My Deadline Has Waved Goodbye To Me

I had set a strict deadline to finish a book, so that I could revise and edit it in time to participate in a twitter pitch party. The deadline came and went, waving a mocking goodbye to me, and I realized that I was not even halfway through the project, though I managed to write a few pitches for it.

I postponed the deadline by two months. As this particular deadline is looming large, I realize that I still have a long, long way to go. If I do a rushed up job, I know I’ll be doing injustice to the project, as well as to myself.

This has made me push the deadline by a few more weeks. I am not sure that I’ll meet that deadline too.

I feel bad that I won’t be able to complete my book for that particular pitch party. I’ll have to wait a few more months for it to come again. By then I’m sure the book will be more than ready. I’m very angry with myself for this slow writing. But summer always has that effect on me. It makes me sluggish and grumpy and very lazy.

But luckily for me I have another book that I may be able to polish for that particular pitch contest. This idea has cheered me up quite a bit. Fingers crossed so that I am able to achieve this particular goal.

How are you all at handling deadlines? Are you able to meet them? Or like me do you keep postponing them?

IWSG Post - My Panster Woes

We are already in the 4^th month of 2017.  This year too like its predecessors is flying past at an alarming speed, leaving many of us writers stranded with our writing goals. A couple of my deadlines have whooshed past me, mocking my laziness.

 It’s the first Wednesday of the month, time for our monthly IWSG post. IWSG (Insecure Writers Support Group) is the place we writers hang around online, sharing our writing insecurities, anxieties, worries, clearing our doubts and learning from each other. As all the writers are at different stages of their publishing journey, there is a wealth of information on the IWSG website. we post on the first Wednesday of every month. To read the other IWSG posts, click here.

We all must thank Ninja Captain Alex J Cavanaugh (author of the Amazon Bestsellers: CassaStar, CassaStorm, CassaFire and Dragon of the Stars) for starting this wonderful group, which works as a major stress buster for us writers.

This month I have given myself a strict deadline of finishing a manuscript I had started sometime back. For that I have to write fast and I am actually pansting quite a bit of the story. I haven’t done any heavy duty plotting and have only a rough idea of what the ending will be like and what the major turning points will be.

This panster way of writing is giving me anxiety attacks, as I like to have a plot outline in mind before I start telling the story. Though between plot points I give myself the freedom to move any which way, but whichever direction I take, I know where I have to reach because the next major plot point is waiting for me.

I am wondering how other writers are such amazing pansters. How do they write without any outline? Can anyone give me any tips? I am eager to read all your IWSG posts and see what writing worries are bugging you this month.

April 5 Question: Have you taken advantage of the annual A to Z Challenge in terms of marketing, networking, publicity for your book? What were the results? 

I have not used the A to Z Challenge to market my book or for the publicity of my book. I have done the Challenge just once and my book didn’t get published in the year I participated in the A to Z Challenge. But it sounds like a good idea for book promotion!