I’m working under a deadline now for my next teacher book with Scholastic. Typically I’m a pretty deadline-oriented woman. Even if a publisher doesn’t give me one, I set one for myself. I like a goal, a finish line, to work toward. In most cases it becomes my carrot. If I get the first draft of this story completed by Friday, I can visit friends on Saturday. If I push through twelve new pages this afternoon, I can go for a long hike before dinner.

That’s where I am on this book. I need to push through 12-15 rough pages a day for the next two weeks. If I accomplish that successfully, I’ll have another week before my deadline to sit and reread, reorganize, revise, and polish. That’s the rewarding part of a project, the polishing. I’m all about detail – making sure every image is original and described just so. I love to read my words out loud and hear the musicality. I always hope for musicality. I work towards creating art – a form of self-expression that’s unique to me and my experience. But polishing seems a long way off because I’m having trouble staying focused.

So, what’s the problem? Well . . . I’m in the mood to write a novel. That’s right. A middle grade adventure novel. Frequently when I’m in the “hard work” stage of a current project, another writing idea lingers in the wings, luring me away with promises of literary greatness. I’m fairly used to “writer’s sabotage” which can be any number of pesky distractions that detour my best intentions. However, this time, it’s different. It’s more than that.

I just completed a ten week novel writing class online. It was wonderful! There were twenty students, some writing novels for adults, and some for teens. What I loved about this class is that we didn’t share excerpts from our manuscripts, instead we posted weekly homework assignments. Our instructor, a kind, yet no-nonsense veteran of screen plays and adult novels, read our postings and made suggestions. Each assignment was part of the prewriting and planning of a novel. His philosophy is that writers need to be thinking a lot more before they start writing. I totally agree.

Not only did I grow as a writer from his critique and celebrations of my postings, but I learned a tremendous amount from the comments he made to the other students. So, at the end of ten weeks I have a notebook full of scenes, a clear plan for the protagonist, the antagonist and how the story will unfold. My engines are revved and I want to sit down and dig into this novel with everything I’ve got.

But I’ve got a contract, and a deadline. So, it’s time to push through another stack of pages today, tomorrow and the next day. To help me focus, I’m remembering why I want to write this book. I’m remembering that a teacher’s job is difficult and he/she appreciates the variety of resources available to meet the needs of every child in the classroom. I’m also remembering all of the educators who have taken time to write me letters and emails thanking me for sharing my time-tested ideas. I’m remembering how fortunate I am to have a contract and a deadline.

So, for today . . .  novel, be gone. Give me twenty more days to achieve what is important. Let me concentrate on this book and meet my deadline. Oh, please, let me meet my deadline!

Author's Note:  Reading Between the Lines is a new column about books, reading, children, writing and an occasional book review. It will reflect my experiences as a teacher, consultant, writer, published author and workshop facilitator. I hope these musings bring you to a closer appreciation of words and what they can do for all of us.

Lola Schaefer is the author of more than 200 books for children, as well as a national writing consultant in elementary and middle schools. You may visit www.lolaschaefer.com to learn more about her and her work.