Deadline Craziness
By Juliet Marillier | December 4, 2014 |
OK, I confess, this month I am not posting a well-thought-out piece of wisdom on the writer’s craft. Instead I’m flailing around the night before my post is due, trying to string together something meaningful. I thought of asking Harry to write this for me, as he’s provided a WU post before on the vexed topic of deadlines, and how the life of a writer’s dog becomes less comfortable the closer they get. But for reasons given below, Harry isn’t up to the job right now.
My manuscript, a historical fantasy/mystery, is due for submission in January. It’s progressing well but I have a sizeable percentage of it still to write, and I’m not speedy. Usually I have time to finish the novel, set it aside for a while, then polish further and submit before the deadline. This time around, there’s a lot left to write and just over a month remaining.
Yes, I’m an experienced pro. And I’ll get it done. But I’m not happy about my poor time management on this particular novel. I need to learn from the experience and make sure I don’t let it happen again. Some things I can avoid next time; some, sadly, I will need to build into future plans.
Side projects: When I’m asked to contribute a piece to an anthology, or to present a workshop or attend a writers’ event, I find it hard to say no. This year I wrote a short story for an anthology about strong women in history; it was a project I was thrilled and excited to be part of. My story about Hildegard of Bingen was only 5000 words, but it took a long time to craft – distilling Hildegard’s extraordinary life into so few words was a challenge, and I wrote several versions before I felt I’d got it right. I also presented some talks and workshops, though I managed to say no to a couple, knowing how much preparation I generally need to do.
Learning: next year, say no more often. Only take on the projects you can’t bear to let pass by.
Work-related travel and appearances: I attended the Historical Novelists’ Conference in London earlier in the year, and I’ve just returned from a crazy ten days away, during which I was a guest at the Supanova Pop Culture Expo, two days in Adelaide one weekend, three days in Brisbane the following weekend. The picture shows me signing stock for the expo bookseller. Supanova is a wonderful, fun event celebrating all things science fiction and fantasy, and I always enjoy it. It’s loud, bright, busy and generally full-on. The authors chat to fans and sign books all day, except when speaking on discussion panels. Very little writing got done. Travel also gobbled up time. Australia is a big country: Brisbane to Perth, where I live, is a five hour flight. I head off to Sydney on Friday for a signing and a book launch.
Learning: Use technology better so you can edit on the plane without elbowing your neighbours. Don’t schedule major travel for the last two months before your deadline. Choose your events with care. Supanova is excellent as it provides lots of interaction with readers. Those readers are an author’s lifeblood. Don’t lose sight of them.
Family: In between those two Supanova weekends I visited the part of my family that lives in an off-the-grid alternative community. That meant I got to meet my new granddaughter, just two weeks old. This was as different from Supanova as it could possibly be. I squeezed in a bit of writing. Not a lot. Other family commitments are ongoing, and that is as it should be. Family overrules all other considerations.
Dogs: I am a foster carer for an animal rescue group, and as well as the dogs that spend time with me while awaiting adoption, I have some permanent residents, several of whom have health issues. This year both my precious Harry and old lady Amy have developed serious medical conditions that require ongoing intensive management. My little tribe is an absolute delight, even though its members sometimes break my heart. It’s looking as if the year ahead will be especially challenging.
Learning: No additional dogs, for now at least. Write as fast as you can to keep up with the vet bills! Harry says, don’t forget walkies. Cuddles. Treats. Naps.
The main lesson learned is that I need to get started on the next novel pretty much straight after I finish the current one, and perhaps work to a daily or weekly word count from the first, rather than only when things get pressured. From the comfortable perspective of, say, March, it’s all too easy to view next January’s deadline as too far away to worry about. Then, as soon as you relax, three or four months have slipped by, some personal crisis comes up, and you’re in real trouble. I plan to keep reminding myself of this wisdom. Meanwhile, I plan not only to get the ms finished on time, but also to do it well.
What’s your approach to time management as a writer? What strategies do you put in place to meet deadlines? How do you balance the need to finish against the personal cost?
