The whooshing sound of deadlines

“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” ― Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt

Most people have a love hate (or a hate hate relationship) with deadlines. Knowing a project has an end can be motviating, terrifying and just a little bit of both. I love deadlines. Knowing that I have a certain amount of time to complete a project brings out my inner racer and I want to beat that deadline. It also brings out my inner procrastinator and I want to wait as long as possible to start. It's a terrible combination, like tying my shoelaces together right before a big race, and then crawling along the race instead of running.

Finding what works best for you is a big part of the creative life, but whether you like them or not, deadlines are always going to come into play. Whether their deadlines you give yourself, or deadlines hoisted upon you by outside forces, they're going to come for you. You need to learn to work with them even if you might not like them.

Work backwards from your deadline. If something is due in four weeks, figure out what you need to have finished every day to meet that goal. Need 300 pages edited in 4 weeks? 300 pages divided by 4 weeks ( 28 days) is roughly 11 pages a day. Breaking it down into bitesize pieces often helps make a project seem less overwhelming than it actually is. You can also use it to predict how long a project will take. If you're trying to write a 90,000 word novel and know you average 1,500 words a day then you can estimate that it will take you 60 days to finish that project. Knowing your own speed and creating your own timeline oftens helps you stay in control of your projects and keep moving forward even when you're not sure what to do.

Deadlines are great because they give you a target to aim for. They make me feel like I know where the goal post is and how long it's going to take me to get there. Without those, I end up lost and confused, wandering around without any clear direction. I'm easily distracted and I need the focus that a deadline gives me.

Some people however seem to shut down the second a deadline enters the picture. There's some sort of mental shut down that makes deadlines into the enemy. I think the best thing to do here is keep moving forward and writing the day away. There's no shame in that; you've got to work on things nd see them through to the end.

Writing to a deadline is one of the things I love about NaNoWriMo. It's got a clear goal post, it's well-defined, and easy to know if you made it or not. Did you write 50,000 words by the end of November, yes or no? It's a goal post that's easy to define and you know what it requires. How many words a day do you need to write? What do you need to change to make that happen?

Knowing the goal let's you adjust your other needs and balance to find what to do. Set a dealine and see what happens.

Friday Review: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

I was thrilled when Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert was released. It arrived on my doorsteps in all its hardback gorgeousness and I dove right in, reading the whole thing over the course of two days during a vacation. Eat, Pray, Love never hit me with the magic that it affected so many other people with but I fell in love with Gilbert's Ted Talk about muses and creativity. 

The first time I heard her talk, I rolled my eyes and snorted at her discussion of magic. It all sounded too abstract for me. The second time, I listened a little closer and found her saying a lot of things I agreed with. I don't know if I will ever 100% agree with everything she says but I do really like several of her points and I couldn't wait to have a longer chance to hear about her ideas. Big Magic is that longer discussion I was waiting for. 

Gilbert believes in both the magic and the work of a creative life. What I found most refreshing was her belief that having a job to support your creative habit is not some shameful thing but is instead a vital and important part of the creative life. Not starving is always a nice bonus. 

It's interesting to hear about her own struggles, worries and challenges with writing. We tend to think of someone like her, who had a smash hit, as a success and that's it, but the pressure of following up on such a success could easily swallow her whole, Gilbert doesn't let it and keeps working, chasing after the ideas that touch her hand and ask to be taken along. 

My favorite story in the entire book is the idea of the rain forest story that jumped from her to Ann Patchett with a kiss. I've had a similar thing happen and at first, felt betrayed that my idea had been stolen, but the truth is, that idea was no more mine than the air I breathe. It's something I touched, loved and held onto but not something I had any claim on. 

I found Big Magic incredible reassuring about the entire creative process. No matter how analytical or practical you get about writing (or any creative endeavor) there will always be a piece of magic to it, a diving into the unknown, grasping, hoping and knowing that something is going to grab back. That's why I keep creating, the magic that bites back and holds tight to my skin, driving me to work. 

If you're looking to learn about other creative's processes, reassurance you're not crazy, or just a blunt, honest look at writing, I think Big Magic is an excellent addition to your library and a great book to grab when you need a pick me up and a reminder that to create is to commit to making (and being a part of) magic. 

You can buy Big Magic here.

Moonlight and Magnolias!

This year I went to the Georgia Romance Writer Association's Moonlight and Magnolias for the first time and I had an incredible time. I was really nervous going into the conference because I'd never been and I didn't know anyone who was going to be there. It turned out to be one of the most fun, informative conferences I've ever been to. 

Everyone was beyond friendly, before I'd been there ten minutes I'd already made new friends and was getting all kinds of great advice on how to make the most of my time at the conference. 

For the first time ever, I pitched agents and editors and I didn't burst into flames once! I actually spent all day Friday taking cancelled pitch sessions and ended up chatting with 7 agents and/or editors. Out of those 3 requested fulls, and 2 requested partials. The other 2 didn't represent my genre but we still had great chats about books and writing. 
Jana Oliver gave a great speech during lunch about not quitting and her own path to success. It was really inspiring to hear! 

Saturday I went to several workshops and learned a lot of new techniques and tips to try out. I think my favorite was learning about storyboarding your novel. I had a lot of fun cutting up pictures and making a collage of inspiration. I'll definitely pull that out in the future. Chris Marie Green gave a really fun but moving speech about her own struggles with publishing and her path through the ups and downs. She themed everything with TV shows and it was really engaging to listen to. 

The evening was the Maggie Awards and one of the things i was most excited about! There aren't many chaces to get dressed up like a princess so I was happy to have the chance to throw on a dress and heels. Because I wasn't staying at the hotel, I actually ended up getting dressed in the bathroom and made several friends who were doing the same thing. Nice to know there'll always be somewhere there to zip your dress up! 

The ceremony was lovely. There were a lot of beautiful tributes and speeches and it was so exciting seeing how many people cheered for one another. When the awards were over the dance floor opened up and partying fully commenced. I had a great time during the few songs I danced to! 

Sunday was the day of goodbyes and while I hated telling everyone bye, I know I'll see many of them soon when I visit the Georgia Romance Writer's next meeting! :)

All in all I was amazed at how welcoming and supportive everyone was. All of the authors were thrilled to meet new authors and share wisdom. Everyone was so passionate and in love with writing that I came home ready to write my heart out on new and old projects. It's hard to be around so many incredible people and not leave inspired!