Writers write. That’s the bottom line.
Last week was a bit slower than Week 15, which had been my most prolific of the year. I traveled for business this week, which cut into my writing time, but–no excuses! My writing was mostly taken over by a Chicago Tribune piece. I write for a regular column in which we check out cool microneighborhoods in the city and write about interesting restaurants, bars, cultural spots, and people to know in the area, and tie it into the real estate in the area. Such pieces are a lot of fun and provide a good reason for me to explore Chicago–though they do require quite a bit of research and writing, and so disallow me to write more for the blog and in my fiction. But that’s okay. I enjoy it. Check out all the new words and please share!
Words Per Day
Sunday, April 15: 0 words
Monday, April 16: 3,082 words (blog and journalism)
Tuesday, April 17: 1,093 words (blog and journalism)
Wednesday, April 18: 769 words (journalism)
Thursday, April 19: 500 words (journalism)
Friday, April 20: 0 words
Saturday, April 21: 319 words (blog)
Week 16 (April 15 – 21) Totals
Last week, I wrote 5,763 words and spent about 4 hours writing, averaging 1,383 words per hour.
2018 Totals
Since the beginning of 2018, I’ve written about 121,579 words and spent approximately 84 hours writing.
Published Writing From Last Week
Responding to Refugeeism: A Three-Pronged Plan of Action – We know there is a problem. We know the Church must address it and that it is in a unique position to do so. We have the knowledge, so what do we do now?
Reveling and Wrestling Through ‘The Heart of Man’ – It’s a docu-drama that wraps deeply personal interviews around a sincerely affecting retelling of the story of the prodigal son. I was surprised at the realness and the rawness. At more than a few moments, “The Heart of Man” was tear-worthy. Here’s a review of the good, the bad, and the godly.
Writing Tracker – Week 15 (April 8 – 14) – 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 repentance, Bonhoeffer’s theology and how it may be applicable today, and what the gig economy might mean for Christians specifically.
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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