How to Achieve Great Things?

I was lurking around on the NaNoWriMo website last night in an attempt to become competent with social networking (by posting on forums), when I came across the following quote on one of their flyers:

"To achieve great things, two things are needed:
a plan, and not quite enough time."
- Leonard Bernstein

My first thought was: 'Yes! All I need is a writing plan and a few self-imposed deadlines and I'll be fine!'

Then a second thought slammed its way into my head: 'You plan all of the time. All you do is plan what you're going to write and when you're going to write it. And you do give yourself deadlines. Deadlines that are impossible to achieve!'

My issue is sitting down and writing. Well, no, I'm fine with sitting at my computer. I can do that all day - I'm very good at looking like I'm working on some great epic when I'm really re-reading stories written many years ago.

No, my issue isn't with writing. I think the real issue is with finishing. I never think anything is good enough. Lots of it gets sent out not because it is finished, but because I can't see how to make it better, and who knows? Maybe whoever it gets sent to will think it's the best story they've ever read? Though, they haven't yet.

The saga that is my attempt to finish my correspondence course is three assignments, eight submissions away from me receiving a certificate that will be the result of six years of procrastination.

I gave myself a new deadline of August 22. I've already worked out I can't meet that.

I want to send two things off per week. Wanting and doing are two very different things ...

I Do What the Voices Tell Me ...

... and right now, they aren't saying the nicest things.

So I'm taking a break from my desk, in an attempt to get away from the voice inside my head/internal editor (call it what you will) that is insisting that I cannot write anything anybody would want to read.

And my week had been going so well!

On Sunday, I finally bought a new laptop (my old one died just over a year ago). No more having to schedule in time to type up my stories on the desktop I share! Yay!

For most of this week (after I had spent a considerable amount of time setting up my laptop so it had all of the software, files etc. I'd need on it) I've been working on an entry for the Salisbury Writers' Festival Competition. I felt productive. I submitted my entry on Wednesday morning, in time for it to arrive at its destination by the Friday deadline. It wasn't exactly the story I saw in my head, but it was fairly close, and I am fairly happy with what I ended up submitting.

I also wanted to enter the Adelaide Review Short Fiction Writing Competition, but I didn't have enough time to write the story (and it was a fairly 'out there' story, especially for a literary competition).

But today, as I'm trying again to write a novel synopsis for a Writing School assignment, something's stopping me. The 'voices' tell me that the novel plot isn't strong enough, the characters are stereotypes, you see where I'm going!

I've filled in the last two hours by catching up on blog-reading, watching TV, and even baking Jubilee cake (Note: I never bake!).

I think it's time to go back to my desk. Here's hoping the voices have gone to prey on someone else!