Saturday, May 5, 2012

The Benefits of Fake Deadlines


I absolutely love watching home improvement shows like Designed to Sell and Yard Crashers. It's fun to watch those folks transform houses and yards from bland to wow. Each time I visit Home Depot or Lowe's, I cross my fingers and hope that the Yard Crashers guy will whisk me away in a pick-up truck full of home improvement supplies and free labor.

But it always cracks me up when these television crews are working against a deadline. "We only have five hours left. Will we make it?" I wonder what the penalty is for not meeting the arbitrary deadline. Will they lose their permit? Will they be forced to pay overtime to the crew? What's the big deal?


I realize that these are productions, and productions cost money. And it occurred to me that these deadlines are likely put in place in order to light a fire under the crew and keep the project moving forward.

As writers, unless we're working with an editor, there really isn't official deadlines. If we don't finish our manuscript, synopsis, or query, the sun will still rise and set, and the world will still keep turning.

So why set deadlines for ourselves? Here are my thoughts:

  • Deadlines make us accountable--Especially if we tell someone else. I know that when I voice my goals and deadlines to my critique partners, I'm more likely to meet them. Who wants to be shamed in front of their critique partners? Having them read my early drafts is painful enough ;)
  • Deadlines keep us focused--If I didn't set deadlines, even arbitrary ones, I'd squander valuable writing time with useless distractions. SQUIRREL! Knowing I want to accomplish X amount of revision pages in X amount of time helps me push forward and get 'er done.
  • Deadlines help us finish--Sure, book ideas are great. And sure, outlines are wonderful. But if we don't finish a manuscript, those great ideas don't do us any good at all. And if we don't finish, we can't move on to the second draft, or the third, or the 20th, where the sharp edges smooth out.
So how about you, fellow scriveners? Do you set personal deadlines, even if they're arbitrary? Do you have handy tips that can help the rest of us stay focused? And if you're published, or soon to be published, do you have trouble sticking to your editor's deadline? 

19 comments:

  1. Constantly set deadlines, some I keep, some I don't. The present one is definitely going to be kept!! :0)

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  2. Good question. I've never had an outside deadline, so I don't know how I react if I ever get one! :) As of now, I don't make deadlines, just keep moving forward. :)

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  3. I don't set deadlines right now... which is why I don't accomplish anything. LOL! I am planning on starting to make them this coming week (maybe a certain word count per day or per week) and I would love to find an accountability buddy to help keep on track. If anyone needs a buddy let me know! Ha, ha!

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  4. I love deadlines, they help keep me focused and moving forward. Small goals of daily word counts or editing amounts help keep me on track.

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  5. Before I found a publisher, I used to set little deadlines for myself, but looking back now, I see that those artificial deadlines only hurt me really. I wasn't ready to move on to the next step & doing so only rushed the product when it wasn't try ready. But I will say that it has probably taught me how to work within time constraints which will be good when I the edits from my pub next month. As for the writing itself, I love it so much I can never wait to get back to it & I have plenty of time. I'm pretty lucky.

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  6. Without a deadline - real or imposed, I'd be like Indiana Jones grabbing for his hat and the concrete wall is slamming shut. My default is last minute - deadlines save me.

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  7. I'm not very good at setting deadlines. I guess that is part of the reason I've not accomplished the things I say I want to get done.

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  8. Thanks for the reminder, Julie. I haven't set a deadline for my latest revisions, but I should. Whenever I set deadlines, I always complete the task on time. When I don't, the task lingers forever. :)

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  9. Guys, thanks so much for your thoughts about deadlines!

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  10. Deadlines are so important! Because of my job, I have natural deadlines knowing that I've got to leave. I'm amazed how much I can accomplish in a short time. When I'm not leaving? Nothing gets done. For writing... if I don't make that a first priority in my day, it will not happen. I have to write first. Sometimes, if I know I have a busy day... I will wake up extra early to make sure I can write. That's my only tip: Alarm clock. Thanks for another great post.

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  11. I enjoy those shows, too! I set personal deadlines for myself or I'd never get anything done.

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  12. I've tried to set deadlines for myself and sometimes I think they hinder me rather than help me. I think I only hold myself accountable when there's somebody else it will affect. That's why co-writing with erica is good for me. Although, I'm about to try the 90 day novel with my CP, so I plan to stick with that (for her sake!). christy

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  13. Nowadays, I have started giving myself deadlines. It is making my brain work faster. I have even posted about it on my blog. Absolutely timely post for me.

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  14. I agree with Christy - I've set deadlines (even 12 month ones!) for myself, but they imposed on on-one but me and when that 12 month mark rolled around I still hadn't moved past the planning stage. I'd let other things interfere like re-decorating the house, because I wasn't accountable to anyone but myself and I could break that contract whenever I felt like it.

    I think deadlines work when they are realistic and are stage-specific... broken down like baby steps.

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  15. I work best under deadlines. I need that added motivation.

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  16. When I'm starting something new, I can't even think about a deadline. But once I start a rewrite, a deadline makes all the difference. I agree with you that deadlines keep you focused. And I've also found, that, once focused and working toward a deadline, the inspiration comes back all over again.

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  17. And I think deadlines on those shows up the stakes and create tension. I like and I don't like watching those shows. It's fun watching the makeover but then I walk away grumbling, wishing I could make it look that easy!

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  18. Absolutely! "I'll finish this by the end of the month" and "I'll do book one editing in one month" and stuff like that. I keeps me motivated and gets me finished faster.

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