Maggie Wells · Margaret Ethridge

Mags vs. the panic attack

Margaret Ethridge

I’m sorry I don’t have a more zippy post to share with you this month. You see, a couple weeks ago, my publisher gave the verbal green light on books 2 & 3 in a proposed series. Yay! Then he hit me with a deadline that made me flinch just the teensiest bit.

Now, I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m one of those freaks who loves a deadline. So I didn’t wig out. Much.

Here’s a little glimpse at how the last couple of weeks have gone for me:

10) First, I totally played it cool. After all, I’m the one who wanted this thing to happen, Right? “Oh yeah, I can totally do that.”

9) Then my editor and I did a little counting backwards. Did I mention that math was never my strong suit? “So if they want the final 10 weeks, then you need the polished draft of the book I haven’t written yet in 6 weeks? Hm. This means my crit partner needs is in 4, so I have about 28 days to spit out 50k…that’s 1785 words per day if I write every day. Well, okay. That’s not bad…Kind of like doing NaNo. I’ve done NaNo six times. I can do this.”

8) Stare at blank screen: OMG! This is just as crazy as doing NaNo!

7) The honeymoon phase: These characters are a hoot. I love them

6) The get to the honeymoon-type action phase: OMG. I wish these two would just stop bantering and do it already, we’re almost halfway through!

5) Seven chapters in and I realize I’ve strayed from proposed synopsis: Why are there no Cheez-Its in this house?

4) Buy ALL the Cheez-Its. Inhale. Inhale Cheez-Its. I can do this.

3) Man, I love it when my project word count meter starts to turn yellowish green. What? I still have 4 chapters worth of story to write? Well, hey, it’s easier to cut scenes then to have to add, right?

2) The get over the honeymoon-type action phase: Great. They’ve finally stopped yapping enough to do the deed, and now I have to find a way to blow up this good thing they’ve got going on.

Photograph by DoD Public Domain
Photograph DoD Public Domain

1) Ah, I see the finish line…can I make it? Where did all those Cheez-Its go?

flip

How about you? Do you work well under pressure, or do you need time to work things through at your own pace?

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10 thoughts on “Mags vs. the panic attack”

  1. 😀 Youuu cannnn doooo ittttt! You’re almost there, Mags! *sends all the Cheez-Its* I work well-ish under pressure. I definitely work better and more consistently when I have a deadline, but if my deadline was the same as yours, I might faint. But you…you cannnn doooo itttt!

  2. I need deadlines too! But you know what I need more? Respect for the deadlines. I need to write a little over 50k by Sept. 15th. I just keep getting distracted! It’s the last book in my series and I’m dragging my feet. Now I’m thinking it’ll be fun to write without a deadline. But I’ll change my mind as soon as I don’t have one. We writers are complex creatures! PS love you and miss you!

    1. Aw! I love and miss you too! Wish you were still here, we could camp out at Panera and crank out the words! ❤

  3. Deadlines! I need deadlines, plus one week…because life. 😉 Way to go lady-o!! You’re rockin’ it! I have 12k more to hammer out by this weekend. It’s as good as in the bag. Wait, why am I checking email and commenting on blogs?! Get to work!!!

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