Writers write. That’s the bottom line.
Last week was definitely my weakest week in terms of time and output in 2018. It wasn’t planned. I just didn’t set aside enough time to write and, when there was time for it, other things took its place. I’m okay with that; it won’t become a habit. And even though I didn’t write very much, I was able to post every weekday. Because last week marked the seventh anniversary of the war in Syria, I wrote a fair amount about that. It’s crazy to me to think how long this war has been and how much it has been neglected, apart from a few landmark events here and there (e.g., tweetable refugee stories, ISIS, immigration policies). While I try to keep fairly up-to-date on happenings in Syria and the region, it was eye-opening for me to take another deep-dive into what’s happening on the ground. In a lot of ways, we think the war is coming to a close. It’s not. It’s just changing in its nature. New players, new battlefields, new ambitions.
I also worked a bit on a piece about the Lord’s Supper, which I’ve been reading and praying about for a church class. It’s a fascinating, essential event, and my studies make me love it all the more. I didn’t touch my Bonhoeffer pieces or the series about how the Kingdom might intersect with the Kardashev scale. Hopefully I’ll return to them this week. Check out all the new words and please share!
Words Per Day
Sunday, March 11: 0 words
Monday, March 12: 1,213 words (blog)
Tuesday, March 13: 888 words (blog)
Wednesday, March 14: 647 words (blog)
Thursday, March 15: 100 words (blog)
Friday, March 16: 1,459 words (blog)
Saturday, March 17: 0 words
Week 11 (March 11 – 17) Totals
Last week, I wrote 4,307 words and spent about 3 hours writing, averaging 1,520 words per hour.
2018 Totals
Since the beginning of 2018, I’ve written about 82,000 words and spent approximately 59 hours writing.
Published Writing From Last Week
Why the Church Has a Unique Role in Responding to Refugeeism – This piece delves into the idea that the Church has a role to play in responding to refugeeism because of the model we are given in Christ. Its role is unique for three reasons: 1) the Church can and must act where others merely should, 2) our shepherd showed us how to respond by responding to us, and 3) we must make ourselves like those we are helping.
Look, Syria Is Still Happening – Even as the world steps into the eighth year of the brutal Syrian war, the conflict–and all the people it affects–seem mostly ignored. And yet, we can’t look away. In Syria, 275,000 people have been newly displaced this year. Half a million Syrians still live under siege. 35 percent of Syrians rely on unclean drinking water. Food prices have risen by 800 percent over the course of the war. Nine out of ten Syrian families spend more than half of their income on food. Look.
Understanding Syria on Another Anniversary of War: A Brief Reading List – The Syrian civil war produced some of the worst destruction and the most displaced people of any conflict in decades. It is the worst war, for its scale and brutality, in the world right now, and yet most of us know very little about it. Here is a reading list for understanding Syria as it is now and as it might be.
The 14 Most Popular Hymns 100 Years Ago – On a lighter note, here’s a little piece about old hymns. Louis Fitzgerald Benson (1855–1930) was a lawyer-turned-pastor who tracked hymns in 1899. According to Benson’s research, here are the 14 hymns that appeared in at least 100 of the 107 hymnals he examined, in order of prominence.
Writing Tracker – Week 10 (March 4 – March 10) – 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 related to Bonhoeffer’s theology and how it may be applicable today; the significance of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “crusade” of nonviolence; 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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