Spackle and Deadlines

Will and I say every year that it's a good thing we invite some friends over to watch the Super Bowl with us. There's nothing like having visitors to make you look at your house with a critical eye. It helps us see the rough condition of our walls after eleven years of the boys' abuse, and how using a magic eraser is not going to be enough this year. And how old and flat and faded our couch throw pillows are. And the windows...yeah, you should probably be able to see out of them without milk splatters and handprints in your way. Oh, I can't even tell you how badly our kitchen cabinets need to be cleaned...it'd be embarrassing to admit.

So having to fix everything by Sunday, February 5, energized me. I got more done in the seven days leading up to the Super Bowl than I'd done in the previous seven years, which reminded me that I always work better on a tight deadline than when I have an open schedule.

My editor for Baltimore Heat is excited about my ideas for follow-up stories in the series. She's asked me for proposals and expected completion dates so that she can get them on the release schedule. UGH! My immediate reaction was fear. What if I couldn't produce under that kind of pressure?

Then I remembered that I give myself deadlines all the time. I set monthly writing goals and am accountable to my writing group. I perform well under pressure, and I know how to set realistic writing goals. I know how much I can produce on a daily/weekly basis, and I know how to buckle down and make up word count when I've fallen behind.

So maybe I am ready to step up to professional writing with proposals and deadlines. If I'm not, then this writing thing is still a hobby. Because if I want to make a living as a writer, I need to write consistently and prolifically, and be accountable to my editor.