Writers write. That’s the bottom line.
I wrote more last week than in any other week of 2018 so far, despite taking Saturday off. The sum is due in large part to a splurge in the middle of the week when I just really got on a role with my blog. I’m also making a real effort to get back to my fiction writing. So much of January was dedicated to the blog, which I love, but I don’t want to sacrifice my fiction. Last week I continued my Refuge series, commented on the surreptitious introduction of evil into the world, and pulled together a crude gauge of President Trump’s foreign policy based on his State of the Union address. It was a solid week of writing, and I’m hoping I can keep it up–and exceed it–in February.
Words Per Day
Sunday, January 28: 250 words (blog)
Monday, January 29: 1,676 words (blog)
Tuesday, January 30: 1,401 words (blog)
Wednesday, January 31: 4,424 words (blog)
Thursday, February 1: 1,442 words (blog and fiction)
Friday, February 2: 595 words (fiction)
Saturday, February 3: 0 words
Week 5 (Jan. 28 – Feb. 3) Totals
Last week, I wrote 9,788 words and spent 6 hours writing, averaging 1,958 words per hour.
2018 Totals
Since the beginning of 2018, I’ve written 37,986 words and spent approximately 24 hours writing.
Published Writing From Last Week
An Inadequate Response to the Refugee Crisis – So many people (include me) find themselves complaining about the shortfalls of the American response to refugeeism. Surely, we do fall short. The global response to the modern refugee crisis has obviously not been enough to end it, or even really shrink it. Even so, I try to acknowledge what the United States has done right, and how to move forward better.
The First Evil – I’ve been reading through Genesis as part of my devotional time in the Word. While it is popular–and, I think, true–to say that the first sin to enter the world was the pride of men (the desire to be like God), it struck me while reading that this sin was prompted by the entrance of evil in the form of slyly sown confusion. The serpent asked, “Did God really say…?” and that seed of skepticism led to much greater consequences.
Foreign Policy in President Trump’s State of the Union – Since 2012, I have tracked references to seven foreign countries–Iran, Iraq, Israel, Afghanistan, Russia, China, and North Korea–in the State of the Union addresses of Presidents Obama and Trump. It’s a crude measure, but I think this metric reveals something telling about the foreign policy of our presidents.
Recovering Eden – We may look at Genesis and idolize the perfection of Eden before the Fall. How might we recover such a paradise? For the Christian, such recovery is not really the goal. We are not moving backward toward the original Eden, but moving forward toward a new creation.
Writing Tracker – Week 4 (Jan. 21 – Jan. 27) – Follow along as I track progress toward my writing goals. Here’s an update from the fourth week of the year.
Here’s What’s Coming Up
In the near future, I’m planning to write more in my series about Black Mirror and the Kardashev Scale, and how both of these interact with the Kingdom of God. I’m also working on pieces of God as the God of cities and elaborate on the subtle dangers facing Christians as we engage in his Word and our private and public faith. Please share and read along!
Why Sharing Your Goals Is Important
Accountability: Because my writing goals for 2018 are to 1) post at least twice per week on this blog and 2) publish a book online, I know that I need to hold myself accountable and be held accountable by others. Making my writing statistics is one way for me to do that. With my writing production out in the open, others can see if I’m keeping up and, if I’m not, give me the necessary encouragement/kick. Posting my stats also keeps me personally motivated, as I don’t want to be embarrassed by falling behind my goals in public.
Inspiration: Assuming I can maintain my writing production at a level I’m satisfied with, I hope it will be an inspiration to other writers. I work full-time and have a number of ongoing commitments, but because writing is important to me, I make the time. You can too. Even 15-minute writing sprints over the course of weeks and months really adds up.
Data Tracking: I love seeing trends in data almost as much as I love writing. Amateur data analysis is incredibly easy today, and I love to see my numbers crunched. It’s fun and fascinating, but it also helps me write. Tracking my writing means I know how much I can write per genre, per hours; I know my pace; I know how much time I’m actually dedicating to writing; and I can see how my writing accumulates and improves over time.
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