Only two weeks? Perfect.
I think I finally have to admit to myself that I really, really like extreme time pressure. It makes me happy. It gets my blood moving. It was definitely one of the parts about lawyering that suited me–all those crazy deadlines and the long hours it took to meet them. Brew me up a pot of coffee, give me a few opponents breathing down my neck, refusing to give me any time extensions, and I was kind of sort of blissed out.
Maybe we’re not supposed to say things like that out loud.
But when I looked at my calendar yesterday and saw that I only have about two weeks to finish a short story for an anthology, finish a screenplay for a competition, and finish my revisions of a novel I need to send my agent before I leave town for a while, I couldn’t help smiling. Because this really is how I like it best.
I mean, I’ve been enjoying my vacation. My ungoals for summer. It’s been nice to have no set schedule or agenda. I’ve been reading, resting, exercising, puttering–all the things you look forward to doing when life has gotten a little out of hand.
But come on, enough is enough. My writing brain feels flaccid. I’m looking forward to getting back to churning out some words, seeing characters develop and talk to me, having some pages stack up on my printer. And no better time to do it than when I have very little time at all. Sweet! Perfect!
Does anybody else feel the need to work this way? Or are you all good little beans who start your projects the moment they’re assigned, and work on them steadily every day until they’re done? And whichever style you have, has this always been your way? Or have you reformed somehow with age and experience?
Technorati Tags: Writing, Publishing, Procrastination As An Artistic Method
I definitely work better with a deadline. That’s why my current job is such a good fit — every day is its own deadline.
Good luck!
I find that when I don’t have a deadline, I have trouble staying motivated to work at all. When I’ve got four videos all due within the same time frame, and I’m scrambling for resources, making travel plans, trying to squeeze in an edit, then I’m crazy efficient.
Kind of why I like the 48 Hour Film Project. Sure, more time to work would make for a more polished product, but the efficiency level would plummet. (Which may explain why my other movie projects are pretty much stalled at the moment.)
I nearly choked when I read your workload. But then I went back and re-read it, and saw that you used the word “finish.” Oh, thank God you’ve already started all these projects!
I like deadlines. I truly do. In fact, I like to finish up a day or two early, just in case my computer goes haywire or there is a worldwide coffee shortage or something.
But when I’m writing a rough draft, I like a little wiggle room. I like to feel that I can let the novel evolve and grow as it wishes. I’ll have days of no writing, followed by bouts of lots of writing. I feel that I write in ever-widening circles, if that makes sense. And I think I produce a draft that is much farther along than if I simply barfed it all out, as some recommend. (Sorry for the gross metaphor!)
Now, revisions? I’m tight with that. There are specific tasks to be done, after all. You can almost cross them off a list.
Go, Robin, go!
My mother tells me that I enjoy and thrive under pressure, but I have mixed feelings about it. I get a little crazy when I’m under a lot of pressure and sometimes have these little mini-breakdowns where I call my BFF Tammy and am like “EVERYTHING IS AWFUL! I CAN’T DO THIS!” (One of the reasons Tammy is my BFF is because she always reacts to this as if she’s never heard it before and is like, “Oh, no. You’ll be fine. Are you eating? Let me bring you some food and a latte.” This almost always solves the problem).
In spite of this, there is no doubt that I constantly get myself into these situations, which can only mean that part of me enjoys them. I don’t do fiction, but I love that feeling of cranking a lot of words out at once, seeing what happens. My biggest problem as a writer is that I periodically struggle with first drafts, the whole “shitty first drafts” thing Anne Lamott talks about. Sometimes I get to feeling like my first drafts are so bad that I have no business writing in the first place or that it’s just going to be so much work to fix them up to get them ready for print that it’s not worth the effort. Once I get down to them, though, I’m fine — and the irony is that I love the process of revision. Part of my problem is that I’m always trying to find balance in my life, working at the library, writing, keeping in touch with my peeps, taking care of my house. It’s rare that it’s all functioning at a sane level at the same time. Some area of my life is always going awry. I’m starting to relax about that, though, and realize that it will all swing around again and be okay. Most of my daily existence is about telling myself it will all be okay. Is *that* weird?
I require a deadline. Have. To. Have. One.
I prefer deadlines AND competition.
Give me and someone else a deadline and then tell me the person who finishes first gets a gold star.
That’s why I have my challenge of a short story a week going on my blog. I’m getting other people involved to keep me motivated.
Sorry, can’t talk. Am consumed by my deadline.
I used to be terrible with deadlines, and would work way into the morning to finish what I had procrastinated doing for weeks. Then, in my junior year of college, I took a part-time shelving job at the public library, and I had to give myself deadlines– even false deadlines– in order to have my work done. I didn’t have a computer and had to sign up for computer time at the lab. If something was due Friday and I had to work Thursday night, then I had to have my assignment done Wednesday night.
I thought that getting a part-time job would make my mediocre grades drop even further. Instead, it turned me into an A/B student from a B/C student.