Photo credit: author’s 0wn
Juliet Marillier has written twenty-four novels for adults and young adults and two collections of short fiction. Her works of historical fantasy have been published around the world and have won numerous awards. Juliet’s most recent series was Warrior Bards, of which the third and final book, A Song of Flight, was published in 2021. Her collection of reimagined fairy tales, Mother Thorn and Other Tales of Courage and Kindness, had its trade release in 2022. Mother Thorn is illustrated by Kathleen Jennings and published by Serenity Press.
Juliet is currently working on a two-book fantasy series. The first book in this duology, The Amber Owl, will be published by New Dawn in February 2025.
When not writing, Juliet looks after a small crew of rescue dogs.
“I feel your pain”, to quote an Arkansas guy.
In addition to my writing I hold a full time (engineering) job because the books don’t pay enough to food and roof me (yet). And in the last four weeks I’ve been a) in final edits for latest release, b) writing a “scene” for a young local actor trying to put a good showreel together, c) editing epub for a YA book our writing group was self-publishing (that engineering background coming in handy), d) plotting the next book – which admittedly can be hours of staring at the wall trying to figure out how exactly the protagonist gets to where they have to get and e) providing content and critiquing others content in a pretty online good writers’ group.
If I’d been still been in Sydney I would have been heavily involved in the launch of that (and another) YA book we wrote.
Sure, some of it is self-inflicted. But I like it busy that way.
My writing time is between 4 and 6 in the morning. It’s quiet and I can get the entire pot of coffee for myself. When I’m editing I put an ePub version on my phone and mark the draft up during the public transport commute to and from the day job. And as for the screenplays, I use Final Draft and store the screenplay on a drop box so I can work on it during those commutes.
Of course the end game is to, at some point, not have a commute and be able to spend as much time as I want on writing, but that time is still somewhere in the future…
For a few years I was managing two – 3 books a year, mainly by plotting and researching the next in between edits on the current. Putting my brain in two completely different story spaces made the tasks all that much easier.
I’m back to 1 a year now – with a couple of screenplays thrown in as learning exercises.
Ha! Well, Juliet, I’m also a historical novelist on the same deadline and in the same predicament as you. Thing is, I DID start right after I turned my other book in, but I’m moving at the speed of cold molasses. I think some books just need more marinating time than others. At least this is what I keep telling myself. Anyway, I wish you luck and I’ll see you on the other side of that deadline! :)
‘The speed of cold molasses’ – I love that! I feel relieved that I am not the only one in this predicament, Heather, and I wish you luck too – we will both prevail! :)
Old memories! My first grade teacher used to tell me that I was as slow as molasses in January.
Hi,
I am not a published author. I have one book with a polished first draft that needs a major revision I don’t know if I’ll ever get to.
However, my second book, historical (spiritual) fiction, is in the revision stage. I see so much that needs to be changed, fixed, rewritten, beautified, that if feels as if I’ll never get there.
I don’t feel as if I want to give up, spend hours at the compute, and do get down about it at times.
Perhaps this too, is part of the process?? And I will get there?? I hope.
Irene
Good luck with the project, Irene! You should congratulate yourself for finishing that first draft, and remind yourself that you love writing and feel passionate about the story, even if the process can be dispiriting at times. I’m sure you will get there in the end. :)
I was the child who did her weekend homework when she got home on Friday, so the weekend would be free of that dark cloud. Even as a child I couldn’t relax into what I liked to do, play outside, read, draw, if those math problems weren’t solved and off my mind. I haven’t changed much in that regard. I began a book in January this year that’s due this coming January. I finished the first draft at the beginning of October. But I overshot my word count by 40K (typical). So… still busy with it, while alternating with edits for my spring release. I’m going to need all the time I have left, then I need to start another book after a few days breather, by the end of January… rinse and repeat. I’ve found I really must buckle down for the first six months of the year and write every day as though my life depends on it, otherwise I will end up too stressed to create anything worth reading.
