Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Deadlines coming out my ears!!

There's an old saying derived from a Robert Burns poem: "The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray."

Welcome to my month. I (perhaps foolishly) embarked on Camp NaNoWriMo to finish up a rough manuscript for my next Amish Inspirational. This is in addition to four columns and five articles due at various times during the month. And it's spring, for heaven's sake. There are things to do outside!

Despite all the deadlines, I felt reasonably in control of the month. I think of deadlines like bowling pins: just knock 'em down one by one.

But life has a habit of making the best-laid plans go astray. Today I received an email from my editor at Backwoods Home Magazine, bumping up two deadlines that had (until now) been comfortably distant, but now are both due in April. This means I suddenly have two very significant articles to write in addition to four columns, five shorter articles, and my daily NaNoWriMo word count to accomplish this month. We're also trying to get strawberry beds built (the bare root plants are on their way), potatoes planted, a significant indoor project Don is working on (more on that in a future blog post), and endless other early spring indoor and outdoor homestead projects. Aarrgh!

This is a long-winded way of saying, sometimes life can get overwhelming. We'll see what gets shoved on the back burner this month.

Okay, enough procrastinating. Time to get writing. Thanks for letting me whine.

5 comments:

  1. Sometimes I do my best work when under pressure! Good luck and God speed!

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  2. Totally get your stress! I'm very anxious to get seeds and plants into the garden, but it won't stop raining long enough to dry out so we can till. The last few weeks have been entirely too wet! And like you, I have a few deadlines (artwork) that are coming due soon...I am starting to feel the pressure. Press on!

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  3. Is this kinda like a one armed wall paper hanger? Sounds like it to me.
    If I had to do that much writing my brain would snap and come up blank, must be why I'm not a writer.
    Good luck and maybe this blog can slip towards the back burner, we all understand.

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  4. You always wanted to be a writer, Patrice. Now you are. LOL!

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  5. Thankfully, April has just begun. And our dear hostess is forever mentally engaged, taking notes, and probably making mental outlines while walking, doing dishes, relaxing with a cup of tea, or any number of other things. There may even be a small notepad at hand to jot things on. Because so many writing projects are there because of ability.

    The real problem is spring has sprung with initial demands and encumbrances of the wild, somewhat unpredictable, woman she is.
    Fortunately, the days are growing longer. We are all under the gun with an abundance of spring chores and projects. Now is a good time for back burner here.
    If Alabama can only dry out enough to actually get work done.

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