Tag: Deadlines

Posted in Critique Groups, First Drafts, Uncategorized

Thankful Thursday: Another One for the Critique Group

Posted on by beckylevine

I’ve been writing an icky scene.

No, not one with blood and guts (wait, maybe that’s what it needs!). One where the writing was just dragging along, not flowing, where I was staring at it and knowing that–even for a first draft–it was not making me happy.  In other words, the staring wasn’t helping. And next week is slotted (in my mental writing calendar) for a bit of work on my picture book and a bit more work on some talks I’m getting ready to give. So, you know, it would have been easy just to stall out on this scene, let it sit on the computer, and then–yes–have it be that much harder to face when I came back to it.
Or…  I could push through it, with the unhappiness, get it “done,” and send it out to my critique group, knowing that it’s totally safe to share with them and knowing that I’ll get ideas, thoughts, suggestions…HELP!

And then I got an email from my mom who, as I’ve mentioned here before, is pretty darned wise. She’s been working on her memoir, first through a class at the local community college and then–when funding got cancelled for the class (BOO, HISS!), with the group of people who decided to keep writing together. I’d just given her a basic critique, with a few thoughts about scene structure and showing, not telling, and I know she’d planned to get right back to writing. Turns out, not quite so fast–she’s not only a wise woman, but a very busy one. Anyway, turns out  is the meeting of her group. Here’s what Mom said in her email:

          We’re meeting this afternoon, so I HAD to get something written. 

Ha!

Yes, that is the motivation magic of a critique group. It’s the kind of deadline that, in a strong & supportive group, puts just the right amount of pressure on us–the good kind. The kind that says we’re free to get past the reluctance, distaste, or fear about whatever that current writing piece is–to push through it, get it to some kind of “done,” and send it out.

Free to keep moving forward.

Posted in Deadlines, Getting Organized, Page Proofs

Deadlines, Revisited

Posted on by beckylevine

Way back here, almost a year ago, when I was just getting started with The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide, I posted about how I seriously dislike deadlines.

Boy, that feels a long time ago.

Since, then I’ve met several deadlines, and all of them have felt pretty good. Probably because, as I wrote more of the book, as my critique group did their wonderful slicing and dicing, and as the book started taking it’s true, whole form, the nervousness I was feeling  about it died down. Which is good.

I didn’t expect, though, to find myself actually enjoying a deadline.

This week, I’ve been working on page proofs. In the “old” days, this would have meant the publisher mailing me (as in stuff envelope, apply stamps, drop in mail slot) the physical proofs, that I would have read through with red pen in hand.

Nope. My editor emailed me a PDF of the pages, with instructions for basically typing of a list of things I find that may need to be fixed. Because I can be slightly anal, I set up a table for this–just one column for the page number and another for “Change this to this.” (All dependent on my editor’s blessing, of course!)

This is what I’m doing for the next few days. This is all I’m doing.

And, you know, it’s kind of relaxing.

There’s something peaceful, for a small chunk of time, about having one project–one project only–asking for my attention. I’m not working on anything else, because this deadline takes priority. I take my laptop over to the comfy couch, get my tea, put the Internet on Pandora (wondering WHY The Rolling Stones are showing up on my Van Morrison station), and I read. I read, then stop, make a note, and read some more.

Soothing.

And, okay, it doesn’t hurt that I”m feeling a huge sense of relief and delight that–yes, many drafts after that first deadline–I’m still loving this book.

How do you feel about deadlines? What’s your favorite way to dig into the work that has to be done?

Posted in Deadlines

Deadlines–Big & Small

Posted on by beckylevine

I met a deadline yesterday. I sent a chunk of chapters, the first big set from The Critiquer’s Survival Guide, off to my own critique group. (Yes, I really do practice what I preach!) I had checked with them ahead of time and found out they were okay with reading these pages over the T’giving holiday. I knew I wouldn’t get much writing done myself, with traveling and school being out, so this was great news. I told them I’d get them the files by Tuesday noon.

But…yesterday was Sunday.

Yep. I HATE deadlines. I have, ever since college, when I found out how much I stressed when papers were due or tests were looming. Way back then, I had friends who thrived on those last-minute all-nighters; they just sent me into a world of headaches and sore stomachs. So I learned a way to deal with those deadlines.

I set my own. Early. After the first year of school, I had every paper finished at least 24 hours ahead of time, and studied hard enough for tests to be able to put the books away just when a lot of other kids were pulling theirs out.

I still use this trick. Sure I still end up running on adrenaline for a while. I still have to push myself to add more hours, stick with it, get the work done. It’s just a mind game I play with myself. Except…this mind game has some real pluses.

Here’s what happens when I set (and meet) my own deadlines:

  • I end up with free time. There’s always another project waiting, more work to be done. If you don’t finish until the last minute, you often have no choice but to leap right back into the fray.
  • I use this free time to reward myself. Remember free2cr8’s Rewardathon Box? Today, I spent extra time on the treadmill, then relaxed with a book for a while. I’m sitting quietly in a quiet house, sipping my tea. I’ll probably do the dishes SOMETIME today, but I’m not rushing there, I can tell you that. And I won’t have to rush when I DO get to them.
  • I get to recharge. As much as we love writing, we can’t do it day in and day out without a breather. At least I can’t. Not for hours at a time. We have to let our finger, eyes, and brains relax. For a little bit.
  • I get to look at my project from a little further out. I know where I’m going next on this book, but I need some time to let it simmer. If I had to jump back in NOW, I’d write garbage and spend more time deleting paragraphs than producing them. I barely have to think about what’s coming; I just have to NOT think about what’s just gone. For a day. My brain will do the rest.

The Tuesday deadline was self-imposed, but it was real. If I didn’t get the files finished by then, it wouldn’t happen until after Thanksgiving. And the big deadline for this book doesn’t really leave me that kind of leeway. So, yes, Tuesday counted. And if I’d waited for them, I’d have found myself clicking Send, then spinning in a quick whirlwind, doing a complete 180 and spiraling instantly into laundry, packing, cooking, and cleaning for the holiday.

No break. No reward.

If you’re writing fiction, this technique works, too. You may or may not have an official deadline for a novel, for a draft, but you can set them up for yourselves. Look ahead on the calendar. What’s coming–say, in December. What do you want to have done by the time school lets out, or its time to wrap presents for whichever holiday you might celebrate? Now–what if you push that deadline back, just a day or two? You’ll have quiet time, for yourself, before those wonderful children are with you 24/7. You’ll have time to finish that book you’ve been reading, time to putter around the house with your music on, time to let your brain chill.

And something that can be done in twenty-one days can, I very much believe, be done in nineteen.

Like I said, it’s a mind game. And I know that there are times when the game is not possible–when the workload is too big and the timeline is too short.

But if you get a chance, give the game a try. Remember, you’re the one making the rules.

How do you handle deadlines, official or otherwise? What tricks do you play on your brain to make it happen?