I thought deadline pressure would be a good thing (motivating me to finish the book). Now, I’m not so sure. Perhaps, it’s only because my anxiety is extraordinarily high at the moment anyway, but the closer I get to my deadline, the more I worry I’m not going to make it.
Which is ridiculous, honestly, since it’s a made-up deadline. If I fail, the worst that happens is that I disappoint myself and that I finish the novel a little late. Still, the anxiety doesn’t help me write faster. More likely the opposite.
It’s a good thing I’m aiming for self-publishing instead of publishing contracts. Because how much worse would the deadline pressure be if it were a contractual deadline? What happens to the contract if you’re a bit late? (Nothing good, I’m guessing!)
How do writers working under that kind of deadline handle it? True, they might not have anxiety to contend with, too (although odds are that some of them do). Do they always work extra hard at first to make sure they’re ahead of schedule? My anxiety wasn’t that bad when I was ahead of schedule.
And what happens if their plot throws them for a loop? I mean, if I hadn’t realized that there were big plot gaps in my original “spooks” as villains, I would’ve been further ahead (and probably freaking out less). So what if something like that happens when there’s a contractual deadline? How much flexibility do the writers have – can they get extensions? Does it depend on the writer? I imagine established (AKA previously profitable) writers get more leeway than new ones. But even then, maybe not.
I have the feeling I’m going to have to do some research just to assuage my curiosity, but not now (bad, procrastinating brain – no more red herrings!). I’ll look it up after June 30th when my personal deadline has either been met or missed. Still trying for met!!!
Deep breaths!
Savannah Knightly 