We all know a little bit about deadlines. We've had them in school whenever there was work to do outside of class, but the projects and essays that have later deadlines were always a little more stressful than the regular homework, right? Because even though there's a lot more time to do it, there's a lot more work too, and there's a serious pressure to do that work instead of using that lovely time to do more interesting things. And when a person is prone to procrastinating, and they find themselves working to finish it on the last day, they're pushed into doing something that feels totally uncomfortable: forcing oneself to write something because there's a terrible consequence if they don't.
But deadlines aren't all bad and stressful; there are a lot of good aspects about them too. Overall, they can help a person be motivated to not be lazy, and it does get a job done by a specific time. But there are also certain upsides to different kinds of deadlines--ones that involve our own writing projects instead of academic work. For example:
Writing group-related deadlines. Writing groups are awesome! We get to hang out with writer friends, and we can share writings to get feedback; everybody benefits! But of course nobody would want to be waiting a long time to get that precious feedback, so there's doubtlessly always an agreement to have comments/thoughts and new writing ready by the next meeting. But a great thing about having a deadline like this is that the people holding us to it are fellow writers. And fellow writers can understand writer issues that might cause a temporary delay (like severe writer's block or just sudden busyness in life) and be sympathetic. Plus, writing with the knowledge that someone is looking forward to reading the work is an extra pulse of motivation!
Writing workshops and/or conferences. There's one coming soon in the area I live in, and I'm working like crazy to have something ready to bring. The approaching deadline is definitely a little stressful, and it can't be moved to a later date because it's an official event, but it's not all worrisome and full of pressure because the event is an exciting thing! Writing workshops and conferences are an adventure to look forward to, like going off to college or heading on a dream vacation. And preparing for it is like packing and re-packing a suitcase; you don't want to be sloppy or forget anything important, but it's still fun to prepare for because it's going to be so awesome!
NaNoWriMo. It's so weird. A wonderful, wonderful, weird. Because NaNoWriMo takes something impossible (writing a whole first draft within thirty days) and manages to make it fun. It's a crazy, coffee/hot chocolate packed dash to make a word count, but the environment NaNo creates is so inspirational and encouraging that the process isn't just a haggard rush. There are tools to track your progress on the novel, a space to write little blurbs as if the book were already published, and there's a whole community to be part of. NaNoWriMo gives a quick, quick deadline, but it's thrilling all the way!
Personal goals. Like starting a story in January and saying, "I want to have the first draft done by the end of March." This kind of deadline is great because it's one that a person makes for themselves based on a personal understanding. The goal doesn't just come from how fast a person can type in one instance; it's based on past experiences and a knowledgeable approximation of how much time a person would actually have for writing. Plus it's also flexible; if the goal-setter gets really sick or becomes tied up in a monstrously time-consuming project, they can stretch the deadline a little. And in the end, when the goal is met, there's an extra layer of satisfaction because sticking to a goal is an awesome skill, writing-wise and life-wise.
There are so many deadlines and so many reasons to enjoy them! :) Isn't it cool?
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