Writers write. That’s the bottom line.
For this week, I’m making a switch. I’m publishing my Writing Tracker on Tuesday instead of Wednesday. There are two reasons. First, it makes more sense because it’s closer to the previous week–the week that’s actually being tracked. And second, because I’m looking to publish short series. Because I want to publish series on consecutive days, it makes sense to string together three-in-a-row (Wednesday to Friday), rather than always boxing myself in with a set Wednesday post. I’m not sure if this schedule will stick, but I’m going with it for now.
Last week, I wrote everyday, and over a 1,000 words on all but one of them. I started the week working on pieces for Christianity Today and another magazine. The rest of the week I dedicated to the blog, plugging away at projects on what is and isn’t true evangelism, prejudice, and diving into popular worship song lyrics to gauge whether we know what we’re actually singing. I’ve also been reading Bonhoeffer lately and have been struck with ideas for a number of shorter standalone pieces based on his ideas. Check out all the new words and please share!
Words Per Day
Sunday, February 25: 1,434 words (journalism)
Monday, February 26: 400 words (journalism)
Tuesday, February 27: 1,662 words (blog)
Wednesday, February 28: 2,268 words (blog)
Thursday, March 1: 1,861 words (blog)
Friday, March 2: 1,000 words (blog)
Saturday, March 3: 1,122 words (blog)
Week 8 (Feb. 18 – Feb. 24) Totals
Last week, I wrote 9,747 words and spent about 8 and a half hours writing, averaging 1,136 words per hour.
2018 Totals
Since the beginning of 2018, I’ve written about 69,000 words and spent approximately 50 hours writing.
Published Writing From Last Week
Who Is a Refugee? – We may think we know the definition of a refugee–or maybe just that we’d know a refugee if we saw one–but most of us really don’t. The UN offers a definition, but so does every government and many social and political institutions. I describe what makes a refugee, and why such distinctions ultimately don’t matter. I prefer a broad definition of refugee–one that points to the widespread need for refuge.
Jerusalem Christians Unite… to Close Church of the Holy Sepulchre – This story was published in Christianity Today. It describes how the city government of Jerusalem decided to surprise the municipality’s churches with $186 million in back taxes and threats to confiscate church-owned and church-sold land. Obviously, this caused a big fuss. It goes against centuries of precedent and, possibly, breaks existing laws. The new policy culminated with the churches of the Holy Land coming together to close the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the alleged site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. That action did prompt the civil authorities to backtrack. The church has since reopened.
Is Disappointment the Underlying Emotion of Our Culture – Percy Walker, one of the great Catholic writers of the last hundred years, entertained the idea that disappointment is the dominant emotion of the culture. Disappointment with everything–work, family life, school, politics, church, and social interaction generally. I entertain the idea as well and try to discern why this might be, and what might change that hypothesis.
Release of ‘Strategic City Guide: Istanbul City Guide’ – At the beginning of 2017, a few of us from Park Community Church were asked to develop a Strategic City Guide for the International Mission Board. The chosen city was Istanbul. I’m pleased to say that the Guide has been released. You can download it here or it’s available here from IMB.
Writing Tracker – Week 8 (Feb. 18 – Feb. 24) – Follow along as I track progress toward my writing goals. Here’s an update from the sixth week of the year.
Here’s What’s Coming Up
In the near future, I’m planning to write more in my series about the Kardashev Scale, which I’ve been steadily plugging away at, and how it might come into contact with the Kingdom of God. I’m also working on pieces about what is and isn’t evangelism; what the gig economy might mean for Christians specifically; and I may return to my piece about a movie on Netflix I watched with my wife called “The Heart of Man.”
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. If I’m not, they can give me the necessary encouragement/kick. Posting my stats also keeps me personally motivated. 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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