by Christine Sine
This is the second post in a series on my experience of writing a book
Step Four: Set up a schedule for the entire project.
This is a very important part of writing your book. You can’t write only when you feel inspired or motivated. You must create a regular writing habit.
At the beginning of my current writing project, I used Meistertask, a free planning software to help me visualize my entire project and the tasks involved in each part. I divided it into research, writing, publishing and marketing with specific tasks and timelines in each of these. It was very helpful for me as I visualized what I needed to do, but less helpful once I began writing. I am not a detail person and I think that the detail it encouraged me to use was a little overwhelming.
I also find that spelling out my weekly schedule in detail, blocking out time not just for the writing project but for other responsibilities like household duties, time with family and friends, self care, spiritual disciplines and exercise help me keep focused and on track. Looking at my commitments as a whole has helped me relax and have fun in the writing process without overextending myself.
Things to consider:
- Overall schedule: When would you like to complete your manuscript? How many words will you have to write each week in order to accomplish this?
- Research schedule: How much preliminary research will you need to do before you start writing? How long is that likely to take before you can begin writing?
- Writing Schedule: When are you most alert and productive during your day? Can you block out time during that part of the day for writing? What is the optimal length of time you can write for at one stretch. Mine is 2-3 hours, my husband can work in 5-10 hour blocks in a day. Write it on your schedule to see how realistic this looks with your other commitments. Does your proposed schedule feel comfortable or is it overwhelming? What other priorities need to be taken into consideration?
- Publication Schedule: how long will it take from the time you complete your manuscript for review, rewriting and editing before you are able to submit it to the publisher? What is the editorial process that the publisher uses? How long will it take for the book to be published once it has been submitted?
- Marketing Schedule: What kind of platform do you already have established that will help you market this book? What do you need to establish between now and the publication of the book?
Step Five: Create a relaxing and fun environment.
Find a spot in your home where you feel relaxed and ready to write. Maybe it’s your office, a standing desk, or your dining room table. Decide exactly what you need in advance so you’re prepared every day when you sit down to write. Do you need music playing? If so, what kind? Are you distracted by background noise and conversation or by messiness in your space? How can you avoid these? Do you want a candle or special image to focus on? Do you need a cup of tea or coffee, a snack or energy booster? Do you need to be near a window? Having all of this determined in advance will help motivate you to get started and to make writing an enjoyable ritual.
Some people prefer a library or coffee shop as an ideal place for them to write. Others like to find a retreat cabin they can inhabit for a few solid days or even weeks of writing. It all depends on whether background noise is distracting or comforting for you. Know what is most comfortable for you, find it and stick to it.
This is part of a 4 post series. Here is the entire series
Writing a Book – Part 1
Writing a Book – Part 2
Writing a Book – Part 3
Writing a Book – Part 4
by Christine Sine.
Many of you know that I am in the process of writing a book on creative spirituality. A number of you are writing books of your own. Others are hoping to. Many have asked about the process I use so I thought you might like a glimpse into what I have been doing over the last few months.
Writing a book is like embarking on a journey. It requires much preparation, involves some hard slogging and discipline, is best conducted in the company of friends and always includes some unexpected surprises. It is as much about creating an enjoyable process as producing a useful product.
I could just about write a book on this topic alone so thought that I would break it up into small chunks that are easy to digest. If there is advice you would like to share with others about your own writing process please comment below – we learn from each other.
There are ten steps I want to share with you – here are the first three!
Step One: Define your topic and your audience
What do you want to communicate or teach with this book? Writing is not about waffling on paper. We need to have a clear idea of where we want to go and what we want our audience to take away from the book.
Who is your intended audience and why would they be interested in this topic?“ Who will read your book and why” are important question that should be addressed up front. This can be more fully addressed in the marketing strategy, but if we do not know our audience from the beginning we will not know the best ways to connect and inspire them.
Why should you rather than someone else write this book? Years ago Philip Yancey told me “write to your passion.” It was very important advice that I continue to remind myself of when embarking on a new project.
