: Re: Is it better to have a deadline? A lot of writers I admire say: "I didn't know how long the story would be." Me too, I'm the kind of writer who don't know where (and when) the story is

@Vandalay250

Vote Up Vote Down

In my experience, deadlines are useful. I have a hard time with the last 10% and the deadline helps me get there. Deadlines help to motivate me to write instead of doing other things, such as spending all day meandering online. If I meet the goal, I'm succeeding (at least at something). If I don't have a goal ("meet the deadline"), it's harder to tell when I'm failing.

As a novelist, I think that deadlines force me to write more and more often, keeping me in touch with the flow of the story -- therefore better quality. (Of course, at the same time, I take breaks to step back from a piece and get a fresh perspective.)

All that being said, "having a deadline" and "knowing how long the story will be" are two different things. If I have a deadline and yet my story keeps getting longer, then obviously I will need to spend more time writing! It's a vote for working harder, sooner, rather than waiting until the last minute.

(0)

Login to post a comment!