My Writing Habits: The Ideal and the Real by Sandi Somers

 

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Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.

(Proverbs 16:3).

It is a truth universally acknowledged that good writing habits bring success.

And good writing habits are what I’m focusing on at this strategic time.

I'm very much an early riser. With fresh coffee, I write my morning pages and then head into the Word for a leisurely time with the Lord. 

My devotional time feeds my writing. While reading and meditating on scripture, thoughts and ideas spring spontaneously to add to a new article or to in-progress devotionals.  After writing a quick outline, I record into my cell phone, as it’s much faster than composing on the keyboard. (I’ve started to clean it up immediately—as first drafts are often messy.) After breakfast and a walk (weather permitting), I continue my current project of revising and polishing unfinished devotionals, writing five days a week if possible.

 My writing table faces my east window—I need the rising sun and morning light and space to enlarge my thinking. (How could Annie Dillard pull down her blinds and write in a dark room?! But she said she gets too distracted by what happens in the world around her. I’d get claustrophobic if I did this.)

However, my daily word counts and time don’t add up to those of some prolific writers. Not by a long shot!! Nor do I have their mental stamina. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said he could write seven days a week, up to 12 hours each day. He said that in one day he could revise 20 typewritten pages, single-spaced, margin to margin, top to bottom!

Or take Stephen King, who wrote 2,000 words per day, although he admitted slowing down as he’s aging. Or consider Michael Crichton, one of the most prolific writers of the last two centuries, who wrote 10,000 words daily. Or Margaret Mead, who got up at 5 a.m., and wrote 1,000 words before breakfast.

Then there’s Graham Greene, who wrote 500 new words a day while revising his previously-written work. Or Arthur Hailey, who wrote 600 finished words per day. Goals to aim for!!   

When I finish writing for the morning, I follow Ernest Hemingway’s process, to “always to stop when there was still something there in the deeper part of the well,” to create a thought-filled bridge between the two days’ work.

During the weekend I meet with the Lord for a “Business Meeting with God”. In my special journal for this purpose, I write thanks, successes, questions, hopes, and plans, and wait for God’s answers. Sometimes the Spirit's still small voice speaks immediately, or I think of strategies. Sometimes, however, the answer doesn't come until the days and weeks ahead. 

For planning ahead, generally 12 weeks works best, although I do keep an eye on longer-range goals. I work through a questionnaire I adapted from Lloyd John Ogilvie, who writes, “The Lord constantly wants to surprise us with what he can do if we dare to risk, to accept his gift of faith, and to leave the results to him.”

Then we ask ourselves: “What would I dare to attempt if I were sure that the Lord would intervene to help me, infusing wisdom, love, courage, and strength? (Mentally picture it completed.) What had I avoided by thinking, ‘That’s impossible!’ What steps do I need to take? Where/how is God prompting me now to step out in faith? What is the next thing I need to do?”[i]

That's my ideal writing pattern. 

But as we all know, life happens, and our ideal writing life doesn’t always work out. In our posts last month, we acknowledged both distractions that derailed us, and interruptions that were God’s divine appointments.

But whatever happens, I’m discovering that the secret of writing success is to saturate my writing with prayer, as Jeanette Oke did, and listen to God’s whispers. And write, write, write! The writer Peggy Stoks said, "If I showed up at the computer every day whether I felt like it or not, my pages would eventually turn into chapters, and those chapters into a complete book." That is my goal.

But beyond that, my aim is to give my writing and my time to the Lord, knowing that He is guiding my steps in the ideal and real of my writing life.

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[i] Adapted from Lloyd John Ogilvie. Lord of the Impossible. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press. 1984. Pp. 9, 15-16.

Breathing New Life into Unfinished Projects by Sandi Somers

Brenda Leyland, in an article called, “The Hindrance of Unfinished Projects” said, “A half-done project is much like starting a race and then dropping out before you get to the finish line. What Olympian would even consider such a thing?”  (In FellowScript, November 2012, p. 4)

                                                

Uncluttering Our Minds

What happens to our minds when we have half-completed projects?

           

I know. I’ve done it.

