I’ve been thinking about writing since May of 2009.  I even started a book once and got through four chapters, but then “life” took over and I stopped.  I got busy, and my priorities just weren’t where they needed to be.  I wasn’t ready; I wasn’t serious.  I can’t say that I’ve started the book project again, but I think about it often, and I do add to my outline from time to time as inspiration strikes.

More recently, I have been learning about writing as a craft, and I’ve become more conscious about my own writing as a result.  I’ve been reading a lot too, which helps me to learn the style of other writers.

All the books on writing that I’ve read so far have said that to succeed in writing, you must write every day, and read more than you write.  I figured a blog might be just the thing (I’ve got the reading thing down, but not the writing so far!).  Blogging allows me to write every day, and if I’m convinced that people are reading my blog, and are expecting to read more, then it gives me a measure of accountability.  It keeps me going.

Years ago, I was writing a Bible study/devotional (“devos”) for a friend, and because I knew he was reading it (and soon, about a hundred others were too), I was faithful in writing two devos a week for three years straight.  Those devos can still be seen on our church’s website (at one devo shown per week, it runs a six year cycle!).  Unfortunately, I switched jobs and writing those devos became impossible due to my increased workload.  I actually miss doing them – I learned a lot, and it was fun to translate what I had learned into something a blossoming Christian could understand.  I miss the challenge; I miss exercising my mind.  I hope that writing this blog will also be a challenge, in a good way, and that it will be a benefit you, dear reader, as well.