A Little Hot Water Is a Good Thing

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OK, here’s to everyone staying healthy and my mind staying off Captain Jack for a few days. I have, once again, said yes to far too many things. Not that I can’t get them done…but doing so leaves no spare time in the schedule for things like illness and unexpected changes.

Sometimes I think I like the pressure. Always did I guess, which explains why so many college term papers were finished at 4am on the day they were due. Either that, or I have an inherent laziness about getting things done. Let’s hope for the former.

That’s one reason that I set my own deadlines for most of my writing. Sometimes I can’t quite…get…there….but mostly it helps. That focus of knowing I’ve promised–if only to myself–that I’ll send that proposal to that agent, or that book to that editor, or this article to that magazine helps me get the writing done.

It works. I have a friend who set a goal of writing at least 100 words a day. That’s not a lot of words…this blog enter is almost at 200 right here…but the discipline is one that has turned her into a serious writer. She’s not missed a day on her goal in more than two years.

So…what are your goals today? Hope they involve dreams and lots of follow-through. I’m off to the pressure cooker…but heat can be a good thing. While not specifically speaking of writing, G. K. Chesterton once said something I really like: “I like hot water . . . it helps keep you clean.”

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