FMF Writing Prompt Link-up :: Decline

Happy Easter weekend, friends! I hope you have a special weekend reflecting on the death of our Lord and celebrating His resurrection.

If you’re new to Five Minute Friday, you can learn more about the link-up here.

This week’s FMF writing prompt is: DECLINE

decline

Setting my timer for five minutes and . . . GO.

During our last Writing Accountability Group, one participant asked the question: How do you make time to write?

For me, a major shift happened when I finally considered my writing as something valuable and worthwhile enough to fill a slot in my calendar. When I mentally counted my writing time as if it carried the same weight as a doctor’s appointment and actually scheduled it on my calendar, I began to make real progress in my writing life and respective projects.

Today I’m happy to share that I recently signed my fifth book contract — woo hoo! I’m excited about the project and also completely overwhelmed by its magnitude. Its scope is bigger than anything I’ve taken on before, so I am definitely going to have to decline invitations and opportunities in order to prioritize this project if I’m going to meet the deadline.

By saying no to other things, I’m telling myself that this work matters.

STOP.

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Join the link-up with your own five-minute freewrite below, then visit your link-up neighbor to read their post and leave an encouraging comment:

13 Comments

Andrew Budek-Schmeisser on April 2, 2026 at 10:46 pm

Congratulations, Kate!

***

I know I’m running outta time,
and it feels like life’s about to cease,
but while I am in sharp decline
I’ll make sure that He will increase.
I really do not know quite how,
my words just do not get it right,
but my hand’s put to the plow
and I truly hope I might
run a furrow straight and true,
and sow the seeds kept in my hand,
and when the job is done and through
I hope the Christ will understand
that when the furrow’s got a curl,
that was when I saw a squirrel.