Wise words, Lori. Although you’re under pressure to get that revision done in time, you sound extremely well organised and methodical – the way I used to be and would like to be again!
What a timely post. I am feverishly working to finish my novel before the end of the year because I have scheduled a blog tour for January that is tied to my novel’s publication. I’m a reliable producer on deadline, due to my many years as a newspaper reporter, but, like you, I have put an enormous amount of pressure on myself by not managing by outside commitments better. A hard lesson learned. I hope it all works out for you and all the best on your new book.
All the best for yours too, CG. It’s wonderful reading these comments and feeling the flow of support between members of the WU community!
Pressing deadlines mean I delegate as much as I can to other members of the family. They are already very supportive but they know that there are times when I’m in a crunch and they must pick up the slack. It’s getting easier as they get older. Things I do not give up — Mass, eating with my family, a daily walk. I plan on delivering the goodies well before deadline. Chronic illness means I have to build in a buffer for the bad days. But it all works out. Looks like tension in real life propels me to keep moving, just like in stories.
You ask about personal cost. It doesn’t seem too high when it’s for the short term, and we all get to celebrate together later. But I turn down projects as well. Simple.
Good luck to you. You’ll come through with flying colors.
Thank you, Vijaya!
In same boat here–my book is due next week! Although I’ll make it I won’t have the luxury of putting it aside for a couple of weeks to marinate. Made the mistake of having two books due within a month of each other–of course I started the first one last summer so I’d have months for this one…my problem this time is I didn’t have the strongest outline. So I’ve embellished the plot a lot which takes time. Writing to an outline and editing as I go produces pretty tight first drafts (for those who wonder). Hubs reads for me which helps a lot–he will spot problems.
I agree, Liz. This is my method too. Planning in advance saves time later – if I didn’t work that way I would be in a whole lot more trouble than I currently am. All the best with your book(s)!
I’m not a published novelist yet, but I’m a freelance writer and know all too well those looming deadlines. I’m also a huge procrastinator and find myself on Facebook having unrelated chats not related to writing. I recently decided because of some unpleasant incidents related to Facebook that I needed to curtail my usage. I didn’t deactivate, but I’m using three apps (I know, overkill) and a lot of willpower to avoid the virtual water cooler. It’s amazing what can be accomplished and be spared from the incessant noise (which admittedly I had my share of contributing). Now that I’ve managed to find a method that works, I feel less stressed out and can write with more ease.
That’s a timely reminder, Rebeca – I should curtail my time online, even turn off the modem for part of the day so I am forced to stay on task. Have done it before and it really moved my writing along.
My dear mother asks me every time I come for a visit (scheduled) if I have any deadlines. I just laugh and say, “Always”. It’s the reality of a writer’s life. What I’ve learned is to schedule and budget. So many words a day. So many days a week. So much time for editing. So much time for plotting. And then add a buffer week. I never schedule Saturdays because I might need them. I budget times for camping. For visiting. For birthdays. I might not go on exactly the day I have set aside, but this way the time is protected. If we decide to go the week after, I simply shuffle my writing days around. If we don’t go, I blush to say I’m euphoric. Another writing day! But at least I budgeted the time for my writing. I’ve had my crazy writing days and my panic moments. But not near as many as I used to. So thanks for the reminder that I’m not the only writer with these panic moments.
That sounds an excellent, commonsense approach, Carolyne. Harry says no matter how much time I budget for dogs, it won’t ever be enough. :)
Yeah, how do writers approach time management?
My fingers are crossed for you, Juliet. You can do it!
Denise Willson
Author of A Keeper’s Truth and GOT
Juliet-
Unpublished authors who imagine that writing full time will remove all the stress in their lives should read this post. It ain’t like that.
Full time novelists are the hardest working people I know. There’s no way to avoid all the obligations of production, publication and fan maintenance. You gotta do that stuff. And of course life. That thing.
The only help I can suggest is making the drafting process as efficient as possible. Every novel presents its own problem, challenges and blind alleys, naturally, but the available tools can help one retain more of early draft material.
