Writing, But Not Publishing

I started writing on Medium, in large part because I was feeling the writing itch once again. I’ve gone through writing phases before. I have started a couple of blogs, always with the intention of writing regularly. Of course, you know the drill. After a few months, the writing falls off and the blog goes by the wayside. Not to mention the stress of trying to do web design as well. I started a blog to write, not design.

I love writing. I have written about many different topics in my short time publishing on Medium — parenting, faith, politics, sports — where I somehow got a notification that I was a “top writer”; honestly, I have no idea how that happened. However, I have hit a bit of a wall lately.

When I first started, my intention and plan was to publish on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Ambitious; yet, manageable. And I did… for a couple of months. But lately, I have not been publishing nearly as often.

As I was reflecting on my goals this week, I remembered that what I really wanted to do: write regularly. Did you get that? Write, regularly. While my secondary goal was to publish three times a week, what I really want to do is write on a regular basis. I have been doing that.

As a pastor writing is part of my regular routine. Sure, the format is a little different, but every week, I put together a six-page outline from which I preach on Sunday morning. I have been doing this nearly every week since late 2008. Essentially, for the last ten years, I have been writing a 15 to 25 minute speech every single week. When you also add in weddings, funerals, and other special events/services, I have easily written and presented my writing over 500 times in the last decade.

This year, during the seasons of Lent and Easter, I’m also writing daily reflections that go alongside a 95-day New Testament reading challenge that my church is doing. Since I’m trying to stay ahead of the day, I’ve already written almost 30 daily reflections. These daily reflections are a lot of work, but it’s also my way of proving to myself that I can stick to a larger writing project and see it through to the end; something I’ve never done before.

It’s no surprise, then, that my publishing has tapered off a little bit — at least on Medium. But, again, I am writing more than ever right now, and that’s my real goal.

And so, here’s my question for you: what are your writing goals? What is your “why?” Are you writing for the love of it? Are you writing to publish? What is the best way to accomplish those goals?

Once you have that figured out, the rest falls in line. Best wishes and happy writing!