When I have a deadline, I get it done.
At times I work ahead gathering research so I have plenty of material to work with
when I'm down to the wire. Sometimes I wait almost too long, then I have to put in
a marathon session to finish. After which, I go to bed to recuperate.
But, having a deadline means I will produce. I will finish. Is it my best work?
Usually, it is. Something in me loves the challenge. Others might despair or get a block the size of a mountain and cry, "I can't make it!" But I charge in all engines firing. (Now by the end of such a project, I am moving slower and drinking pots of coffee, and wishing I'd started earlier.) But next time I'll do it again. I don't know why my brain works that way, it just does.
Now if I have a really big project--a book--I have to start early. Do the research, gather correlating odds and ends that might fit the story. I'll write scenes and pages I like; devise daily, weekly, monthly deadlines for myself.
The problem with that is I don't always "obey" myself. I need a writing friend who will hold me accountable.
That's why I'm excited about our writing group's June project. We are going to write the first draft of a book in 30 days! We'll be using Karen S.Wiesner's book: First Draft in 30 Days.
Each of us has a fiction book idea. We will be accountable to each other. We
will have deadlines. We are all in some trepidation. Can we do it? Daunting, but four of us who write fiction, have each made the commitment.
Wish us success. Check back here in a month for an update.
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