I also hate to miss a deadline ~ which I know seems like an oxymoron, but I admit I'm am a prompt procrastinator. Of course until this moment only a very few were privy to that tidbit to my psyche.
Deadlines serve a good purpose. Without that line in the sand, or if you prefer the sand slipping through the hour-glass - nothing would get accomplished. I know I would dally the day away and then the week, and I've learned time can either be my friend or my darkest foe. Since I'm not much of a fighter, I prefer to keep time on friendly terms.
I make daily deadlines. Do I always meet them? Heck, no. But those times when I fail, I guarantee you I come back more determined than ever the day after. I'm armored with conviction, blustery confidence and a vow to get the job done today.
My deadlines vary from writing a certain scene to completion, editing what I wrote the days before, re-writing what got omitted in the first draft ... you get the idea. But by the end of my writing time - I reward myself with a sense of accomplishment. I've learned small victories are still victories and should be savored like a bite of dark chocolate... I've been known to reward myself with that too!
By hurdling those small daily deadlines I gradually reach and complete the bigger ones. Taking pride in meeting a deadline should be every writer's goal. Writing is a business and we writers need to keep a professional hand on our time, make it work for us so we don't end up in a panic with a huge deadline closing in like a threatening tornado.
So, I urge you, encourage you, no... challenge you to begin a deadline regiment. Don't wait for an agent, or an editor, or even a publisher to give you a deadline. Make one yourself. This is your career - yes, career even if you are not published. If you write, then think of it as a career and focus on accomplishing, completing your work.
For those of you who already have a deadline regiment ... post a blog and share what works for you ~ or what doesn't! We writers are ravenous for information on how to get something worthwhile down on paper... especially in a timely fashion! So come on, cough it up, spew it out or simply and politely share what try and true routine works for you.
So here it is, hours before my deadline and I've completed my first official blog. The big tornado didn't get me, my computer didn't crash and I found my way back here to ACME AUTHORS LINK all on my own ... I put it in my Favorites and hope you will too!
In closing I will share with you a quote from a gal I bet had a deadline regiment of her own. Her name is Dorothy Dix, who was one of America's highest-paid and most widely read female journalists.
"I have learned to live each day as it comes, and not borrow trouble by dreading tomorrow."
Yep. She knew all about deadlines!
Til next time ...
DL Larson, author
(Deb)
Memories Trail, Nov. 2004
ISBN 09723011-8-6
Midwest Book Review: "... A story of war, passionate friendship and honor. It will grab your heart and not let go."
Promises To Keep, Nov. 2006
ISBN 09778205-6-4
Midwest Book Review: "...A story of life, good and bad; it's challenges and the hope of new beginnings. Excellent read!"
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