Hurrah for deadlines!
“One of the reasons Tammy is my BFF is because she always reacts to this as if she’s never heard it before and is like, ‘Oh, no. You’ll be fine. Are you eating? Let me bring you some food and a latte.’” Adrienne, I’m sure I’m not the only person thinking this: Do you think Tammy can be my BFF, too?
Katie, I have to confess I don’t really know what your day job is. I read some comment you made about dogs or horses or something, then got distracted by something shiny. So what do you do?
Bill, you’re speaking my language. “Crazy efficient” hits it on the head.
Sara, your method makes a lot of sense. I’m not into “barfing out” a draft, either–although I do love Anne Lamott’s thing that Adrienne talked about–letting yourself write sh–y first drafts. Of course, Anne goes on to say she’s always afraid she’ll be hit by a bus before she gets to her revisions, and then everyone will think she was a terrible writer, but we all do what we can.
And you’re wise to plan for computer failures or coffee shortages. I’m afraid I don’t have that foresight.
Heather, I know you’ve posted some of your deadlines on your blog–including the one for finishing your current novel. There is something about public accountability.
Patrick, I agree with you that adding competition to it is really the best. I, too, am way too motivated by gold stars. But let’s embrace that. And go try to kick each other’s behinds. In a good way.
Diana, *snicker*. Good luck!
Alkelda, great success story! Too much time on our hands means too much time to waste.
I’m definitely with you. For the most part I’d prefer to be under the gun just because that’s how I like to operate, but sometimes it’s the only way I’ll get anything done. It’s procrastination to the worst extreme sometimes, and in those instances, it’s far more taxing than exhilarating.
I definitely am a deadline person. If it’s something short, I don’t even think about it until a few days before it’s due. And without deadlines, I don’t get much at all done. AND they have to be real–self-imposed deadlines don’t work for me.
Lizzie, it really is the best way to go through college, don’t you think? Play, play, play, then supreme scramble, rest, repeat.
Judy, I know what you mean about self-imposed deadlines, but I’ve found they do work for me. I can be very strict. But I’ll also say that it’s much easier when I have some external deadline, which is why even making an agreement with my critique partner about when I’ll get something to him makes a big difference. Because Barry can be strict, too.
Day job — I produce and write televised dog shows.
I love deadlines. It’s why I was such a terrible student in Grad School — I just couldn’t help watching soap operas when I should have been reading and writing — and why I’m so good at my current job when the fires are all popping up left and right.
The only exception I’ve had was in my senior year of college when I had to write a 90-page thesis. I started in October, and wrote a little every day until it was done, about 3 weeks early. It was a strange experience — I don’t know who that Nancy was and I’ve never heard from her since.
Not only do I need deadlines, I need them to be soon, and a tiny bit unrealistic, otherwise I’m too bored to get motivated.
Katie, you are SO cool.
Nancy, you said it better than I did: “Not only do I need deadlines, I need them to be soon, and a tiny bit unrealistic, otherwise I’m too bored to get motivated.” Amen, sistah.
Muffy enters stage left.
“Hey Spike, watcha doin’?” said Muffy.
Spike lowers his head to the ground and growls, “I’m on to them Muffy.”
“What?” said Muffy, lowering her head and wagging her tail.
“The humans. I know their plan.”
“What plan?” whispered Muffy, all excited to hear the secret.
“Well, I was talking to my buddy, Bear. He said that his humans keep practicing a ‘Code Blue’ where they tie him to a tree and run as if aliens were after them.”
Muffy jumps up. “NO!”
“Oh, Yes! You better believe it. But we have a plan. Bear and me. I think we got it figured out,” growled Spike.
“Tell me!” said Muffy, jumping up and down.
Spike looked around to make sure no humans were listening.
“When you hear ‘Code Blue’,” said Spike — he leaned in close and whispered the rest in her ear.
“I couldn’t do THAT!” said Muffy, aghast.
*fade out*
Can I borrow Tammy, too? I need a latte about right now (though I’m pretty sure Eisha would bring me one).
Awww, not little Bear! Do what you want with Muffy and Spike, but little Bear must be protected.
Jules, maybe we can get Adrienne to bring Tammy to the conference?
I was just trying my hand at writing a dog show. It sounds like a fun job.
I’m split about deadlines, since this weird thing happens when I have a deadline. When I don’t have a deadline, I sit and do my work without stress and get a fair bit done with reasonable breaks when they’re warranted, and no problems, no hurries, no worries.
When I have a deadline it instantly puts me into MAJOR PROCRASTINATION MODE, with the result that when I do get to work I do the work in 1/3 the time, but at the very last minute with total stress, sweat, clenched bowels, and major headaches.
Now, it’s nice in a way to get the same amount of work done in 1/3 the time (and learn a new programming language while putting off doing anything useful with the one I already know) but I wish I could do that without the accompanying angst and physical symptoms.