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?

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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