Setting your own deadline

I've just realized and done something that I think is really important: I've set myself a deadline. I've been working on my novel for one year as of July 4th. I've been working on the plot for two years as of September 26th. The current draft of my novel has been in the works since January 22nd. And I'm sick of anticiapting querying. I've got query letters waiting to be printed, SASEs waiting to be sent back to me, and mailing envelopes that want to be used! Coming into the summer, I said to myself: I'm going to use this time off to finish my book. I'll have it finished by August. And I really did think that was realistic. I could finish the bulk of a novel in three months.

But now I've realized differently. I'm going to finish this novel by July 15th, commit two entire days to perfect editing, and then begin the query process. Here'll be my schedule (if everything goes right):

June 29th-July 15th: Finish novel.

July 15th-17th: EDIT. EDIT. EDIT.

July 17th-18th: Prune and edit my query letters. Make sure everything is perfect. Check facts with the book, with the agent's website, and with my personal information.

I'm planning on getting it blurbed. Hopefully that won't take long. I want to query by the summer's end. Then, I'll have to wait and see from there. I have to get this all done over the summer. I should wait until the fall/winter, but I can't. I was hoping to get a few blurbs, get the results for the writing conest I entered ... but I'm not going to wait. The sooner I query, the better.

So, I've set the deadline. The novel better be done by then. In fact, I shouldn't be blogging now, I should be writing. The Internet is my biggest distraction. Maybe I'll update later tonight. I love deadlines (unless I don't control them). They make me work harder and better.

Edit: I've missed the 'weekly writing round-up.' I've decided to do it whenever I find new blogs.