The Gift of Writing On Deadline

As a writer, I used to dread deadlines. I'm still not crazy about them, although I like to get the paychecks.  Sometimes I moan or kvetch. A friend explained the meaning of that word - kvetch. Although I may be inaccurate, to me it implies a degree of moaning and groaning about life's challenges or just a general grumping around.  I kvetch plenty. My family will back me up on this.

However, I have to admit...however begrudgingly.... that deadlines can be a gift. They force me to actually create an article and they teach me that sometimes you can't wait for inspiration to strike. Sometimes an editor is waiting and the work has to be on the desk by a certain day (give or take a few hours or even an extra day). So you sit down and write. You can only push those deadlines so far unless you are an extremely famous writer. I am not.

Here's the honest part about deadlines:

1. I don't always like what gets into print. I sometimes want to go back and edit it. But I can't. It is there, for better or worse. Nothing to do but accept it and hope readers are kind. They generally are.

2. Because I know that I'm going to have to let those words go into print by a certain date, I try to edit as I write and I try to keep my words to a minimum. If I need to add details, I usually notice any omissions when I reread the piece and I can add them, sparingly.

3. Writing on deadline often produces short, tight writing that is compelling. This doesn't happen because I planned it that way. The truth is that it happens because I have no other choice. My natural impulse might have been to add an extra page to the article or throw in extra details about a person I'm profiling or a special event or a memorable experience from my life.

I have been surprised by how well those short articles are received, the ones I thought were terrible. People tell me they are "reader friendly" and contain "important details". One reader actually noted that I'd probably saved her life and that she might not have read the article if it was longer (that article focused on a specific type of asthma, relatively rare).

I hope this article is just the right length for you today and that you found it worth reading.