Even then I find narrowing down my topic is not easy. There is always so much I want to say! Yes I can be verbose both in spoken and written words. Rather than covering a broad overview, consider how you could go deep with one element of the topic. This allows you to share much more information with your reader and gives you the opportunity to write additional books related to the topic.
Step Two: Research your topic
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9) This is always a good starting point. It keeps us humble and willing to listen to the wisdom of others.
It is unlikely that you are writing on something that no one has written about before. Identifying who has already written on your topic, what they said and why you think you have something fresh to contribute are always important considerations. Don’t be discouraged when you find a book that seems to say much of what you wanted to write about. What I find is that the spirit of God often speaks through many voices on a topic at the same time. We need all the voices that God has anointed.
There are four types of research that I find helpful before starting on a draft for a book
- Reading – What are the best books and web articles available on this topic? When starting on a new project I enlist the help of my social media followers to get their book & website recommendations. For my most recent book project the list of suggested reading was a little overwhelming which made me aware that I had not communicated my topic very well and that there were already a lot of books out there that dealt with creative spirituality. On the other hand I got some very valuable advice that has helped me shape my book to make it uniquely my own.
- Conversation – Who are both the writers and practitioners you need to consult as you write this book? How will you engage with them? What questions would you like to ask them? It might be helpful to develop a set of questions that you ask each person you talk to. Working on a list like this often helps us clarify our thinking, objectives and goals.
I suggest connect to four groups of people: those who are experts on your topic, those who are practitioners, those who are searchers for information on your topic. And lastly to friends that can help you gather research or critique the research you are doing. How will each of these groups enable you to create a richer product?
- Visitation – Talking to people about what they are doing is great but visiting is even more effective as it helps us visualize and then put into words what we are seeing. It is also a good source of images and stories for your writing project. Before you plan visits ask yourself: what will I gain from this visit that I would not gain from a conversation? Again a list of questions that you send out before the visit might be helpful.
- Experimentation – my writing revolves around creative spiritual practices. I like to experiment with my own practices as well as gathering examples that others have created and trying them out. My creativity has blossomed as I worked on this book which is very encouraging for me as it suggests that I am on the right track.
Research needs to both precede and follow the writing of an outline. Preliminary research helps me know the elements I want to incorporate in a book. Writing the outline after that helps me know where I need more research.
Step Three: Recruit Collaborators
“A three fold cord is not easily broken”. In 2010 I was introduced to the Quaker discernment process, a group process that encouraged reflection, prayer and discernment in the context of community, moving us from a task oriented to a discernment oriented approach. In Mustard Seed Associates we came to see this as an essential part of any meeting as it focused on ourselves as community rather than on the tasks we needed to accomplish.
Like our meetings, most projects, especially the writing of books, are task-oriented. We have limited time to write. We have an agenda. We have deadlines. We open in prayer, knock out the details, and close in prayer to ask God to bless our words and our process. A better way is to weave prayer and spiritual attentiveness throughout the process, so that the writing moves from “task orientation” to “discernment orientation.” to make this happen we need friends, collaborators and advisors.
Recruiting a team of 3-5 people who can help guide you on the path to a completed manuscript will strengthen what you write and how you develop your book. They don’t need to be experts on the topic, though at least one or 2 of the people should be knowledgeable about your topic. Make sure that at least half of this team are part of your target audience. Consider this as a pilot discussion group for testing your product. Schedule a monthly meeting either individually or as a group (https://zoom.us/ is a good tool for such meetings if your team is not local.)
This is part of a 4 post series. Here is the entire series
Writing a Book – Part 1
Writing a Book – Part 2
Writing a Book – Part 3
Writing a Book – Part 4
This post was previously posted on the V3 Church planting blog by Tom Sine —
HIGHEST SCHOOL DEBT EVER!
The bad news is that an extraordinary number of the 80 millennials in the US are economically $crewed. School debt is significantly higher for millennials than for Xers, boomers approaching $40,000 per grad.
I have met three church planters that are struggling with a $90,0000 debt for their MDiv degree and working bi-vocationally in order to plan their church.
HARDEST TIMES GETTING STARTED!
