Write. That’s what I’ve read several times from experienced writers. When you feel dry and don’t know what to write – write. When you’re exhausted and don’t feel like writing – write. When you’re stuck and can’t think of the right way to phrase a sentence – write.

That’s definitely the only reason I started writing at 9:00 tonight, after I was done with all my other obligations today (at least all the ones I couldn’t put off until tomorrow!). Well, that and the fact that I have this blog that I started to compel me to write even when I don’t feel like I have it in me. 🙂

Tonight I felt much more inclined to curl up on the couch and read someone else’s book than exert exponentially more brain power writing my own. But I’m happy to report that I resisted the urge and opened my book file. I didn’t even stare at the screen for quite as long tonight as I did Monday before the words started flowing. Actually, it was probably more like a trickle, but at least there are words on the page now that weren’t there an hour and a half ago.

By far, the website I visit the most every day is Dictionary.com. The link to it is positioned right in the center of my Bookmarks Toolbar so that I’m only a quick click away from looking up any word. Right under the box where you type in your desired word is a tab that will take you to Thesaurus.com. Numerous times when I’m writing I’ll need to look up the definition of a word to see if it has the nuance I intend. Or you know that feeling when the word is right at the tip of your brain, but you can’t formulate it? Often I can think of a similar word and I type it into the thesaurus to see if it will return the word I’m actually looking for.

Of course, these same strategies can be employed using the printed books sitting on the shelves above my desk, but having them just a click away sure does save a lot of time!

This morning, during my quiet time, I was reminded of an important principle that helped me stay more focused during my writing time today. I had been reading my Bible and came across this verse:

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”
Proverbs 18:21

I hope to meditate on this verse more in the coming days to gain a deeper understanding of its meaning, but suffice it to say that words are very powerful. A quick cross-reference led me to these verses:

“A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”
Matthew 12:35-37

I want my writing to be good. Therefore, I must have a treasure of goodness in my heart. According to Paul in Romans 3, “there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” But God is good and one of the fruits of the Spirit is goodness. So then, if I am filled with His Spirit, I will bring forth good things – like good ideas and good writing. And if what I bring forth is good, by God’s standards, then I will have nothing to be ashamed of when I stand before Him to give account someday. But I must never forget that good writing doesn’t begin when I sit down at my laptop and start typing. It begins in my heart.

So far, the most frequently asked question I am getting is what the topic and title of my book is. So, here is the official answer…

For right now I’ve decided not to share that information. I will formally announce both pieces of information at some point, but decided to wait until I am a little further in the process before doing so. I really have no idea what the standard procedure is for writing a book – whether people announce those things right off the bat or wait until they are ready to publish. Anyone know?

Friday slowly transitioned into Saturday morning before I finished my writing for the day, but I was determined not to get behind during the first week of my official journey! I’ve been trouble-shooting some issues on other projects today, so my writing slipped a little lower on the list. Usually it slips completely off the list, but now that I’ve made my writing project so public I feel a little more incentive to make it a priority. Plus, numerous times every week as I converse with people, something will come up and I just wish I could say, “You know, I’ve written a book that I think you might enjoy reading…” But alas, I have no book to give. Not yet anyway. And just wishing I had it to give or talking about it does absolutely nothing to speed up the process. Only the nitty-gritty work of sitting down and actually writing will get the job done. It’s a discipline to be sure. One that I’m still working to develop. But also one that I believe will be well worth it in the end!

It’s been a slow day of writing – only a couple of pages done. Some days the thoughts flow freely, but other days it is harder to decide what to include. I’ve decided that I would rather err on the side of writing extra now and using the delete button later on than leaving things out now and having to add lots of details for clarity when I’m re-reading and editing. We’ll see if that proves to be an effective method or not!

I just counted and there are 87 more official days of writing left this year – if I stick to my plan of writing something every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If I write at least two pages on each of those days, the result will be 174 pages total. Added to the approximately 70 pages I already have written, that would be 244 pages total; more than I am anticipating the finished book will be, but it sure makes an end-of-the-year writing completion goal seem doable!