This past weekend, I discovered that the deadline to turn in a manuscript for a conference review was the date to be 'received by' instead of the date to be 'postmarked by.'
At first, this was not good news (i.e., extreme panic), but after 4 hours of revisions during the wee hours of the morning (I couldn't sleep anyway), I finished version 6 of the story and had it formatted and ready to be mailed the next day.
The deadline turned out to be the path to unleashing creativity and honing my story to a much finer point. I simply could not miss the deadline.
So, next time you think there is no time (did i mention I also had unexpected house guests) to get that revision or query or cover finished and submitted, get inspired and just do it. The dead of night could be your best time to work on meeting deadlines!
-Q
When I was in high school I competed in speech and debate. I preferred expository speaking, but our coach insisted we try different events. In extemporaneous speaking you get a topic and then speak on it for about 5 minutes or so with only a minute or less to prepare. Depending on the topic, a sensible and non-rambling delivery can be tough to achieve.
Sometimes, I feel like the first draft of a children's story is like that. An idea pops into your head, you process the various tacks the story can take, and then you deliver your ideas on a blank page. If it rambles too much, you want to throw out the whole idea. Fortunately, writing gives you plenty of "do overs" (i.e. revisions) to harness your creativity and hone a great story. The trick is remembering you have that capability. The first draft is never the last (at least for 99.999% of writers).
And let me know how the elf and dragon work out the cupcake sharing...
-Q