Reportedly numbers of millennials are having difficulty finding jobs that relate to their college preparation. Some are responding by going back to grad school and incurring even more debt with little assurance that a job will be waiting for them when they graduate.
Still others find they have to re-locate to secure short- term contract work. This, of course, undermines their relationships and makes life more uncertain as they try to get started
MORE MILLENNIALS LIVING HOMELESS!
Millennials are also having to pay more for rent than older generations. As a consequence a higher percentage of millennials are either living at home or homeless than any other generation. For example, Christine and I have had two millenniums live with us, in our intergenerational household, that had lived in their cars for months because of the high cost of rent in Seattle.
NUMBERS GIVING UP ON BUYING A HOME
Since the cost to purchase homes seems to keep going up faster that the rise in each generation a huge number of millennials are deferring purchasing a home. Reportedly a growing number don’t ever plan to purchase a home. For example, many of us in the silent generation were able to purchase a house on a single income. For this generation purchasing a home, in many markets, requires such a high percentage of two incomes that numbers in this generation don’t feel it makes sense.
For all the daunting bad news…incredibly millennials are still the all time “good news generation!”
MILLENNIALS …THE GOOD NEWS GENERATION!
In spite of all the bad news facing millennials they are a GOOD NEWS GENERATION! {As I affirm in Live Like You Give A Damn! Join the Changemaking “Generation”} This is a generation that is much more aware of the issues of economic, racial and environmental justice.
More than that a higher percentage of millennials want to invest their lives in serious neighborhood empowerment to new forms of social enterprise to enable poor neighbors to become more self-reliant.
They also are discovering how to create new kinds of church to help them as disciples of Jesus, new forms church that empower them to put first things first in their lives.
Trevor and Hilary are a millennial couple who live in the top floor of our inter-generational household here in Seattle. They are planting a new church here called Kardia.
I am impressed that in the first year they have over 50 interested young people coming to their gatherings. A major part of the focus is showing members to become more creative stewards of their time and resources. As a consequence growing numbers are freeing up time and resources to make a difference in the lives of the homeless here in Seattle.
Clearly one of the most important topics for this generation is how, as followers of Jesus, to steward their entire lives to shift from Generation $crewed to GENERATION EMPOWERED!
In my February post I will share one creative way to enable millennials to become GENERATION EMPOWERED by helping one another discern how TO PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST IN THE WAY OF JESUS!
We would love to share your stories of and those of new startups of how millennials are becoming GENERATION EMPOWERED. SEND YOUR STORIES THIS WEEK!
Email you stories to me this week to twsine@gmail.com
by Christine Sine
Tom and I have just returned from one of our quarterly retreats. Our focus was a little different from usual. We spent much of our time thinking back over the almost 26 years of our marriage and reflecting on what we are grateful for. And there is much to be grateful for. We have shared some wonderful adventures as we explored special places around the world, have delighted in the rich experience of ministering together, and of offering hospitality in our home to people near and far. There have been challenging times too, such as when Tom’s son Clint died, and when our property on Camano was vandalized. Through it all, we have grown in our love and appreciation of each other, and in our love for God.
The word that stands out for us as we reflect back is resilience. So many people I know try to avoid the struggling times and wall off their pain. Yet it is these that build our resilience and strengthen our faith.
It is winter here in Seattle, and as I wandered round my garden this morning, I was struck by how barren it looks. The daffodils are just beginning to emerge, but the trees are still devoid of leaves. Winter is a time for building resilience and the garden teaches me much about how I can build accomplish this in my life.
izzy park 4tAqJ0BbMtw unsplash
Frozen leaves Photo by Izzy Park on Unsplash
Winter is a Time for Pruning
This is the season when we prune the fruit trees and roses. Why in winter you might wonder? Partly because when everything is devoid of leaves it is easy to tell what needs to be cut away. The dead wood, the misshapen and scraggly branches that will not bear fruit well are exposed. It is a little like that in our lives too. When we pass through the winters of doubt and depression, through the struggles with illness and loss that we become aware of the dead wood in us that needs to be pruned.
