"Be Careful!"_Part 2_As a Writer, I follow key work principles

*True Story. At a church's September board meeting, as fall leaves began to turn, the subject of heating oil for winter came up. A prominent new member of the board chimed in quickly: "I think the church should rotate who supplies the oil." He said this earnestly, adding: "It's only fair that my company supply oil, too. I propose to do that!" The pastor and other board members looked around at each other and the new board member's intense expression changed to white-knuckled shock, as the board immediately embraced the idea: ''I am sure that our supplier will be glad for you to do that," said the board chairman. "He supplies our heating oil for free. We gladly accept your offer to share the load with him. Thank you, thank you!"*

     Wow. That oil company exec jumped into a huge chunk-of-change offer without looking, or asking questions, first. (Maybe he'd thought being on the church board would be good for business? I smile.) But this topic of being careful goes beyond that. It includes, for writers, paying attention regularly to the importance of good research, thinking ahead, considering possible consequences, including watching for poorly chosen, possibly confusing, words or themes. Surprisingly, it can add interest to how we work. 

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"Be careful!" is a parting shot that lots of people feel downright angry about. Considering more of what being careful means, including watching over/being responsible for, could make being careful more acceptable as a principle for writers.  

• Influence on others - I want my words and ideas to serve readers well, so I try to be careful with how and when I post them in an article, aware of influence of words. Recently on Twitter, however, I really mis-communicated. I tweeted without really thinking it through, and I got a fast push-back. To react, I thought about how I might correct the situation, and I think I found the words to do that. 

These days, there is a tendency not to converse or question directly whether face-to-face with people or online. There is an increasing influence in social networking to jab rather than build a dialogue. That is the situation, and increasingly I think we need to be careful over how this influences us and how we comment or initiate contact.

It's funny and yet sometimes not...but how conditions affect how we communicate. If we are shut in, for example, due to weather or health, for example, our desire to communicate may come out backwards from what we intended. Or, we may expect something that a particular venue is not meant for or capable of.

• I am not an entertainer and I also was trained in non-essay writing, such as research reports and information writing. I'm learning to make heart and head work in a more balanced way, depending on topics.

• Determination 1: to stay on target - First, I fight wandering thoughts that try to break in fully on me, the worst distraction. I also try to ignore other distractions, whether to begin work, continue it, or make the time work for the writing at hand. 

     I have had to train myself to ignore, completely, web pop up ads, side column photo links, and what seem like multitudes of other distractions; I allow the phone to take messages--hardest when I realize a friend or family member might be calling. 

• More well-balanced life -This may be the need I neglect the most, and I am working to correct it. I no longer listen to much news, read newspaper cover to cover; read too-descriptive crime novels, or keep other habits whose absence has improved my life (and work, I hope) enormously. 

And I need to pay attention to walking even 10-20 minutes, and this is very unlikeable in winter. I confess, I cannot remember my last walk since November!

• High sensitivity to others' language and images - I read more excellently-written books now than ever; e.g., just began Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White, my second by this writer. This sensitivity is essential,I think. 

     I am not too strict on myself. I like Dick and Felix Francis horse-racing detective stories for "easy reading," i.e., faster, that makes writing a novel look far easier than it must be.

• Determination 2: to improve my skills and techniques as a writer and writing mentor. This requires more time and attention with self-starting effort under prayer. 

 I want to grow in whatever I am doing, in whatever good relationships I have with readers!

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 What parts of the definition of careful, below, help you the most? Is there an aspect to pay more attention to? 

care·ful

ˈkerfəl/

adjective

adjective: careful; superlative adjective: carefullest

1. 1.

   making sure of avoiding potential danger, mishap, or harm; cautious.

   "I begged him to be more careful"

   synonyms:

   cautious, heedful, alert, attentive, watchful, vigilant, wary, on guard, circumspect "be careful when you go up the stairs"

   antonyms:

   careless

   • anxious to protect (something) from harm or loss; solicitous.

     "he was very careful of his reputation"
   • prudent in the use of something, especially money.

     "he had always been careful with money"

     synonyms:

     prudent, thrifty, frugal, economical, economizing, scrimping, abstemious, sensible; More mean, miserly, penny-pinching, parsimonious, ...; informalstingy "she'd always been careful with money"

     antonyms:

     extravagant

2. 2.

   done with or showing thought and attention.

   "a careful consideration of the facts"

   synonyms:

   attentive, conscientious, painstaking, meticulous, diligent, deliberate, assiduous, sedulous, scrupulous, punctilious, methodical; informalpersnickety "careful consideration of the facts"

   antonyms:

   inattentive

My key work principles began in Part 1.

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*True story told to me by my parents, a church where they had been members. The event happened in the mid-1940s, and I am not sure that it happened in September. I figured the church board might be taking up a subject like heating oil early, before winter hit. I think that God is behind carefulness. He takes care of his own and is full of loving care in how he leads and corrects, in the ways most needed and most bearable, including for wealthy oil company owners.  

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If you like hymns sung by country musicians, here's "I Surrender All" by George Jones.  
A capella version is here:l Surrender All. I know that George Jones led a rough life at times. I enjoy the way he sings this hymn in country gospel style.He died in Nashville, TN, in 2013 at age 81.