Question: How do you cope with deadline pressure?
Answer: Oddly enough, coping with pressure can be a little different with every project. I like to think I manage my writing and revision time in a balanced manner, but there’s always something that comes up.
Usually it’s real life and depending on the concern, the solution changes.
I’m not a great coffee house writer, at least not at deadline time. I like to retreat from the world and sink deep into the story. At home, I can get up and stretch or take yoga breaks as needed.
Whenever I sense the typical end-of-project worries and pressures creeping up on me I remember this gift my kids gave me years ago at Christmas.
It’s the elf hat from Disney’s Prep and Landing and it hides the jar of Reece’s Pieces that are my secret weapon/delicious reward during the revision phase.
In one of the Prep and Landing animated shorts, one elf asks his partner, (who is paralyzed by fear in the scene) “Where do we put our worries?” His partner answers in a shaking voice: “In the hat.”
Sure, it sounds too easy and a little silly, but that hat on my desk is a reminder to stuff away the worry where it can’t become a problem and keep on going until the book is done.
With 44 novels complete and many more to come, I’d say it’s working!
Live the adventure!
3Aug2019
ps If you have a question for me, post it in the comments and I’ll answer it here or on an upcoming post.
