This week on the Five Minute Friday Link-up we are focused on PROGRESS in the writing journey. Rarely do I stay within the five-minute timeframe for this one, but I’ll try today.
Go –
Writing daily toward a goal, like a word count or time, is challenging. No matter how I try to arrange my schedule, it often goes awry, so when I do get time, I tend to cram as much into the minutes as possible. Rushing leads to errors and revisions after publishing. I’m a Quality Assurance professional, so posting with errors bothers me.
While waiting for the one-word prompt, writing, and posting is the object of this weekly challenge, I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to work in the writing life. Short snippets of time can be glorious, but I don’t want it to be my norm. It’s time to make progress by changing my pattern or just developing a good one.
Books aren’t usually written in one sitting, after all.
Using my approach is too hard, and it isn’t effective in producing a quality product, so here’s what I’m doing to change:
- It took a few days to complete a longer format post using the FMF prompt RESPECT, from last week, where I stepped outside of my comfort zone but stayed in my lane. You can read it here.
- I wrote two installments of what is turning out to be another multi-part series. This one is on embracing the role of caregiver, and how I resisted that role until I realized I was one.
- I started collecting quotes and ideas for future stories.
- Started using CoSchedule Headline Analyzer, and, guess what? I’m writing better headlines.
- I upgraded to premium Grammarly after using the free version for about a year.
- Joined Hope Writers and a writing group made up of faithful encouragers in the journey.
- I view my blogging as a ministry (1 Thess 5:11) because it really isn’t all about me.
- Ever so slowly, I’m learning how to work in WordPress to make changes to my website until the day when my blog can support itself, and I can hire a web designer.
- Learning about SEO, and it’s becoming less of a mystery.
- Finally, there is my loose writing calendar. I’m learning not to beat myself up when I don’t stick to it for one reason or another. Something is better than nothing.
All of that IS progress. Yay! This was an opportunity to take an inventory of sorts. I see how I could benefit from our host’s word count tracking tool to make even more.
Thanks, Kate Motaung and the FMF community, for being there every week. You are generous, kind, and great teachers.
Done –
Photo credit @helloimnik on unsplash.com
It looks like you have taken some helpful concrete steps to creating progress in your writing. I love your ideas and I’m going to check out some of your resources. Its interesting how much non writing information needs to be learned in order to have a writing ministry. Sometimes the technical stuff can be overwhelming to me! Best wishes to you on your continued progress! your FMF neighbor
Hi Wendy. I hope you find the resources helpful. The tech side of managing a website and building a platform so discouraged me that I just about gave up writing. It took a while to shake it off. Then I hired Fistbump Media to manage the website (not design) and got back to writing letting the platform-building stuff evolve. So far so good.
That is a tremendous amount of progress! I committed to writing every day during the 2020 lenten season. I missed a couple days, but I felt my writing change from the exercise. More importantly, I felt my heart change. I grew closer to God as I approached Him daily. Every day I had to ask Him what He had for me. (Ok, I’ll admit a few days I used old, half-finished pieces. I think it still counts. Haha.) Keep it up, and I’m sure you’ll move ever forward.
Thanks, it doesn’t always seem that way, so I’m thankful for the opportunity to take inventory. I think I’ll be doing it more often. Making the commitment and following through is important. Once it’s done, you know you can do it again and again. Enjoy the journey!
It’s getting hard to feel confidence in what I thought was the calling to write.
There were days that I would care
about the stuff I wrote,
but my heart’s no longer there,
and I just stay afloat
upon a sea of blood and pain,
a raft made of despair;
It seems I’m fated to remain,
but really, should I care
about the storied language-craft,
about the laws of rhyme?
Have all saints already laughed,
and does God bide His time
to say the challenges I faced
have been, after all, a waste?
Never a waste. In the short time I’ve been reading your stuff, it has affected me. Your words have meaning and impact. They have made me laugh and cry, pause and ponder. I know I’m not alone. Your readers have gotten to know you and pray for you. That is important. The effort to pursue a calling is never waste.
Wow well done, lots for me to learn here. The hardest thing for me is not beating myself up over things. Thanks this so encouraging fmf #7
I can’t tell you many times I post and then have to go back and correct grammar, spelling, and wrong or repeated words. Or I forget to populate the excerpt and don’t even talk about the horrible header picture. It’s a mess sometimes, but we get better every time we fix-up the mess-ups. Thanks, Loretta. Keep going, my friend. It’s all ok.
That’s a fantastic and inspiring list of progress. I have been trying harder lately to sit down to make progress on a course I’m writing…even if I only have 15-20 minutes. I’m an all-or-nothing person so I tend to not do it if I can’t accomplish a lot in a big chunk of time. I’m learning that little steps are OK…actually they add up and they are super important in completing things!!!! Still learning at age 48 I guess! Thanks for the encouragement today!
Hi Amy, I’m so glad you were encouraged. Keep pushing the peanut, Sister, and you’ll get it done. I’m praying for you.
Oh I love that you have a plan yet you’re flexible and creative in the process!
Really so relaxing yet motivating.
A wonderful post …
That flexibility was learned, not natural. I like order and checklists, but life just doesn’t let me roll that way anymore, so I’m giving it up. Thanks, Linda.