Looking Down the Barrel
I love to be busy. Having nothing to do makes me twitchy and prone to random bouts of shopping, which is bad for the credit card.
For the past 10 years, summer has been my busiest time and this year promises to be no less so. Not only will my guys be out of school in three weeks (oh, the horror), but my freelance work becomes an almost full-time proposition from June through August. Which makes me feel like there's a sword hanging over my head as I try to finish the fifth story in my Magical Seduction series for EC and do revisions--one for my editor, one for my agent.
I know, this is not a hardship. As Raz Steel, an author friend, said to me the other day, it's better to have two revisions at the same time than none at all. He's absolutely right.
As a newspaper reporter, I like deadlines, whether it's by press time for a review or in a week for an article. I enjoy the rush of knowing I need to be fast and right and I love the satisfaction of getting it done.
As a writer, it helps to have a set date to finish a project. Even if you don't have an editor or agent waiting, giving yourself a deadline helps you visualize the end. It's a nudge that keeps you moving forward, even when your hero's being a wimp and your heroine is a wet dishcloth. It's the carrot at the end of the stick, the chocolate at the finish line.
In my world, there are always Junior Mints at the finish line. And maybe a couple of Chocolate Raspberry Milanos too.
For the past 10 years, summer has been my busiest time and this year promises to be no less so. Not only will my guys be out of school in three weeks (oh, the horror), but my freelance work becomes an almost full-time proposition from June through August. Which makes me feel like there's a sword hanging over my head as I try to finish the fifth story in my Magical Seduction series for EC and do revisions--one for my editor, one for my agent.
I know, this is not a hardship. As Raz Steel, an author friend, said to me the other day, it's better to have two revisions at the same time than none at all. He's absolutely right.
As a newspaper reporter, I like deadlines, whether it's by press time for a review or in a week for an article. I enjoy the rush of knowing I need to be fast and right and I love the satisfaction of getting it done.
As a writer, it helps to have a set date to finish a project. Even if you don't have an editor or agent waiting, giving yourself a deadline helps you visualize the end. It's a nudge that keeps you moving forward, even when your hero's being a wimp and your heroine is a wet dishcloth. It's the carrot at the end of the stick, the chocolate at the finish line.
In my world, there are always Junior Mints at the finish line. And maybe a couple of Chocolate Raspberry Milanos too.
Labels: writing deadlines
posted by Stephanie Julian at
7:10 AM
2 Comments:
Ugh...I make deadlines too but keeping them is difficult. I always know I can bend it. And I often do.
I need a deadline set by an editor to get me going. Seriously.
Mmmm.... raspberry milanos. Now that's a motivator.
I set deadlines and I dont always keep them, but I get a lot closer than if I didnt set them at all.
Submission deadlines for special projects, like Ellora's Cave Cavemen series, can help me when I'm having trouble and procrastinating
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home