Image Credits: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.
Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, famously said “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” Strongly suspect his publishers/those he worked with on the BBC (for scripts, including for Doctor Who) did not take the same view!
I see a deadline as a challenge. Not to let it go by but to meet it with room to spare. I also think deadlines can encourage you to be more creative, simply because they give you something to work towards. There is an end goal. It is a great antidote to that notorious thief of time, procrastination!
Deadlines – Normal Part of the Writing Life
As well as story competitions, you are set deadlines for getting work back to publishers. For example, when my books, From Light to Dark and Back Again, and, later, Tripping the Flash Fantastic were accepted by Chapeltown Books, I had a deadline to work to for where I could get amendments back before the books went to print. There has to be a cut off point to give the publisher time to arrange production.
Every competition has to have a deadline. Judges need time to go through the stories before the results are announced. Getting used to writing to a deadline simply stands you in good stead. They won’t faze you for a start! Also being able to work to deadlines is a sign of professionalism.
Entering competitions regularly is a good way to develop that professionalism. When you submit work to a publisher and tell them I’ve had work accepted here, work accepted there etc., one thing they will pick up on immediately is this author can write to deadlines and that someone else thought your work was worth publishing.
(They will also see it shows commitment to writing and you’re probably used to getting rejections. The latter is not as bad as it sounds. It happens to every writer. What matters is learning from the rejections and going on to do better. Oh and not giving up, being prepared to learn, and keep going and improve etc).
Handling Deadlines – Useful Tips
For entering any competition, I take about a fortnight off the official deadline. Why? Because I make that my deadline instead. It is when I go through my piece for the final time and ensure there are no typos, grammatical errors etc that could let the piece down. Once happy, I then submit the piece.
Sometimes I do find a mistake despite having already gone through the piece at least a couple of times. It happens. But this final go through gives me my chance to put that right. I learned this lesson the hard way. Many, many years ago, I submitted a story which I honestly thought was in with a good chance. It didn’t get anywhere. I reviewed it after I realised it wasn’t going to go anywhere and spotted a glaring typo on Page 2! I could’ve kicked myself there.
Now put yourself in the position of a judge or editor here. If you’ve got two good stories which meet all the criteria of the competition, and one of them has an error in it, then you really do have to award the prize to the fault-free one. It would not be fair on that author to do otherwise. So I learned my lesson here and now have a way of ensuring I have done all I can to prevent that basic error happening again.
This tip is also useful for another reason. Practically all submissions are sent in by email or via an online form connected to a website. Technical glitches happen. By taking time away from the official deadline, you are giving yourself a window here to re-submit on another day and/or give yourself time to sort out the technical glitch if it is at your end. If it is at their end, it would pay you to flag it up.
The organisers may genuinely not have spotted it and again this kind of thing happens. It gives them a chance to sort things out and/or give you an alternative way of getting your submission in to them.
Footnote here: Ironically there was a problem with operating the CFT site for posting blogs earlier this week. Now sorted, which is why you’re seeing this post! Many thanks to Neil Duddridge and Janet Williams for getting on to this so promptly. See? I practice what I preach – I flagged things up! (This is also known as not wasting useful material to be put into what has turned out to be a timely blog post!).
Leaving It to the Last Minute.com – Don’t!
I know writers broadly fall into two camps – the planners and the pantsers (those who plan out their stories and then write them up and those who literally make it up as they go along – the seat of the pants school of thought. Both camps are fine and have their merits and disadvantages).
There is a danger here for the latter type though. You do have to give yourself time to get your work in on time so you will have to do some planning here! Regular pantsers will know how long it does take them to come up with a story so do factor this in. You also don’t want to put yourself under unnecessary pressure to meet the deadline.
I know of a situation where someone really did send in their tale at midnight on the closing date of a competition. That was cutting it fine. They did not go on to win or be shortlisted. It wasn’t because of that but please bear in mind people do know when the submissions come in and the last minute.com scenario simply doesn’t look good. It can make competition organisers/editors wonder about your reliability.
So don’t go there even if the very thought of outlining a story brings you out in a cold sweat. Just work out what time you need as a pantser to get a story down and edit it and work from there. Just plan your time so you can’t miss a deadline. Then you can wing your story successfully funnily enough. You will know what time you need here (and I would also add in an extra week here given life can get in the way, illness happens etc).
I do think this is where people who do some kind of planning of their work may have an advantage. This kind of thing simply isn’t going to faze them!
Conclusion
See having a deadline as your friend. Having to meet a deadline is standard industry practice so it is worthwhile getting used to doing this. It is partly why my CFT posts always come out on a Friday (technical hitches not withstanding!). I’ve set that deadline each week and, unless away or ill, I meet it. Again good industry practice going on here!
And if you ensure you get your stories in ahead of said deadlines, nobody need ever know whether you’re a planner or a pantser unless you decide to reveal it!
Related Posts:-
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
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