Give me a Deadline, Please

No matter the routine, no matter the schedule, I need deadlines to get things done. Similar to what Kitty said in an earlier blog, it must be all the years of trying to meet school deadlines. When I’m under a deadline (real, or self-imposed) I suddenly find more time to write and I’m more focused in my writing. Time management becomes less of an issue.

In University I had an oversized semester calandar tacked to my wall. It showed four months at a time and I could easily plot all my assignments–especially those term papers. I still use a basic calendar to plot all my family and writing activities. I need to see all my due dates at a glance. Setting deadlines for myself keeps my projects moving forward.

What if you don’t have a “real” deadline? How can you keep yourself motivated with a self-imposed deadline? Well, for me, I put my critique group to work. These other writers have been great about giving me a deadline. What I do is figure out the next step in my novel writing process, then I ask one of my friends when she has time to look at my sample chapters or query. There’s my deadline.

This week I sent out a sample query letter and first chapter to Heather, one of my critique partners. I was supposed to have my synopsis, too, but I didn’t like how it turned out. She wrote me back that I had until midnight. LOL, it was the little push I needed. So I worked a little more on the synopsis to make it at least presentable and I turned it in to her.

I’m so glad I’ve got a group of writers to help me stay on track and keep moving forward.