New decade, new direction for now

Since returning to the SF Bay Area for the holidays, I've reconnected with many friends including a handful who are journalists. We have talked mostly about school, relationships and things going on in their lives. They all continue to inspire me. One of my friend's is starting a program in the Salinas Valley geared to help parents learn computer skills to help their children. And a former professor is trying to create a Web site that will publish all the deaths in Santa Clara County which is no easy task.

I listened intently to both individuals talk about their dreams and passions. It is good to hear friends and colleagues are continuing to do well and inspire others.

Along that vain I had the pleasure of talking about writing with these two people. They are both great writers who listen and are great sounding boards. I was able to talk about the writing process with them as I am in the midst of writing my synthesis project.

And with that, I came up with a sort of temporary direction for this blog for the next six to eight weeks. I'm taking one writing tool that has helped or inspired me for this synthesis project and expanding it each week.

I have decided that if more people thought about writing from a different angle, then the synthesis project might not be so unwieldy. Admittedly, I enjoy it though. I mean, talking about writing that is.

The last point is that, since this is a journalism and ministry blog this is the perfect space to talk about my writing project and what I find helpful.

Ahem...writing find No. 1 -

Creating a timeline, and telling other people about it -

We have a deadline of Feb. 1 for the first draft of the synthesis project for the MA students in the program. That can mean writing anywhere from 25 pages to 70 pages. I'm on the later half of that.

I set little goals in December and this first part of January of where I wanted to be. I vocalized my plans to others, who either supported me or thought it was a little nuts. I wanted to finish at least one chapter before I left for vacation and another while I was back in Calif.

I told others around me which helped me hear myself out loud. And it also seemed to create a layer of accountability that I wanted to stick to.

The point is not for others to jump on my back or be responsible for making sure I complete the work, but more for me to hear myself out loud and reinforce how much this project and this timeline are to me.