The Power of a Deadline

by Melissa Corliss DeLorenzo

hourglassbook I am halfway through NaNoWriMo 2010. I have written more that 25,000 words in the last two weeks, which is amazing, if I do say so myself. (But isn’t it?!)

It is impressive what a deadline can do. I suppose for some, it is the most perfect means of stopping them dead in their tracks. But for others of us, it is the motivator of all motivators.

I think it’s the good girl in me. I do what I am told. (Psychoanalyze as you must.)

In the (crazy) world in my head, things that have to get done just get done. If things are too open-ended, I can often be found doing anything but the work. Even things I hate like emptying the dishwasher. Or really “important” things like cleaning out the spice cabinet. (Although, it is really quite pleasing when it’s all nice and neat.) And, in case you hadn’t explored much yet, the Internet is a vast, vast sphere. Wonderful, wonderful things can be found to put off almost anything, really. I think I would be a multi-Pulitzer winner by now if there were someone out there telling me I had to be… (Again, psychoanalyze as you must.)

I look back at my undergrad and graduate years. I worked full time through both degrees. When I was in grad school, I even cooked meals. And I got good grades—very good grades. How did I do it? I don’t know. But when the rubber hits the road, I just get it done. Maybe that’s a lesson: do the work. Even when it seems like you can’t, just get it done.

When I have a deadline, somehow I find the time—I carve it out here and there. I work faster and don’t allow distractions to creep in. I don’t have the time to allow that to happen. Deadlines force you to prioritize your time and drop the unnecessary bits. For me, that means the hours after my kids go to bed are designated writing time. No television, no pleasure reading, no browsing my email (I have been a lot more cutthroat with the delete button). I realize this space of time everyday is ripe for me. I really hope to keep the momentum going after November. This is working for me—I should allow it to continue to do so.

I think what it comes down to is discipline. (Sorry—I had to say it.) Last year, once NaNoWriMo was over and I had no looming deadline spurring me on, I definitely let it all fall apart. Maybe this year I am going to be accountable to ME. Set my goals and stick to them. There is no way I can think of to do this except to just do it.

Everything I’m saying here may resonate with you. It may make perfect sense. Or you will dismiss it as pure bunk. That’s okay, because I think what it comes down to is finding your own way.

Just make sure you find it. I am still on my journey.

How do you keep your writing on track?

Melissa Corliss DeLorenzo is a writer, reader, yogini (when she can squeeze it in), mom, part-time Office Manager, a homemaker and the Coordinator and Writer for The Writer’s Life blog. She loves to cook and take long walks with her kids and is a woman who wants to meaningfully exchange and intersect with other women writers. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Massachusetts and a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Currently she works at a web development company (because part-time Office Manager buys more groceries than Struggling Writer). She is at work on a novel and a short story collection. Melissa lives in North Central Massachusetts with her family.