, especially in my case, since my native language is German. Also, I tried to learn to write for a popular audience, which is not always easy when one is used to writing primarily for one’s scholarly peers.

Other Languages

As mentioned, my native language is German. In addition, I can do research in French and Spanish. My ability to do research in other languages, especially in my native German, has proven invaluable, as first-rate scholarship needs to interact with the leading writers in the field, not merely in the English-speaking world.

Social Dimensions

Writing for Others

I like to think of writing as a conversation. When I write, I genuinely try to interact with other scholars and to truly engage the current state of scholarship. I mentioned earlier that one of the “why’s” of writing is passionate persuasion.

In my scholarly work, therefore, I try to move the needle. That is, I write to actually persuade others who don’t currently hold to the view I am advocating. In this way, I avoid “preaching to the converted,” as it were). In order to impact current scholarship, I aim to meet on the common ground of textual and historical evidence. In doing so, I try to focus my critique on the leading scholar(s) in the field.

Writing with Others

Collaboration with colleagues, current or former students, or senior scholars is a great way to get started in publishing, or even to publish more than one would otherwise be able to do.

The upside of collaborative writing is that you can partner with others who have expertise in areas in which you may lack expertise. In my case, I partnered with an Old Testament scholar in writing my hermeneutics book. I partnered with a Pauline scholar in writing a book on a biblical theology of mission. I also collaborated with theologians Scott Swain while writing on the Trinity and with Gregg Allison writing on the Holy Spirit.

One of the main advantages of collaborative work is that you can write books more quickly than if tackling a huge task alone, such as writing a New Testament Introduction or an intermediate Greek grammar. Writing collaboratively also has enabled me to mentor younger colleagues as well as present or former students. A special blessing has been for me to co-author two books on biblical manhood and womanhood as well as parenting with my wife.

Possible downsides in collaborative academic writing are that a collaborator may not do his or her work with excellence, or he or she may be delayed or default altogether (I’ve had all of these happen over the years).

Writing among Others

One of the most special blessings of the academic profession is the privilege of sabbaticals where one can become part of a community of scholars. Writing among others is also accomplished by active participation in a scholarly society where you can receive valuable feedback from others.

Note: Dr. Kostenberger originally delivered this address at the Faculty Writing Workshop at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, February 14, 2019.