When Push Comes to Bulldozing

When I was a little kid, I always thought the word "deadline" was probably one of the scariest words ever. I figured it had to mean that if you didn't finish whatever you were doing before your deadline ended, you died.

Now, I still think "deadline" is one of the scariest words ever, but for different reasons. I like to believe that publishers are nice enough people to avoid going to extreme measures if someone is late with a manuscript. That being said, I've never been late for a deadline and most of the time, I've been a week, if not more than a week, early.

A lesson that was hammered into my brain during many a writing conference.

Before I got published, writing was fun. I got to write when I wanted to, when I felt like, when the mood was right. I never thought about word counts or page counts or anything really except what I wanted to write that day.

Then I signed a contract. And had to have a complete novel written by a date that was growing increasingly closer every time I blinked at my blank Word document.

Suddenly, writing was not so fun anymore. I had to write every day - whether I was sick, tired, sick and tired or just not in the writing mood. I couldn't just drop my writing and head out to meet a friend for coffee or go to the mall with my mom. Writing was no longer recreational.

It was work.

For those of you out there who are working for a publishing contract, one of the best exercises you can do is give yourself a deadline for your next manuscript. Mark a date four to six months away on your calendar and make yourself finish the book by then.

Consider it practice for the future.

Or, consider it a life-saver for the future. Instead of having near panic attacks like I had, you'll be breezily humming as you write along once you get your contract because you will have developed the skill to write even when you don't feel like it.

Forced Inspiration - it's a discipline that is both well-earned and priceless. Whenever you find something that just gets the wheels rolling, remember it and use it. Is it listening to music when you write? Crank the music! Is it sitting in a certain chair, at a certain desk? Plop on down there! Is it drinking a certain coffee drink? Start brewing because deadlines wait for no one.

"Deadline" is a scary word, but it can be way less scary if you're already used to them by the time you sign your contract.

Do you make deadlines for yourself? And how do you force inspiration?