Sometimes, what happens when you have multiple deadlines and you’re a moron is that you confuse the dates of two deadlines, send one editor a piece three weeks early and find out two days after one particular deadline that you haven’t even started on that story yet.
Oy. Shoot me now.
One of my editors received a very apologetic, very “I’m so stupid and should never be trusted near computers again” e-mail a few days ago and I was expecting something stern and curt in return. Something along the lines of, “No one in this town will ever hire you again!” Instead, I opened up my e-mail to find this:
“Exhale, dear Mridu. World not ending.”
It’s been a season of disruptions, of people visiting, of people being unwell, of people flaking, of holidays, and busy-ness, and things going wrong and then coming right again. It’s been a season of, well, life. As much as we’d all like to hole up in our offices (and some of us, I won’t say who, have a history of not seeing daylight for weeks on end), the truth is that most of us don’t dream of a life of sitting in front of a computer all day long. Obsessed with our work as we may be, writers like the flexibility of being able to write when the inspiration strikes. We also like going and meeting people, visiting new places, and having new experiences, because hey, those novels need to be populated and all your experiences have already been sold as embarrassing personal essays that your family never fails to bring up at Diwali… (or maybe that’s just me.)
But anyway, my point is that life happens because we want life to happen. We like those visits and those holidays, we like it when there’s adventure to be had, places to be seen, new things to be learned. And when we go out and try to have all these experiences, inevitably, the writing routine gets disrupted and we fall behind.
That’s okay!
The year end is a time when people start feeling really flustered because more holidays are coming up, there is gift shopping to be done, cards to be sent out, and lights to be put up, not to mention that the goals of 2013 haven’t been met and 2014 is supposed to be the Best Year Ever and you have no idea how to accomplish that. All the freelancing blogs are about to start talking about looking back at your accomplishments and failures and moving on and ahead with new, improved goals for 2014 so that you can start with a bang, and instead all you can think is, “Another list? I don’t think I can handle another list!”
Exhale. And remember, world not ending.
If you’ve been reading my blog for over a year, you’ll know that I’m guilty of ending the year before it’s even ended. The moment December rolls around, I start thinking of the new and shiny next year and forget that I still have 24 more days in which to write and market (because let’s be honest, there’s no way you’re going to convince me to work after that).
But in those 24 days, I could write 24,000 new words, send at least 24 pitches (one marketing effort a day, remember?) or meet four new people.
Yes, if you wanted to finish a novel this year and you only wrote one chapter, it’s likely that you’re not going to meet the goal before the year end, but is that a good enough reason to be defeated and not even inch forward? If you’re like most writers I know, you take a look at your measly 5,000 words, shove the project to January 1, and not think about it again for the rest of December.
But I’m going to ask that you do me a favor and not let 2013 end before it’s really done and over with. Write another 10,000 words before January so that you can finish the darn thing in the first quarter of next year rather than sitting here a year later in the same place. Yes, it’s too late to do 30 queries in 30 days, but how about 20 in 20? How about 10? Or 5?
The problem with year ends—and I know this better than most people—is that the new and shiny around the corner acts as a perfect excuse to delay the hard work. On January 1, we promise ourselves, I will be full of energy and enthusiasm. It will be a new year and I will change all my bad habits once and for all. I will exercise more, eat less, work fewer hours, earn more, and market like I mean it.
Be a maverick and change those bad habits today. As that old proverb goes, what’s the best time to take action? Yesterday. What’s the second-best time? Today.
What have you started putting off until January and which small part of it are you going to finish today?