I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard. My Father examines every branch in Me and cuts away those who do not bear fruit. He leaves those bearing fruit and carefully prunes them so that they will bear more fruit; (John 15: 1,2 The Voice)
Pruning is done by God the master gardener. All it requires of us is that we stay close to Christ through regular times of prayer, meditation and scripture reading. It is primarily the strength of our spiritual disciplines that build resilience.
We need deep roots to anchor us
Winter is a Time to Send Down Roots.
Most of our fruit trees and berry bushes were planted in the autumn. Why you might wonder? Won’t they die over the winter. No, but when there is no growth above ground all the energy goes into sending down roots that can go deep searching for water and anchoring the plant.
He is like a tree planted by water,
sending out its roots beside the stream.
It does not fear the heat or even drought.
Its leaves stay green and its fruit is dependable, no matter what it faces. (Jeremiah 17:8 The Voice)
Resilience requires deep spiritual roots that protect us during all seasons from floods and droughts and chaos. And a tree with deep roots bears more fruit. It is not just our scripture reading and prayer that send down roots. The practice of gratitude is one that has deepened my roots and revolutionized my life over the last few years. Noticing and thanking God for the good things God has done is at the heart of a resilient faith.
Maple Syrup Harvesting photo Jason Aki
Winter Intensifies the Sweetness
Have you ever wondered why maple syrup is harvested in winter? Evidently, as the weather cools, the concentration of sugar in each cell increases dramatically and the plasma membrane becomes more flexible. It’s as though it produces its own sugary antifreeze that embraces the precious cell contents and stops it freezing, keeping it safe until spring. This mechanism doesn’t just operate in maple trees, it is an adaption that most winter hardy trees have. Without it their sap would freezes and branches would die.
In our lives too during the hard winter seasons we often feel all that is sweet within us has withdrawn to some inner hidden place. We want it to flow and fill us again, without realizing that its very retraction is what keeps the goodness within us alive. If we let it flow too soon, we will not be able to withstand the winter blasts.
Resilience grows in us as we slow down and enjoy the sweet sugary embrace of God’s protective presence.
icy tree
In Winter Buds And Fruit Wait Patiently.
Deciduous trees, which includes many fruit trees like apples and pears, and berries like blueberries, set buds that contain next year’s leaves and flowers, in the autumn. They then go into a dormancy to await the warm spring weather to stir them into growth. An early warm spell followed by a sudden freeze can decimate a fruit crop because the leaves and flowers unfurl too soon and then freeze.
How often I wonder do we force buds into bloom before their time? How often are we impatient to see growth when God is saying wait, there is another icy blast on the way? Yet resilience means accepting the season in which we find ourselves, even the icy winters when nothing seems to grow.
In Winter Trees Look After Themselves.
As I reflect on how trees adapt to the icy blast of winter, I realize that more than anything they are used to taking care of themselves. They know the signs that winter is approaching and they do what they need to in order to survive. They are pretty good at self care and because of that are indeed resilient.
It makes me aware however that we often ignore the signs of the changing seasons in our lives. We don’t build the inner resources we need to adapt and we don’t grow the resilience that will see us through. We want to keep growing and producing fruit all he time.
So my question for you today is: What do you do for self care? How do you grow resilience in your life?
by Lilly Lewin
Here in the South we get excited about snow! We’ve had a week of snow and ice in Nashville and that means lots of snow days! It’s mostly melted now, but the snow reminded me of our need to find joy in the interruptions of life. And our need to take time to rest and play. It showed me that our entire culture needs a snow day to rediscover a bit of sabbath instead of busyness! And it made me think about what a snow day with God might look like. So in these weeks between Epiphany and Lent, how can we find joy in our everyday worlds? How can we make time for play? How can we take time to rest and restore? Maybe it’s time to have a snow day even if it’s not snowing where you are! Maybe it’s time for a day just to enjoy the world that God has created! Here’s to having a Snow Day with God!
And here’s what I wrote about snow a few years back!
Snow Day by Lilly Lewin
When it comes to snow, I’m a little kid.
I love it!
I get excited just thinking about snow.
And it really hasn’t been winter until it snows.
I love the expectation
I love the quietness of snowfall
The entire world is slowed down by even an inch.
