My Golden Heart entry is due at RWA headquarters in 5 days and I'm not finished with the the ending of the story. The first 50 pages are polished and ready to go, the synopsis is nearly done but the contest requires a completed manuscript. Ugh. I wish I was one of those people who can write 20 or 30 pages a day. Unfortuantely, I'm not sure I can type 30 pages in a day. What was I thinking when I signed up and paid my $50 in early November? Now I'm down to the wire and madly rushing to finish...or will be again after I post this.
So why not blow it off? Because I commited to finish and finish I will. I don't dare to hope to win like Pat O'Dea Rosen and JoAnne Banker did, or even final like Kay Hudson and Sarah Andre. These talented women have a je ne sais quoi that I truly admire. But I can wrap up this damn thing, print it, deliver it and hope for the best. And promise myself never be so follish again!!
What crazy dealines have you set for yourself? Did you meet them, miss them, or blow them off?
4 comments:
You ARE going to make this deadline, Lark. Write four pages and take a short walk. Drink coffee. Write four more pages. Walk some more. Down more coffee. At the moment, it may appear as if you're typing rather than writing, but your brain is whirring and the story's coming together. On Tuesday morning, you'll look back on this weekend and realize you really do work better under pressure.
Thanks for the peptalk, Pat. I'm only pausing to change laptops to a bigger screen and keyboard, have a cup of joe and take my Juice Plus...really. My brain is whirring for sure. Let's hope that's a good thing!
WE are going to make the deadline, Lark. I'm sitting here at my computer, as I have been on and off all day, TV on in the background, telling myself "it doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be a complete first draft." I have 267 pages, 68,589 words. On my Golden Heart entry form I said the book ran 80,000 words, and maybe the real finished version will, but not this draft. I don't really expect to be hit by GH lightning again, but at least I'll have a finished draft that I can mess with. That's why I entered, for the deadline, to see if I could pull it off.
WE CAN DO IT!
Thanks, Kay, for assuring me I'm not the only whack-job on this GH ride. Not that you're a whack-job. You are a finalist after all. I'm at 81,000 with about 5k to go. Okay, maybe 10k. Two days of weekend ahead so how hard can that be? I'll let you know how I do--please check in with your progress on Tuesday.
Who's going to drive these things north on Thursday, anyhow? Want to flip a coin?
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