DEADLINES

DEADLINES: Even the word sounds ominous. The finality of the concept is frightening: something is due. There are no excuses. No exceptions. No extensions. Finish on time or pay dearly.

We've all had deadlines. But for the author or aspiring author, deadlines become an everpresent reminder of what is left to do. If handled poorly, deadlines can lead to all kinds of pressure and stress. Deadlines are a part of the business, but ours is a creative field. We create when the muse strikes. How do you rush creativity? Doesn't rushing a creative endeavor mess it up? Hmmm, seemingly valid points. So what's a writer to do?

"I love deadlines.
I love the whooshing sound
they make as they fly by."
Douglas Adams

Love that quote. It captures the kind of manic frustration involved with working under a deadline. It almost feels helpless in a way...as if there's nothing we can do about deadlines whooshing right on past. I disagree.

I believe authors can to a lot to make deadlines manageable. As a matter of fact, I believe deadlines can provide much needed energy and motivation. Oh, and I believe yes, you can rush creativity. I'd even go so far as to say that there are times when the crunch we're in forces out creative ideas that would not have appeared otherwise. So here are my suggestions for getting the most out of deadlines.

Deadline Tip #1: Set reasonable deadlines.
If this is in your control, don't bite off more than you can chew. If you don't know how much your can reasonably write in a day, find out. Then consider the length of the thing you are writing, and do the math. If you write X amount of words every day, then, you can write a book in Y amount of time. When Thomas Nelson offered me a contract for The Door Within Trilogy, I jumped at it. I read the deadlines and went, "Duuuuhhhh, sure, I can do those." Not smart. I'm a full time teacher, and oh, by the way, I have a lovely wife and great kids I like to see once in a while. Now, I'm much more realistic. Keep in mind, publishers have schedules to keep if profits are to be made. Most publishers are going to ask you for a book in 3-6 months. If it's three, I have to say No, I can't do that.

If the deadlines are not in your control, then you will need other strategies.

Deadline Tip #2: Set your own deadlines
So you've got six months to crank out your 80,000 word novel. Divide the words by the number of days, and see what you've got. What you're looking at is about 500 words a day. That is entirely doable.

Deadline Tip #3: Frontload as much as possible
The worst thing you can ever do is look at that deadline six months from now and think, wow, I've got six months. If you did Tip #2, you know that every day you skip is 500 words on your shoulders. So go after it hard early. Knock out 1,000 words one day, 2,000 the next. Challenge yourself.

Two of my favorite techniques are: Race a Friend and Race the Clock

I'm coauthoring a fantasy series with Christopher Hopper. We are both Kings of Procrastination and Distraction. Seriously...it's scary. I wonder whose Twittering? Hmmm...did the Redskins get that free agent they were after? I wonder if Biff ever emailed me back? YIPE. Next thing you know, 2 hours are gone and I'm still staring at an evil, blinking cursor. So what Christopher and I do is we challenge each other to a "Sprint Race." We give a time limit, say 1 hour. We say GO. And off we write. It's amazing how much we can write in those sprints. Usually, I can pound out 500 words in an hour by myself. When I sprint against Christopher, I've never been less than 700 and many times top 1000 words. Yes, it's rough stuff. But, duh, it's a rough draft. lol

Race the Clock is just you and the minutes. You say, "It's Monday. I need 500 words in one hour. GO!!" Then you just pound until the time is up. Raise the number on Tuesday. Keep going.

Deadline Tip #4: Be satisfied with little deadlines met.
If you wrote the 500 words you needed for the day, be happy with it. If you want to do extra and the ideas are coming, go for it. But if not, get up, and be content. You did your job for the day.

Deadline Tip #5: Nibble away at the numbers.
I got this one from Author Sharon Hinck. Let's say you've got to finish 1000 words in a day. Sitting down to knock that out in one stretch isn't always easy. So nibble away at it. If you get up early and pound out 250 words, then later on, all you've got left is 750.

Deadline Tip #6: Outline.
I know there are some "Seat of the Pants Writers" out there who would want to string me up for such blasphemy (ahem, Bryan Davis), but I have found that outlining helps me meet my deadlines. I often take a month to outline a book. That's a long time, but it literally saves me three months of writing and REWRITING time. If you know where you're going in the next scene, then you can write on.

Deadline Tip #7: Stop in the middle of a cool part.
Speaking of author Bryan Davis, he's responsible for this gem. Never finish a writing session at the end of a scene. Always stop in the middle of a cool scene so that the next time you write, you can just leap back into the momentum.

Deadline Tip #8: Eliminate distractions.
That's right: get rid of them. If the internet distracts you, disconnect your writing computer. If it's a video game or a show, make it wait. Use it as a carrot dangling at the end for when you finish. But don't get out of that chair until you are finished what you need to do.

So, there they are, 8 ways to let Deadlines rest in peace.

What about you? Do deadlines daunt you? Do you have any other ideas for how to defeat deadlines?

The Joy of Clicking SEND

I just sent the manuscript of Isle of Fire off to my publishers. I cannot tell you what a magnificent feeling of exhilaration that was. The joy, the relief...the cosmic sigh. lol

This was by far the most difficult book to write--not because there were problems with the plot or writers block. But the deadline was the tightest I've ever had. Up til now the fastest I've ever had to write a book was 5 months for Rise of the Wyrm Lord. This one, I had to write in a little more than three months.

There were many times when I just didn't think I would make the deadline. There were times when I wanted to quit. This has been a tough fall for me and my family. Stealing hours and days from my wife and children just as the kid begin the school year and my wife begins a new career was not what anyone needed.

The thing is, God made it happen. God was faithful with the ideas. He supplied the time through those around me and various amazing circumstances. And the book is finished and off for review.

Of course, it'll be back soon. No doubt with many things to fix. {sigh}

Uh, Oh...

The problem is no longer will I meet my word count by the deadline. 85,000 words, by the grace of God, will be no problem. But...

Now, can I actually finish the book within 85,000 words? Gulp. You ever been reading a book and it's toward the end, and you notice, hey, there's not more than an inch of pages left. How can this possibly end in that little bit of pages?

That's where I am right now. Hmmm...

Still, I'm in no danger of going like 20,000 words over like some other times. {ahem}

But my goal isn't just to finish. It's to finish strong.

Sequel to Isle of Swords

I am in the midst of my next book, a sequel to Isle of Swords...yet untitled. I'm going to create a poll in a week or two with a series of possible titles. But in the meantime, if it seems like I haven't posted every day, you'll understand why. I have until Oct. 20 to get my best draft to my publisher. You may have noticed a new feature in the sidebar. My word count for this novel is 85,000. I'll be doing my best to get close, but not over, that number. I've outlined the whole novel. I know what's going to happen all the way through, except I don't.

Some people are seat-of-the-pants writers. They are the spontaneous lot. They write as the muse hits. Some are meticulous outliners. I'm in that camp, except I'm not. Are you following? Good. See I outline very carefully, sometimes taking a month or more to plot out the story. I have to or I'm doomed to massive rewrites and time consumption you wouldn't believe. BUT, when I start to flesh out the story from the outline, when the characters take on lives apart from my mind...well, the story must follow. So, the outline becomes flexible.

And...that's what's happening right now. This pirate tale has developed some themes and depth that I hadn't imagined initially. I'd hate to be in the shoes of some of my own characters. There are uncharted waters ahead.

What style of writer are you?
A. SOTP--spontaneous, as it comes, outlining is blasphemy.
B. StrictOutliner--flesh out the entire story before the manuscript. Never deviate.
C. FlexibleOutliner--know the whole plot but being open to character-driven twists.
D. Something Completely Different? Do tell.