The Post Where I Confess I'm A Wuss

I’m as fly-by-night as they come. When Ethan and I got engaged, it was kind of like, Sure… why not now? We just met three months ago, but we know this is forever. 

(Yeah, there were raised eyebrows from friends, but when they met him (some five minutes before the ceremony) there was unabashed approval.)

I figured having a baby would be the same way. Since I’m not a planner I decided NOT to take a birth class (insert raised eyebrows from friends again). I preferred the ignorant rout.

I knew it was gonna hurt... what more did I need to know?

In the end I caved and took a 60 minute session just so I would “know how to breathe”. (I didn’t realize labor would take away that ability, but apparently it did. Somehow I did manage to gasp out the word “epidural”, though, and suddenly my world was a much brighter place.)

OK, enough evidence that I don’t like planning. But sometimes, folks, planning is necessary. Especially for writers.

The truth is, writing a book is a lot different than engagement or childbirth. Both of those things are dependent on other people. Ethan popped the question – Zoey popped my butt bone.They were both going to happen no matter how unprepared I was.

But there’s one thing I've learned if you don't work in a newsroom: You have to create your own deadlines.

So join me, fellow fly-by-night artists. Set a real deadline. Something attainable. Ask someone to keep you accountable.

Your book is not going to write itself. SCHEDULE TIME to write, and do it, preferably before the ninth hour like this post. (Which actually proves my point – schedule your time to write BEFORE the day you want it to happen.)