I don't like pressure, LOL. I like meandering. I put enough pressure on myself, I don't need it from outside.

My next firm deadline is August, and after that, Feb (unless something new happens), and that's good by me. Gives me time to work on other things, some new projects, and do a decent job of the things I'm working on. I work every day, and I even write relatively quickly, but I am not a "book in two weeks" or even a "book in a month" kind of person. I felt that pressure early on, and I decided to step away from it.

There's some weird focus on speed among women writers particularly, and I don't get it. John Grisham was on the Today Show this morning, saying how in his process, he works sometimes for years on an outline that leads to a book. A friend of mine, Bob O'Connor (Buffalo Soldiers), has taken near 10 years to get his second book out. Is this a gender thing?

Writers write at different paces, and you just find your own. I see writers all the time who load themselves up with impossible schedules and then they are under such stress, and I'm not convinced they are doing the best writing they can that way. (although if it works for them, more power to them).

That's not me. I have enough work and projects going that I can work on things every day, but I don't like being squished. I work on different things at once, but I'm not racing to get them all done. I think my ultimate goal would be fewer books per year and more time spent on them, and more time spent on other projects or non-writing stuff.

It's also mercury retrograde until Feb 18 -- a good time for revisions, planning, and puttering, but not generally a good time for slamming through things...

Just give yourself a break and accept your process and your flow -- all books will come differently, some need more time than others...

Sam

I'm a deadline person. Deadlines are my friend. They keep me focused and on task. I do not like unrealistic dealines, so I try to give myself plenty of time to do things...but the deadline must be there. I am, however, a multitasker writing-wise. I'm writing one book, revising another, brainstorming characters with Sam and outlining my next three books. But--I have to have deadlines to keep me from always starting projects and never finishing, if you know what I mean.

Well, I'm a terrible procrastinator, so actually having a firm deadline forces me to actually do the work. (One reason I'd be ill-suited to writing is that you all have to be so self-disciplined!) I dislike the feeling of pressure, but it makes me feel compelled to do the work and then I can relax (so to speak) :)

Glad you've got lots going on, Megan, but I'm sorry that it's making you feel unproductive :(

I definitely work best under pressure, but too much pressure, and I turn into a witch. I just turned in my last book on Jan 10th, and am now working on revisions to that book. My next deadline is May 15th, with another one right behind that in Sep. Way, way, waaaay too much, considering I also work a full-time job that completely demands my attention for 50 hours each week. I think I was so thrilled that Harlequin wanted all 3 of my book proposals, that I'd have agreed to anything. Now I know better. I've discovered that while I can write a book in 3-4 months, I'm completely stressed out while I'm doing it, and I lose the joy. My whole thought process becomes get it done, get it done, get it done. I start to panic. I have trouble sleeping. I'm miserable to live with. The book I'm working on now is still exciting for me, and I hope it continues to be. There's nothing worse than when writing become drudgery.