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"I love having written"

Being a writer hasn't been easy for Evelyn Bence '74...

     Evelyn "Dindy" Bence '74 never dreamed of writing award winning novels or poems. The "C" she received in her freshman composition classes steered her into majoring in business administration, although she did audit several literature classes and surround herself with English and writing majors. As the one who could balance the checkbook, she signed on as business manager for the Boulder (yearbook) and the Star (student newspaper). She says, "Houghton's liberal arts base and friends who drew me into campus publications sent me on my life path."

     As a senior she took another creative writing class because it seemed slightly less painful than the alternative requirement: public speaking. She recalls, "Struggling to write a personal essay for Professor Basney, I thought: 'There are people who do this for a living. Why would anyone put herself through this torture?'"

After graduating, Bence found a job in the purchasing department of Christian Herald magazine. Bored with the business aspect, she took an editorial position with their book club division. She relates, "Two years of reading potential book selections and making subconscious judgments—this works, that doesn't—taught me to write." Eventually, Bence submitted an essay she had written for that creative writing class she took as a senior (she got a "B" on it!) to Campus Life Magazine. They bought it, and Bence's career as a writer was born.

     She worked as an editor for Doubleday

and Today's Christian Woman magazine, continuing to write poems, articles and

books. The professional network and

credentials she established laid the

groundwork for self-employment as an

author of books—from novels to devotionals.

On a good day Evelyn can write about 1,000 words; the process is still torturous for her. Except when she's finished.

     "I love having written," she admits.