Snow magically changes the landscape from grey and ugly
Lifeless and forlorn,
To a world of wonder and adventure
A world of pristine white
Clean, holy, covered in purity. (at least until the dog pees!)
Even snow flurries make me smile.
It’s the hope of snow!
It’s the romance of snow!
The possibilities of snow days…off school and sleeping late.
The possibility of a fire in the fireplace and hot chocolate
And spiced tea.
It’s the hope of enough snow for a good snowman…
or better yet
enough for sledding!
When it comes to snow, I’m just a little kid!
Where’s my new sled?…I’m ready to take the hill.
And even at 40 I still do!
By Rowan Wyatt —
I didn’t have, what I would call, the best of Baptisms. I was excited, and had heard testimony from people seeing Jesus when they rose up from the waters, feeling peace and being enveloped in bright light. I caught a chill from the freezing baptismal pool and an ear infection from the water.
That stayed with me for years and I regularly doubted the validity of my baptism. Yes, I had been there and as a twenty-five-year-old male I was pushed under the water by the vicar and David the church warden. I had family there, my wife, and I heard the tremendous round of applause when I rose from the arctic depths of the pool. But, it seemed to me at the time, God himself was not there, Jesus was not there, and the Holy Spirit was obviously alighting on someone else.
I felt abandoned, I felt invalid, unwanted and ignored. I smiled so everyone thought it was all great, but I felt God had decided not to turn up. I didn’t think this was a good start to my faith journey.
Years later I am a more mature forty-eight-year-old and am able to see that God was indeed there on that day, it was I who expected the light show and hero’s welcome instead of a hug from the father. I got that hug of course but didn’t realise it for years.
I have found myself in a similar situation recently. My faith has been rocked to the point of falling off a cliff. Ill health for myself and my wife, financial worries, family worries etc. all contrived to put my mind elsewhere, and here is the point of writing this, away from God.
I felt when I was younger that God had abandoned me and recently I have been back at that immature moment of feeling once again cast adrift without the guidance, love and assurity of the light of Jesus in my life. I found myself in a dark pit of despair and railed at God for having put me there and not giving me a shoulder boost to get out.
I have spent the past few months wondering what I could have done so wrong. Had I not prayed enough? Was my anger putting a wall up between God and me? I couldn’t hear him speak anymore, the Bible wasn’t giving me comfort, even my main spiritual medium, music, was failing to inspire me. I felt lost and alone. I needed to get back to something and strip my faith down to the bare bones to get some answers and try to renew my faith.
The title of this article is ‘Getting off to a Good Start – Renewing Faith in God’. I never got off to a good start for the same reason I am having a tiff with him now and teetering on a cliff edge. Renewing faith is important to anyone who is struggling, either as a new Christian or a dyed in the wool old warrior like me. Renewing faith is about renewing oneself first, point the finger at the face in the mirror before turning to point it at God, doing it the other way around makes the journey very long.
The secret to this, ironically, lies in what I was doing to make me feel lost or at odds with God. I said I couldn’t hear him speak anymore, and many have said this as well, especially when they are hurting and sorrowful. But the truth is the reason we can’t hear him is because we are not listening, we have shut God’s word out, we can’t hear the reply for shouting the question.
Here is an example of this. I recently sat in church, alone, praying and desperately wanting God to speak to me, any word would do. I heard audibly the words “Christ’s mercy on you”, “Christ’s mercy on you”, Christ’s mercy on you”. How wonderful, but I dismissed it as my mind just telling me what I wanted to hear and, so I continued to ask God where he was and why wouldn’t he speak. Now that’s nuts!!
The point is if you are seeking renewal of your faith you don’t have to do anything. God doesn’t require you to don a hair shirt and walk to Coventry bare foot or fast for forty days, seek penance or wail in moonlight, not of course saying that pilgrimage and penance don’t have their place. The answers are already there! Stop, look and listen as the old British road safety slogan used to say.
Stop the raging and wandering. Stand where you are as is said in Ephesians 6:12, stand firm, breath in and wait for Him. Surrender to his love, relax in his embrace and most of all, be patient.
