Maybe there are more important things than meeting a deadline
. . . especially when that deadline is self-imposed
If things had gone according to plan last month, I would have several more pieces out in the world by now. You would have received an extra issue of Real Quick around the middle of February. Readers of The Baltimore Banner would have had the option to read essays and vignettes I’ve been trying to get right for weeks. I would have submitted new work to literary magazines—something I haven’t done for months (a year?!) at this point.
But the combination of (still) setting overly ambitious goals and the fact that, sometimes, life interferes with our intentions, means that those pieces were not posted. Published. Submitted. I brainstormed and drafted. I sat down again and again. And I don’t have anything to show for it—yet.
It doesn’t always matter how badly I want to achieve something. That it’s a priority. That it matters a lot to me that I make it happen. Sometimes, I do it later than I’d hoped. Other times, it doesn’t get done at all.
It’s been painstaking, but I’m proud that I’m learning the necessity of adjusting my goals. I’m proud that I honor the written word enough to maintain high standards of what I share. I’m proud that I respect my readers’ time enough to avoiding asking them—you!—to read something that, quite frankly, isn’t ready yet for public consumption.
Ideally, I’d be willing to make this extra time and allow this grace because it’s what’s best for me, not simply my writing. When I have too much to juggle, or my capacity isn’t as robust as I would like, I would think about the damage I’m doing to myself in the name of meeting my goals: the sleep I’m losing, the stress I’m accumulating, the rest I’m sacrificing.
I know, though, that change takes its sweet time. While I still hope that I’ll get to the place of instinctively looking out for what’s best for me, I’m grateful that, in the meantime, I’m rearranging my to-do list at all. Pushing back deadlines. Re-considering certain projects. Currently, it’s with the quality of my writing in mind, but one day, maybe I’ll also treat myself with the same consistency of care.
Today is Day #2 of #mini1000, the abbreviated version of
’s #1000wordsofsummer that I’ve recommended before. The goal is to write 1000 words a day from March 2nd through March 7th; I’m using this momentum to start some drafts for The Baltimore Banner. Drafting continues to be the hardest part of the writing process for me, so I especially appreciate the solidarity of participating in this project.
My eleventh book of the year is also the fifth that happens to be about books—or, more specifically, people whose lives are made better by the written word. I’m about halfway through Robin Yeatman’s Bookworm; though I don’t have much in common with the protagonist, we both read voraciously, and I’ve been delighting in that.
- ’s post about the relationship between her mental health and her capacity to read the writing of others. This is thoughtful and thorough, and I hope you take the time to read it.
Another post on Substack about reading—this one by
. The entire piece is soothing and inviting, this part especially:“Because we need this parallel with books, don’t we. As individuals who live to express ourselves with words; spoken, written, it doesn’t matter, the lessons are the same. The raw beauty, heartache, aching bliss and despair. We can soak up ravishing writing by surrounding our senses with the seductively articulated words of others. Without travelling an inch. How very lucky we are.”
- ’s reflection on lessons from James Clear’s Atomic Habits—specifically, how “they might serve our writing lives.” This is a post I expect I’ll refer to repeatedly as I continue refining my own practice.
Laura has a literary agent! She’s represented by Victress Literary, and is revising her novel to submit to publishers. Laura, I am so excited for you!
And! Laura has more good news: MSAC awarded her a grant to attend the Key West Literary Seminar. What an incredible start to the year, Laura. Congratulations!
Thanks to #the100dayproject, I’m finally creating videos for my YouTube channel, Literary Love. I’ve put this off for months, and while I struggle to record and post every day, I’m relieved to have at least (and at last!) started.
What are your writing-related celebrations? They can be magnificent like Laura’s, or much more everyday, like mine. I want to know! I want other Real Quick readers to know! Please tell us.
Today’s post is brought to you by paid subscriber Danielle. Thank you for supporting this space for writers, Danielle. I wish you pages and pages of words that are evidence of both your purpose and power.