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Writing and writing stuff

For 2017, I have set a goal for myself. I am trying to write more. I have a few reasons I want or need to do this.
  1. I need a place to process thoughts and emotions. It is safe to post things here because very few people frequent this little corner of the internet. And the few who have made this a stopping place are people I feel comfortable blathering on about internal stuff.
  2. I need to sharpen my focus. I feel I may be losing some of my thinking focus. Perhaps age is the foe I am trying to defeat. Perhaps it is mental laziness. Either way, I want to exercise my thought process and writing seems to be a way to do that.
  3. I have projects that I want to finish. I have a book idea on applying best practices of Walt Disney in hospitality and creativity within the life of the church. I have 3 different ideas for fiction that I want to play out. I have plot lines and stories for Dungeons and Dragons that may be interesting to collect in a written form. All of these projects require writing them down in some form. And since there is plenty I want to do, I need a goal to move me toward doing it.
  4. I have more ideas than people interested in hearing them. 
As I said, there are only a few people who read my blog. When I check the statistics, I average about 16 hits per page that I post. And some of those are statistics that generate from my own services that are connected. I have a readership of about 10 on a good day. I am very thankful for you loyal 10. It is encouraging to know that someone is out there, noticing my little bubble of rambling.

But I have felt that I need to organize my thoughts a little more. When I write, it is usually an impulsive thing. I encounter something and feel the desire to express my thoughts. And I rarely feel that my thoughts are worth publishing in a fully public forum. So I put thoughts here, in my semi-private forum. And I need to pursue a little more organization in order to fulfill my goal. Here are my rules for my writing goal.

  1. Write at least 300 words a day.
  2. Write to some outlet that will be useful for me (sorry Loyal 10) including the blog, my "brains", or my book/story notes.
  3. Forgive myself for missing a day.
  4. Write more on days prior to or after a day that will be difficult to write on (Saturday, Sunday, days that I have to travel, sermon writing days).
  5. Schedule daily themes for days that aren't inspired. 
  6. Write on content that you have done previously to build the skills in those types of writing.
  7. Experiment with something new once a month.
That seems like a lot of rules. I need them, though. If I don't expect much of myself I will not make an effort.

Here is my Daily Theme schedule. This is for times when I don't feel inspired. It is just a guide to discipline myself the write.
  • Monday - random topics; current events
  • Tuesday - my 2 Kingdoms book; reviews of books/movies/games
  • Wednesday - sermon research or ideas
  • Thursday - studies (biblical, theological, historical); Dungeons and Dragons ideas; trip reports
  • Friday - fiction
  • Saturday and Sunday (my two most difficult days to write) - emotional processing; television show reviews 
Not only is this my schedule, but this is also my content guide. The process of writing is new to me. When I was in college and seminary, the writing process was simplified: you have a paper due on a particular topic so do it. Living out in the free-range world, without the safety net of professors and deadlines, I am not required to write. I have found something rewarding in it, though. I have found that I enjoy it.

If you are interested in only a few topics that I write about, then feel free to drop in periodically on those days (or the day after for those who are notified by email) when I write to your preference. If you are following along because you are a friend, then let me say, "Thank you!" I am encouraged by that. If you are stumbling across this because you put a certain word in a search engine, then by all means take what you are looking for and look around for something else.

And if you are so inclined, respond in some way if you find something interesting. As much as I enjoy the writing, I am nourished mentally, emotionally, and spiritually in the dialogue that my writing may inspire.
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