Sometimes we have the best intentions. Tell ourselves in three weeks I’m going to have the first three chapters written.  But…

But, faster than the streak of a lightning bolt through the sky, those three weeks have gone by and barely a word has been written.

Listen, it’s happened to me. I completely understand, and I feel, writer, that you need to give yourself a pat on the back. At least you had the intention of getting work done, right? Truth is, life is always hectic, and that is why we need to strengthen our resolve. To help you, here are FIVE suggestions on setting the right deadline.

1.  Try to use a concrete date. 

Three weeks, or something like that, is too flimsy.  If today is the first of May, then tell yourself that by June 15th you must have three chapters completed.

Also, keep in mind that the term ‘completed’ can mean different things, and a little flexibility is called for. For example, you don’t have to have those three chapters, or however many you committed to write, perfectly edited. They can be full of typos and grammar slaps in the face. You are perfectly within your right to do the editing after, and many writers prefer to work this way.

2.  Holidays are another great deadline help.

Most of us are super aware of holidays; making commitments with our writing in relation to those famous days can help keep us on track:

“In two months Aunt Sue is gonna be here for turkey day!! I won’t have time to work on my last two chapters when she’s here, so I’ll make sure to have them done before then.

3.  Use the seasons.

With four months you can accomplish a lot. Most of the time it’s easy to know what season you’re in, unless you live in a place that feels like it has only one… Hello, Florida…

4.  Birthdays.

I love these! There is no better gift to a writer than having a finished piece on or for your birthday. OK—a book deal might rival that…  But you get what I mean.

5.  The duration of a month:

One of the best, and longest pieces of writing I ever did, was during a single month.  The idea was to write as much as I could, finishing the book ideally in the span of one month.  Integral to this was not editing, just writing until the full story was told.

Need to flush stuff out? You do it after.

Need to fix details, the names of towns, dates?  Later.

Though I did not finish the book in a month (it actually took me only two) this frenzied writing kept me fully in the story making it a non-issue to ‘get back into it’ each time I sat at the computer.

Naturally I did have quite a bit of editing to do once finished, but I loved the experience and frenzy of writing “non-stop.”  It was so all-consuming I often had to stop myself from calling my son by one of my main character’s names!

So here you go, five writing deadline suggestions to help you writers do what you do best—craft those fantastic worlds and characters!

Any other deadline suggestions?  Leave your commets and let me know what works for you?