Under the Gun

It's the busiest of times for me, which I've decided is a good thing for my writing. When I have too much time to think, to edit, to slave over and finesse, I all too often go astray with my proposals. Many times, I do better in the white heat of the moments, with some exciting new idea blazing through me and spilling out onto my keyboard under smoking fingertips.

When there's no time to do it any way but right, the missteps and bad choices are luxuries I can't afford. The clarity of necessity cuts through all the layers, plucks out what is right and true and (forgive me, purists!) marketable from my earlier attempts. Somehow, I get the thing done, in far less time than any of the cumbersome earlier versions would suggest. I'm sure that all those bad drafts, with their character development, have lain a firm foundation, but the rushed stuff is the right stuff, more often than not.

Why is that, I wonder? Does adrenaline sharpen my focus? Or does the rush leave my shrieking shrew of an internal editor far behind where she can do no harm?

What about you? Do you write better under pressure or when you have a lot of think time? When is it you do the very best work that you can?

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On another note, I'll be pretty quiet on the blog for a while. I'm thrilled to say that I'm back under contract, with two new books to write!

Comments

Suzan Harden said…
Congratulations on the contract, Colleen.

And actually the clicking of the keys as you type furiously to meet a deadline does a very job of drowning the shreiks of Internal Editor.
Thanks, Suzan. I think you may be right about that.
But then, you've been right about a lot of stuff just lately! :)
Jeanna Thornton said…
Not one but two!!! Hurray for you...

I am not an *under the gun gal*, more a prissy pantser but I *admire* those that are!!

Congratulations...

j.
Thanks so much, Jeanna. Funny this is, I'm a lot more comfortable taking my time. I hate being rushed, but somehow it brings a clarity I seem to otherwise lack.

Back to it!
Suzan Harden said…
What? Me? Right about something? Can I get that in writing for my husband?
Okay, now you've pushin' your luck, Suzan! :)