 I’ve had to put writing projects on hold while working on others. But my mind is sometimes still back with the first projects: mulling over ideas, jotting notes as I listened to sermons, writing thoughts in my journal—even grabbing scraps of paper to record a fleeting thought. (I once pasted these scraps of paper in my journal, giving them the title: “Unfinished Symphonies”.) It’s as if my mind knows there’s more I could say.

Russian psychologist, Bluma Zeigarnik

I experienced what is known as the Zeigarnik Effect: we remember unfinished tasks more than completed ones because we need to keep them in mind until we experience closure. If we hang on to too many unfinished projects, our minds become cluttered. Anxiety builds. We become preoccupied. We forget simple tasks. We can become so paralyzed that we don’t accomplish much at all. 

So how do we tackle those projects and untangle our minds? What are immediate and long-term strategies to get to the finish line? Although we don't have complete answers, our writers this month will give us a wide selection of experiences and strategies to help us.

Here follows suggestions I've learned over the last months and years.

From There to Here: The Way Forward

Begin with prayer. I began preparing for this month’s topic by reading Richard Foster’s book Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home. He said we need vigorous prayer for “a vision to create new solutions to old problems…We must pray for God to make a way where there is no way (to) “dream new dreams and see new visions.”

Recognize how our personalities and habits affect our patterns of finishing (or not). Some people have greater organizational and efficiency skills than others. They work boldly toward their goal, while ones like me need time to think issues through before making decisions.  But sometimes we don’t finish because of uncertainty, fear, or even procrastination. Recognizing where we are is an important step.

Work towards mastery of our craft. Musicians, artists, and writers say it takes seven to ten years, or 10,000 hours, to develop optimum skills and efficiency.  It takes patience and perseverance to develop good writing skills. I found that diagnosing and listing those areas where I need more mastery provided good insight and motivation. Taking courses, receiving coaching, entering contests with constructive critiquing, and submitting what I’ve completed, all develop my skills and help me to finish a project.

Revise. Revise. Revise. “All good writing is rewriting,” is wise advice. Even Billy Graham revised his sermons up to twelve times. Our first drafts are just our initial thoughts. But the real work comes with revising.  In revising, I’m shaping my thoughts, developing insights, and adding depth and meaning.  At the same time, I’m learning how to bring my work to a satisfying conclusion.

Set realistic goals. This too is part of the learning process. Several years ago I planned to write far too many articles in a week or month. But I'm gradually learning how much I can accomplish and can plan more reasonable steps.

Develop the discipline of focus. Focusing means letting go of distractions while trying to write. Social media. TV. The laundry (it can wait). I particularly get distracted by the “Shiny Object Syndrome”, where I can’t resist writing some new exciting idea before finishing the old project, especially when we hit a snag or get mired in the middle. Harnessing those shiny objects is key. Write about them first thing as “warm-ups”. Write them in our journals. Incorporate them into our current projects. Or even let them go.

Choose the next project wisely. I’ve found Madeleine L’Engle’s process very helpful. She envisioned books she would someday write and compared her ideas to soups in different pots simmering on the back of her stove. Whenever an idea popped into her mind, she added these thoughts to the appropriate “soup”—like adding an onion or carrot to the real thing. Then when she was ready to begin a new book, she’d bring forward the most complete “soup pot” and begin writing.  God will help us choose each project in its proper order.

Take the challenge to change.  Change may not come easily. James Clear contends that small but consistent changes increase our chances of success (read his article here). Goethe advised, “Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it and finish it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.” The writer of Proverbs wrote, “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans” (Proverbs 16:3 NIV). When we take courage and trust God to begin where we are, God will empower and energize us.

                       

Accept God’s promise. Know that God always leads us! “For I am about to do something new,” He said. “See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland (Isaiah 43:18-19 NLT).

What is that new thing for you?

What does God want you to forget and not dwell on?

How does God want you to begin where you are?

 “Dear Lord, I…invite you into these unfinished areas of my life…Shine your Light and show me how I got here in the first place, and how I can remove the hindrances. I long to accomplish the plans and purposes you have set before me. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” (Brenda Leyland)

God is the God of breakthroughs.

PS  Read these practical ideas on decluttering your writing. Also read Jeff Goins’ article here. Well worth reading!