Working to a deadline...

Two weeks today I'm off to Spain and I'm certainly feeling the pressure as far as hitting targets and deadlines I have. It's funny, because even though I'm technically working for myself, I have so many commitments as far as hitting deadlines for short stories which are due in and scheduling blogging posts, that often the main goal of actually writing, editing and publishing a novel takes second place.

I came across a phrase the other day...


'Every single thing in life depends on the amount of commitment you put into it. If you commit, you'll succeed.'


Of course, this phrase can be applied to a number of different things in life, but for me it rang most true in my writing. I first decided to write seriously just as I was completing my Zoology degree. I'd already decided I didn't want to follow the Zoology route and thought the fact that the hours I was supposed to have spent doing animal behaviour observation, I actually spent with my notebook conjuring up some fantasy world or another, was enough of a hint to tell me where my heart lay.

That was over ten years ago now and I'm finally able to write as a living. I'm probably not quite pulling in a full time wage yet but I'm hoping that the success I've seen in my other writing, I'll also get in my paranormal fiction.

So when people ask me why I'm putting so much pressure on myself when I technically work for myself, I'll refer them to the above phrase. Only by committing fully to something will you ever be able to know if you can make it a success.