At some point, I would like to write a book and other things, but I work best when there is some sort of deadline in my own mind, but not when fifty people or fifty million people are breathing down the back of my neck.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Having deadlines helps because people are constantly breathing down my neck, and tapping their toes waiting for pages. So I just have to work nine to five. If I didn't have deadlines then I might be more of a golden hour kind of guy, writing from eight to noon and calling it a day, but that's just not the way I work right now.
I've never been good with deadlines. My early novels, I wrote by myself. No one knew I was writing a novel; I didn't have a contract.
I write pretty much year-round, but I definitely do more when a deadline is looming.
I'm guessing the stress of having to write for a deadline can be inspiring. Sometimes, pressure is good.
I do sit down every day and make myself write. I want 2,000 words every day or 3 single-space pages a day. I think if you are on a deadline, you have to be disciplined. If you turn things in late, you will find yourself without a contract.
I once set myself a deadline: half a chapter a week, 20 minutes a day. The thought froze me instantly, like literary Botox. I returned to my non-schedule: sleeping, writing 20 minutes, and then back to sleep. Breakfast in bed, with juice congealing on the sill: pages and pages began to pour out again.
The best thing for my creative process is a deadline.
I hate writing. I almost never write. I write against deadlines. And when I'm teaching, I'm focused on that.
Be able to meet any deadline, even if your work is done less well than it would be if you had all the time you would have preferred.
When I'm in the midst of finishing a book, I can be working around the clock.