The part of the process that tends to be sacrificed under deadline pressure is playtime. There’s flab and missed opportunities is many a book. You can almost tell which books were third on a three-book contract.
Best of luck this time around, Juliet. Like you say, you’re a pro. You’ll shine.
Thanks for a very timely (for me!) post, Juliet. I’ve been struggling with the ending of my fourth Highway Mystery. I like to surprise the reader with ‘who done it’ and I’ve had second thoughts about the end I’d planned. With many other demands on my time, not to mention less-than-demanding distractions, I’m having trouble keeping focused on what is turning out to be a difficult task.
Being an independent author/publisher is a blessing and a curse. I won’t get fired for missing a deadline, but it becomes too easy to keep extending my own deadlines. I’m already several months past my planned release date. So to answer your question, ‘How do you balance the need to finish against the personal cost?’, I can only answer, “Not very well!”
Among other things, this year has seen me spend two separate weeks in California and two weeks in Quebec, look after six surprise puppies, nurse a sick mare, and supervise ongoing home renovations. At this time of year, there are frequent interruptions for snow shoveling (or snow blowing the 350 yard driveway), woodstove stoking, and hauling buckets of hot water to the horses, in addition to regular household chores. But some of the worst thieves of my time are electronic media, television and endless – and sometimes ultimately pointless – online research.
As my mother used to say, maybe I just need a good swift kick! I know I should go to bed earlier and get up before dawn, but I have a bad habit of letting the sun wake me up.
Best of luck to you with your deadline.
Hi Juliet–Great post, and struck such a chord in me! I know exactly how you feel–though I’m a speedy writer, it seems like my time is getting more and more crowded by exactly those sorts of things you mention, plus issues to do with literary organisations I’m involved in, and though I deliberately don’t give myself the space to panic about the big demands on my time, there are times when I feel more than a little frantic! However I cope in a variety of ways: try to schedule days where I can, allocating time to various tasks; try and delegate(though of course not on the writing); and give myself a day off now and again! Also I do try to get on top of non-novel tasks asap. But honestly, looking at how I manage my time, I’m not sure how I do it! :)
Most of the time, I have these things under control, because I freak myself out with just the idea of running out of time. I don’t have a TV, I limit magazine and internet time well, usually. However, this autumn I took on additional volunteer gigs because my editor’s baby came early and I didn’t receive revision notes during the time period she’d said they’d come. I assumed we’d resume when her maternity leave was over, after the holidays — but the publishing schedule had already been set, and the manuscript is due in copy editing the first week in January … and I recently found out my deadline is three weeks earlier than expected, this after I’d put in time organizing a conference, a Thanksgiving pageant, had fifteen for dinner and was roped into doing a helping organize a Sing It Yourself Messiah for the holidays… and *now* I’ve got my editorial notes. Not much writing/finishing has been done.
Uh-oh.
I think your thoughts about no travel two months before a deadline is wise. I know I’m going to get this done, but the amount of personal meltdowns in the interim has just produced far more stress. Learning to say “No,” even when it looks like I have some free time would have helped! But, we live and learn, eh?
Meanwhile, looking forward to the next Blackthorne & Grim adventure!
Thank you everyone for your insights! I had not expected this post to bring out such fascinating personal stories about juggling deadlines with the rest of your life. Off to Sydney this morning to do a signing and a book launch tomorrow, so I have run out of time to reply to individual comments but I love the way we all help and support one another on Writer Unboxed.
Seeing professional authors struggling with time management is something of a relief to me. I think of myself as a slow writer. Last year I managed to write a draft in a year, a first for me, and I was very happy with that, even though the book has seen a few editing passes and still needs a bit more. Encouraged, I tried to replicate my winning streak this year and every year from here on out. So. It’s December. Book # 2 is almost done at around 70,000 words, but I’m stuck with a handful of scenes that I’ve found very difficult to write for some reason. I’m less than a month away from my self-imposed deadline and 95% done with this draft, and I’m wondering if I’ll make it across the finish line this time around. I hope so, because I want to keep improving with each novel and make a career out of this. :P