O.C. Writers

By Barbara Neal Varma // 

I missed doing this column last month because I was on deadline for another writing gig. Several, actually; due dates suddenly popping up like pimples before a big date, and I welcomed them about as much.

Silly me, I thought retirement meant taking my own sweet writing time. Like sex on the big screen, there’d be no breaks in the action, just one long writing romp, no ticking clock in the background to break the mood.

But such is the stuff of fantasy for any writer determined to get their work out in the world. Editors and agents have their own wants and desires, their own expectations after being wooed with an enticing query or pitch. Even my so-called “completed” essays could be returned with a bunch of suggested edits and the question that never fails to quicken my pulse: “How soon can you get that back to me?”

I’d been lucky so far, having spent most of my post-retirement writing life avoiding the time crunch. (Lack of prolific success does have its benefits.) So when I got this recent flurry of quick turn-around requests, I took immediate action, clearing my calendar as much as I could and forsaking friends and healthy food options until I got the job(s) done.

I admit during the bleakest of moments, when I was too tired to even think straight much less make sense on the page, I’d wonder if this writing folly was such a good idea. I mean, I’m retired, dammit. Feet-up time, right? Instead, I was hunkered over my laptop, trying to get each story finished before the clock struck midnight and I turned back into a couch potato.

And yet, despite all my gripes and sighs, I felt a growing sense of satisfaction. It started small, so slight I thought I might be hallucinating after too much oolong tea. But there it was: a quiet pleasure in the eye of the storm that made me smile when no one was looking.

Because here’s the thing about deadlines: they encourage you to get something done, often something wondrous. They carry you to that heady moment when you can say, “I did it!” instead of merely wishing you had.

I think part of me never did buy into that image of an easy writer who never broke a sweat. I think I knew all along there might be hard work involved and the occasional crying out to God along the way.

But that’s okay. Because you know what? That happy-go-lucky writer had commitment issues. And while I enjoy lazing around as much as the next gal, the real buzz comes when something I’d envisioned takes shape on the page and eventually goes out into the world as a published piece. Then it’s high-fives and happy-dance time, baby!

Or as Meg Ryan so eloquently put it in When Harry Met Sally: “Yes! Yes!” *smack table* “Yes!”

Point is, while I still don’t like being rushed, I’ve learned to appreciate deadlines and the touch of excitement they bring to any writing project. Here’s hoping any stories that result will be just as titillating.

 

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BARBARA NEAL VARMA is a contributing writer to Orange Coast Magazine and has appeared in other notable publications, including The Atlantic. Her easy-humor personal essays have proven popular with readers, one gaining numerous hits on Orange Coast Magazine‘s website. (Hello: Desperately Seeking Donny.) You can learn more at BarbaraNealVarma.com.