Ravenous Beauty: A Writer's Workshop

I had a 5 o'clock deadline for a local Colorado competition, but I also had a whole lot of life come at me--my wife's car battery died, dealing with the kiddo, the technical writing piled up--so I didn't have a chance to really pound out the last large part of a 2300 word minimum until the final hours. I wrote in the back of my car while mechanics worked on wife's car, then quickly finished it up with a blur edit when I got home. The send time was one minute before the deadline.

Anyone else ever done this?

I used to do it in college. I had an online writing class where each paper was due at midnight. The earliest time I got my paper in was 11:56; the latest was 11:59, so, even if it has been years since the college days, it's familiar territory. Still, I prefer to take my time, but I figured it was worth a shot. It's an interesting way to write, but it's not something I could do all the time. Too much pressure.

If nothing else, I've got a piece I can craft more later. Plus I come back to Amy Hempel's line about the number one mistake young writers make: Wanting to publish more than wanting to write well.

For today, I'll let myself off the hook.

Brinksmanship, I believe they call it. Some folk thrive upon it. Me, I respond very well to pressure (nature of the video business), but it's never my best work.

When I'm busy with other things, I really look forward to writing time, then do nothing when that time comes. So the last couple of years I've tried to give myself fake mini-deadlines for that reason. If I know I only have 25 minutes left while I'm out to lunch, I'll get lots written (that I can always revise later). Those same 25 minutes spent with no closed-end that evening would net very few words and lots of cursor-staring.

Flash wrote:When I'm busy with other things, I really look forward to writing time, then do nothing when that time comes. So the last couple of years I've tried to give myself fake mini-deadlines for that reason. If I know I only have 25 minutes left while I'm out to lunch, I'll get lots written (that I can always revise later). Those same 25 minutes spent with no closed-end that evening would net very few words and lots of cursor-staring.

I know what you mean. I used to write so much on my breaks and lunch when I had my deli job. Perhaps writers are just slackers by nature. Many publishers quit giving advances because the money would go poof and the product wouldn't be finished.

Yeah, it's happened. But only if the competitions didn't involve entry fees. If they did, then I just skipped the comp.

Yup, no entry fees. No rejection note, but no victory either. Just a stumble-upon realization that the winners of the contest were posted. Strange thing is, I haven't looked at that piece since I sent it. That way I can't see the obvious mistakes that come with a last-minute rush job. I'll clean it up and post here soon.* If nothing else, it was a good exercise.

It's funny how you can go from excited to apathetic when it comes to a submission. It's hard to keep up the feeling for long and even if I could, I think that would be creepy.

*EDIT: Posted. It's called "Ghost in the Snow."