PROCRASTINATION

Work, work, all day long.
My house is a mess. I can't even begin to explain how bad it is.
In a week we leave for Washington DC, for the RWA Conference.
My kids are off to camp on Monday.
And I'm on the final stages of finishing a book that I need to mail next Friday.
NO PRESSURE.

Final stages of a book. What happens in the final stages.
I read back through the book, delete scenes that really don't move the story forward and add scenes that will help to keep the conflict strong and the pacing strong. I hope.

I tend to write fast, so I also go back and fill in where I might have rushed to get the story down. I find places where I fell into 'telling' rather than 'showing.' Those always stand out. The places where I tell that they did something, but fail to take the reader on the journey with the characters. And isn't reading all about taking a journey?

The truth is, I work better under pressure. If I have plenty of time to get things done, I procrastinate. I have time, so why rush?
Whether it's writing a book or cleaning house because I have company coming, I'm a last minute person. When it comes to the trip next week, I'll be doing laundry and packing bags the night before we leave.

My favorite part of having a deadline for a book, "I'm sorry, I just can't get to those dishes right now."