Writing Opportunity or Distraction?

How to know when to stray from your writing plans.

Do you ever have those times when your day is organized and your goals are set only to have some strange other option lurk into view? I say lurk because sometimes those options feel more like distractions than opportunities. How do we tell the difference? How do we know when to limit our writing focus and when to try something outside our goals?

Recently, I had my day planned. With several long-term projects in process, I had spent the morning prioritizing all the tasks that needed to be done. By early afternoon I was ready to charge into my work. Then it happened. Opportunity appeared in the form of an odd email.

In my inbox was a notice about a writing contest. The writing needed wasn’t my usual target, but the subject was interesting and entrants had the possibility of gaining future work even if they didn’t win. The problem was the deadline. The piece had to be submitted in four days. I debated about what to do since this was completely outside everything I had planned. I hesitated, then dove in.

Here’s how I made my decision: I asked four simple questions.

• Does this type of writing interest me? It did, and I could see myself doing similar projects if the work was available.
• Am I well equipped to do this type of writing or will it require a lot of additional time researching information? I was well equipped and the special details I needed were clearly provided in the information packet.
• Am I doing this to avoid my other writing work? This was a tougher question. I hadn’t been meeting my writing goals, but I also hadn’t been wasting my time. This was simply a period when I had a lot of work in front of me. What swayed me in favor of taking this chance was the additional potential benefits of the contest—continuing work. As writers, we want our words to make a difference, and we’d like to get paid enough to keep working. This writing opportunity offered both.
• Does this writing opportunity resonate with me? There are moments when, even though logic may tell us otherwise, we know we need to take a step. Sometimes this is a strong spiritual prod. Other times it’s just a feeling we can’t explain. Pay attention to these moments. I can look back through my life and count the times I was specifically prodded. When I acted on this directing, I was thankful. When I didn’t, I regretted it. Thankfully, logic and that strong pull were working together in this opportunity.

How do you decide when to take a chance on something unexpected? How do you look for writing direction in light of Proverbs 16:9?

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. Proverbs 16:9 (NLT)

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