Last month I became aware of a 10k in Five Days Challenge, involving sprints. Now, if you aren’t that familiar with me and don’t realize I’m not the most athletic person on the planet, you might think I was talking about running. But I’m guessing most of you know better. Lol. This challenge had nothing to do with athletic prowess. It was all about writing 10,000 words in five days!
Let me give you some background information. When I was writing my debut novel, which I finished the self-edits on last month, my daily goal was 400 words, for a total of 2,000 words in five days. So, when I decided to become part of the 10k challenge, I didn’t expect to make it to 10,000 words. But I wanted to try. We participants met for an hour-long Zoom call three times a day. During these calls we would do two 25-minute sprints of writing, editing, researching, whatever it was we needed to do as authors. The most important rule was to not allow any distractions. No phone calls, no social media, no spouse/children/pet interruptions, no nothing.
My goal for each sprint was to write as many words as I could, with no going backwards to edit or correct, only making forward progress. And what I discovered is I can write a whole lot faster than I ever thought possible. I reached the 10,000-word mark by the end of Day 4! And by the end of the challenge on Day 5, I had written 13,021 words. I not only finished the first draft of the short story I am working on, but I was more than 9,000 words into the sequel of my first novel.
Of course, you know there’s a God story in this.
I love when He makes it obvious how He is working in my life. When I vaulted over the 10,000-word mark on Day 4, I was so excited. I told everyone who would listen how life-changing that was going to be for me as an author. And it has been, and I believe will continue to be. But I also believe this new tool came to me in God’s timing—when He knew I would be ready for it and not overwhelmed by it. If I had tried writing 10,000 words in five days before now, I could have burned out, possibly before I even completed the book. But I am ready for it now, and so God introduced it to me.
One of the indicators I use to help me know when God is talking to me is by paying attention to possible signs from him. For example, if I see the same topic randomly pop up more than once in a short period of time, I pay close attention to that in case He is trying to teach me something. And that is what happened with this topic of God’s timing.
Two weeks ago, I hosted the annual ACFW Georgia Writers’ Retreat at my house. I always do a welcome devotional the first night. When I sat down to write the devo, I planned to share a writer’s prayer written by Bob Hostetler, a literary agent. I had read it in the past and loved it. But when I Googled “A writer’s prayer by Bob Hostetler,” a different one popped up. And do you know what it was about? Of course, you do.
God’s Timing.
Based on passages in Ecclesiastes 3, it reminds us to trust in God’s timing because there is a season for everything. I know many of us are familiar with this passage, but the link below will remind us of what it says.
What a meaningful reminder this is. Not only does God have a different plan for each of us with different timing and different outcomes, but He also has given us different talents to work with. I don’t regret that it took me more than thirty years to complete my debut novel because I believe God would have made it clear to me if I was supposed to finish it sooner. But now, I think He’s provided me with a tool He wants me to use so that my next books won’t take as long. At least, I hope they don’t! Lol.
I want to share with you Bob’s writer’s prayer.
I love to hear your God stories. Please share them in the comments here or by replying to this email.
Love you bunches and boocoodles!!
I've witnessed Janette's success in action at the ACFW writers' retreat! I'm going to have to try! Thanks!😀