I find deadlines useful. They stop me from procrastinating, give me a definite goal to work towards and when I'm not set one (by say a writing competition) I arrange my own! I like to set myself targets - for example by the end of the month I want at least one short story to be out there or to have got to a certain point on my short story collection or novel. I like to try different writing competitions (though I enter those that are recommended by another author on their website or if it is advertised in say Writers' News/Writing Magazine or are competitions that have been around for a long time. If in doubt I always check out a competition website and if the entry fee seems excessive for the prize on offer I don't enter it. That can be the sign of a scam).
The different deadlines these competitions set I find useful as a discipline for me. The competitions also tend to vary the word counts they require and that can be a good discipline too as I write to the different standards wanted.
I don't set a deadline as such for a novel given it is more complex than a short story but I do want to have a first draft written and typed up and a basic copy edit done in a year. I know there's still a lot more to do after that but I find it a good guidance. It stops me dragging the novel out. By the end of a year I've got something I can work with. I think my next stage is to set myself goals for one complete year - i.e. have so many stories out, have a draft novel written and so on - but to set targets and then meet them is a good habit and hope it stands me in good stead, hopefully for the day when my novels might be published.
The different deadlines these competitions set I find useful as a discipline for me. The competitions also tend to vary the word counts they require and that can be a good discipline too as I write to the different standards wanted.
I don't set a deadline as such for a novel given it is more complex than a short story but I do want to have a first draft written and typed up and a basic copy edit done in a year. I know there's still a lot more to do after that but I find it a good guidance. It stops me dragging the novel out. By the end of a year I've got something I can work with. I think my next stage is to set myself goals for one complete year - i.e. have so many stories out, have a draft novel written and so on - but to set targets and then meet them is a good habit and hope it stands me in good stead, hopefully for the day when my novels might be published.
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