I am just finishing my first draft of my first book. I need to get it done before the snow melts because I will not have time for writing once the winter is finished. Overnight temperatures will be below zero for the next week, but after that, spring may well spring.
I want the first draft to be in a good-enough state that I can give it to my grandmother to read. She is a sharp-minded ninety three year old, but not in great health.
I wondered what deadlines other people use to stimulate their writing...
Well, my first draft is complete, at least enough that I can send it to Grannie, then leave it alone for three months to settle. There is still snow on the ground, but the great melt has begun.
I aimed at 1800 words every week day, and it's just short of 80k.
I gave it to my husband to read the first chapter, but he finished off the whole thing in three days, saying he wanted to find out what happened!
My main objective has been to write something mildly amusing for my grandmother, though I really wonder what her reaction will be...
I took the advice of Graham Greene, when I started to write my now completed novel which I am thoroughly editing for the umpteenth time.
Greene said he aimed to write 300 words a day. It doen't seem much, but that is 2100 words a week,105,000 words a year.
My target was to write 600 words a day, 4200 a week. That was my weekly deadline.
I would love to set deadlines and stick to them but rarely get round to doing so and just grab moments to write when I can (and mainly during my lunch hour at work). Having said that, I joined a writing class last year which meets every fortnight and sets homework assignments and have found this is a great way to stay focused and make sure I do some kind of writing fairly regularly.