Writers write. That’s the bottom line.
I’m happy to report that I picked up the writing game last week. After a couple weeks in a lull, I nearly doubled my output. That’s thanks in large part to getting back into my fiction-writing, which goes considerably more quickly than blog writing–and way faster than writing for magazines. Once again, I was able to post every weekday. I wrote about a variety of topics, including the reasons behind and meaning of Christian seder suppers (Christians celebrating Passover, which is a traditionally Jewish celebration). I also knocked out a fun little thinkpiece about Samwise Gamgee after doing some reading in Lord of the Rings. I also got back into a fiction novel I’m working on, which was a nice change of pace. Once again, I didn’t return to 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 25: 200 words (blog)
Monday, March 26: 2,548 words (blog)
Tuesday, March 27: 1,628 words (blog)
Wednesday, March 28: 529 words (blog)
Thursday, March 29: 1,053 words (blog and fiction)
Friday, March 30: 2,052 words (blog and fiction)
Saturday, March 31: 0 words
Week 13 (March 25 – 31) Totals
Last week, I wrote 8,010 words and spent about 5 and a half hours writing, averaging 1,502 words per hour.
2018 Totals
Since the beginning of 2018, I’ve written about 95,000 words and spent approximately 68 hours writing.
Published Writing From Last Week
A Theology of Refuge: Knowing Refugees in Light of the Imago Dei – There is perhaps no more common “solution” to conflict between persons than the one encapsulated in the Christianese axiom, “See them as created in the image of God.” The call reminds us to acknowledge the reality that all humans mirror God. This is good advice because it is helpful, but also because it is true.
In Defense of a Christian Seder – There are a number of legitimate objections to Christian seder suppers. And yet, for many reasons, they remain appropriate. And not only appropriate—they are beautiful, important opportunities to remember, reflect, honor, hope, and glorify Jesus. Here are three reasons in support of Christian seders.
Christian Seder Checklist – As Christians, celebrating Passover and the fulfillment of ancient promises in Jesus Christ is an occasion packed with meaning. Here’s a checklist for what you’ll need at a Christian seder.
Miracles, Hell, and Creation–Without God – Our intelligence is constantly confounded. We do our best to erase the supernatural. And while there is nothing at all wrong with hypotheses about multiple universes and statistical improbabilities, we must come back to the question: when does our supernaturalizing of the natural simply become codewords for God?
Writing Tracker – Week 12 (March 18 – 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 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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