My husband Chris Barton and I continue our interrogations of each other over bran cereal. Today we focus on the final stages of writing a book. I ask him about forgetting what he wrote and he asks me about the dreaded d-word…

Chris: As you’ve written more books, have deadlines gotten easier?

Me: You’d think they would have, but no. Not really. With each new project I swear to myself that I will manage it better, thereby making deadlines go more smoothly. But no matter how well I plan, things happen, stress builds, and that end date ends up looming like a radioactive cloud.  There still comes a day (or seven) where I’m at the computer constantly, wearing dirty clothes, eating a 3 pm lunch of ice cream straight out of a container – with a fork because none of the spoons are clean.

Deadlines for first drafts or major revisions are particularly crazy-making because I’m so far into the world of the story and barely maintaining in the real world. There’s the Jenny realm with its “normal” routine of meals, sleep, and chores, overlaid with kid schedules and other job tasks. Then there’s the book’s realm with all of its demands, and a completely different standard of time. It gets to a point where it’s near impossible to exist in and track the needs of both worlds. To do so would require a TARDIS.

It’s difficult to explain. I can only say that it becomes futile to stick to a  x-words/chapters-a-day plan, because I can’t measure the progress I make in the book realm by real world time. I might spend two hours perfecting a vital paragraph or compose a near-perfect chapter in 20 minutes. Thus, I have the deadline in one realm and the story in a completely different universe and I am the Billy Pilgrim bringing them together. This process is bound to make me a little, well … weird.  At least for a while.

I will say that I have gotten better at managing my emotions and expectations. If it’s a first draft deadline or early revision, I remind myself that I don’t need to be a perfectionist about the writing just yet – there will be editing passes to come that don’t require me to hop dimensions, when I can sit squarely in my time and be a word stickler.

Also, my loved ones have adapted and don’t find my transformation into Scary Deadline Lady quite so traumatic anymore.

Also, I married a brilliant author who understands and knows how to help.