Writing by the numbers: An activity report 2022/23

Numbers are not my thing. I prefer words. I can corral them better, and I understand clearly how their relationship one to the other delivers on the page what I want to achieve for the reader. But, every now and again, numbers are useful. And, as last week’s “Life Sketches in Words” class included the homework to prepare an activity report on my ‘work’ today (with work having any meaning, connotation or context I might wish to give it), I have prepared an activity report on my writing.

First, the numbers: I have had 15 pieces of writing published in the last 23 months. By my (wonky) math, that’s about 65% ‘success’ rate, meaning…what? I’m not sure what that percentage actually demonstrates, so I created the graph below with pretty colours that map my publication record in a straightforward way, showing that July 2023 was a banner month with three pieces published — a one-time feat I'm sure, likely not to be repeated.  

My record is made up of the following individual pieces, each of which I am very pleased to have written and had published:

• 4 creative nonfiction essays on Brevity blog
• 4 fictional stories on 50-Word Stories
• 2 creative nonfiction in the Globe and Mail newspaper
• 1 ‘writing craft’ essay in Brevity journal
• 1 micro memoir Five Minute Lit
• 1 creative nonfiction piece, an honourable mention in a contest with Off Topic Publishing
• 1 creative nonfiction essay on Jungle Red Writers blog
• 1 creative nonfiction essay in Our Canada (Readers Digest online)

Second, more numbers: I’ve written 18 other pieces with which I am equally pleased, but they have not been published (though some have appeared on my blog, i.e., are self-published). I wrote them for the various writing sessions I co-facilitate, each piece contributing to my writing practice and my evolving writing skills. 

Third, more numbers still: I've published 96 posts to this blog since January 1, 2022. One a week for 96 weeks. 

What do these numbers show? That writing is a craft best developed by the doing of it. While I am motivated by the thought of an editor publishing a piece of mine for readers to access out there in the big world, I am equally motivated to share my writing with the participants who sign up for our ‘writing as tool for transformation’ writing sessions and also with the readers of this blog. I find courage and reward in sharing what I write, no matter where or how that sharing occurs.

This blog does a lot for me: Every week, I find something to write about that I am satisfied to share with you, dear Reader. Some weeks, I’m sure, you skip over the post; who could blame you? I do the same with many of the newsletters and blogs to which I subscribe. But some weeks, some of you comment on what I have written and, let me tell you, there is no better feeling than knowing that my words have landed with impact on someone out there.

My big realization: I want my writing to have meaning, to have impact, and this activity report shows that I most often aim to achieve that through the writing of creative nonfiction (CNF) pieces. I may dabble in fiction occasionally, but my writing heart belongs to CNF -- the numbers show this clearly. 

That clarity marks a milestone for me as writer: I can state with confidence that I am a writer of creative nonfiction and that I write to be read. 

Thank you, dear Reader, for being on this path with me. I appreciate your company, your comments, and your critique.

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Land acknowledgement: I respectfully recognize that I live on the original lands of Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.