Look at the world around you and see that God is there. Look at the words in the Bible and feel them scribe themselves on your heart and soul, breath them in. Look and see God in the birds and the trees.
Listen to what God is saying, actually listen and discern, for often God uses others to relay his words to you. Know his words for they are never harsh, they do not judge and are surely never flippant. Use your discernment when you are given advice from people who come up to you in church, life or in what you read, for this ‘advice’ is not always good.
Renew your faith as this new year begins and feel God breathe on you afresh. He has put a ladder in my hole, it was always there, a big note was attached saying “This is for you, your way out. Just climb up”. It’s that easy, but we are, sadly often blind and deaf and dumb to the ways of God and his love for us.
I am hoping I can renew my faith this year, I am opening my heart to him in surrender and he will accept it, because he loves me. Surrender to him in faith and humility for he also loves you.
I never go to the gym during this time of year, because it teems with motivated people who decided to become fitter, skinnier, and healthier as their new year’s resolutions. Something about the New Year really spikes people’s hope for change, for breakthrough. But by February, that hope tends to dwindle. Perhaps it’s because people eventually realize that altering the digits on the calendar does not necessarily hasten change.
Waiting for change, no matter how long the wait, can be such an arduous journey. There are some aspects of change you can control, such as weight loss or personal discipline. However, there are some things that are left in the air, leaving you at God’s mercy for when things will shift in your favor. Healing from long-term ailments. Salvation of loved ones. Mounting hospital bills. Unbearable work conditions. You need God to handle these thing because your own strength and will are finite.
Yes, it’s true. Your own human efforts, as mighty as they may be, are incomparable to the infinitely powerful hand of God. You can manage, survive, and succeed at best. But, God has His sights higher than giving you success. He wants to give you redeeming victory.
In Acts 1, Jesus appeared before His people after His resurrection for a period of 40 days. It’s glorious. I am sure the disciples were hyped. However, over a meal, Jesus gave them a strange command. He told them to wait, to wait in Jerusalem, and to wait for a gift. And of course, they wanted to know when and how.
To this, Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority,” (Acts 1:7). They were basically commanded to wait without knowing, without understanding.
When we are faithful in the waiting, we are testifying to the world that our breakthrough is God’s job. It is ever so humbling to admit that your destiny and desire are not in your own hands. Most people in the secular world may refute that belief, but when you believe in God you are also admitting that you yourself are not God. It is then when you can resonate with the psalmist that said in Psalm 31:15, “My times are in your hands…”
Everyone is anxious for a newer and better season to come their way. When those hopes and changes haven’t been fulfilled, there’s a temptation to walk away from God. I have witnessed people leave the church because certain prophetic words were left unfulfilled for too long. Young people turned to promiscuity in fear that that was the only way to find the right “one.” Mothers waited for that sense of kingdom calling again, only to be burned out by the day-to-day demands of raising children and running a home. You want out. You want different. You want better, and the waiting is beginning to feel like God had abandoned you.
Yet, after the believers in Acts 1 diligently waited, the Lord delivered what He had promised. The Holy Spirit came, and the first church was born. I would have loved to been there — about 120 actually were. However, the most fascinating part was that Jesus actually showed Himself to over 500 men and women (1 Corinthians 15:6). That means approximately 380 people who did not partake in the waiting were also not present for the promise fulfilled. They weren’t there to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and witness the supernatural manifestation of His gifts. They weren’t there to get launched off to the ends of the earth!
The waiting season is an active season. It is not to be mistaken as a time when nothing happens. The believers were not idle as they stayed in Jerusalem and waited for the promise. No, during this unique interim, the believers constantly gathered to pray. They recalled relevant Scripture and obeyed the word. They established a leadership structure to ready themselves for when God’s gift would unction them to go to the ends of the earth. In the midst of that, God did not abandoned them. In fact, He was preparing them.
Let’s make Jesus famous in our waiting. As your circumstances look dire and your life seems stagnant, may the world see your spirit of thanksgiving. May they hear your praises. For the Lord will indeed do something, and when that something happens, others around you will know exactly who deserves the credit.
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