Completion

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.”

Revelation 21:6 (NIV) 

Do you finish what you start? Are you a New Year’s Resolutions kind of writer, or do you prefer to wait and see what will happen? After years of goal setting, I decided to revisit some of my forgotten projects and consider why I lost interest in follow-through. It turns out, I’m not the only one to have unfinished works. Yep, only 8% of those who set goals actually achieve them.*

As we turn our thoughts to a new year, we wonder what it will look like post-pandemic. Will schedules become insane again, or will we hang on to lessons learned in the bliss of solitude? Will writing time be squeezed out or sheltered? What would it look like if you created a writing routine that refused to be squelched?

After a writing group challenge, my friends Robin and Lori turned 15 minutes a day into a 870 day habit, and counting. My friend Tracy learned she could set aside time she didn’t think she had. And I turned a writing fling into a word frenzy.

Have you begun something that seems impossible to finish? How will you resolve to tackle it?

Exercise:

Unfinished articles will never make it to print. How can you turn “to do” into “totally done?”

• Brainstorm a list of articles you can submit this year.
• Research places to query your list with The Christian Writers Market Guide.
• Start with the first idea and study the writers’ guidelines.
• Adjust your words and send it out.
• Move on to the next one and repeat.

Does this exercise seem too simplistic? If it were simple, we would all be prolific writers.

Do perfectionistic expectations sideline your goals? Author Jon Acuff says the way to beat perfectionism is to “cut your goal in half or double the timeline.” Make your goal attainable and watch the momentum build on your resume, when you complete what you start and commemorate each success.

The Author of words equips us with power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7), but He also expects us to do our part to complete the task before us. Ask Him to guide your work in progress and then set goals to measure your growth with word count and queries. You’ll have a partner all the way to the finish!

Over 140 of Sally Ferguson’s devotionals have been published in Pathways to God (Warner Press). She’s also written for Light From The Word, Chautauqua Mirror, Just Between Us, Adult Span Curriculum, Thriving Family, Upgrade with Dawn and ezinearticles.com. Prose Contest Winner at 2017 Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference.

Sally loves organizing retreats and seeing relationships blossom in time away from the daily routine. Her ebook, How to Plan a Women’s Retreat is available on Amazon. She lives in the beautiful countryside of Jamestown, NY with her husband and her dad.

Visit Sally’s blog at www.sallyferguson.net

References:

* Finish, by Jon Acuff https://www.amazon.com/Finish-Give-Yourself-Gift-Done/dp/0525537317/