DEADLINE!!!
Are you always wishing for time to write?
Having found some of these precious minutes/hours to write. Do you find, you just can't?
I do. I go on Facebook, check emails - again, make another cup of coffee, start new groups, pages and think up sales campaigns for a book that I have yet to complete.
The only time this didn't happen was when I had a deadline for a non-fiction book, 'How to Start and Run a Petsitting Business.' I'd promised the publishers, I would have it ready in six months. I did nothing for four and then worked 24/7 to complete. That was in 2008 and it's still selling well.
So that's it - a deadline. A timetable within that deadline.
This is mine: If I don't complete a near publishable first draft of my thriller by Christmas day, I give £100 to the Legion. If I do complete it and it sells, I will give 10% of my sales to the Legion.
--> How about you guys. how do you motivate yourselves?
This is something I struggle with constantly. I can procrastinate for England, and the only thing that seems to motivate me is a deadline, and even then I leave it until the last minute. It's the fear of not getting it done that eventually motivates me, and I think this is common with most writers. I read a great post on author Catherine Ryan Howard's blog just last week on the very same topic. Setting my own deadlines doesn't work, I seem to sabotage them -it's like a mental illness!
ReplyDeleteAt the moment, a writing friend and I are setting each other goals, as I have to write a first draft of the next novel by end of September and at the rate I'm going I'm going I'll be writing all 80,000 words in the last two weeks :-O
Good luck with your deadline, I'm sure you'll do it. And it's nice to see you blogging again :o)
How brilliant to hear from you! How is the writing going? Is it full time now? I know that full time doesn't mean writing full time. Writing is always last on my To Do list.
ReplyDelete