DEADlines

Do words sometimes jump out at you while you write? Today, while competing with several deadlines, I developed an intense curiosity about the word, "deadline".   From where did it orginate? What on earth does it mean?

Every humorous thought came to mind. Maybe it is because you feel like you're going to die before you meet your deadline OR maybe you write for such a long period of time that everything begins to look like  dead lines. Of course, these were not the correct explanations but it was fun imagining it. Eventually, though, my inquisitive side won out and I popped the question into the search engine.

Here is what I discovered:  According to Merriam Webster's Dictionary and commonly known legend, the word, "deadline", has it's roots in the American Civil War when there were no literal prisons in the field.  Captives were held at gunpoint and told to line up and stay behind two  temporary lines. If they crossed the first line, they were ordered back behind the line. If they ventured over the second line, they were SHOT. Yes, SHOT. Thank God we don't get shot by editors if we are tight on the deadline but it's really a good idea to get your writing done on time anyway or your chances of keeping a writing job are SHOT!

To quote Paul Harvey, "Now you know the rest of the story." 

With that in mind, let me get back to my deadlines. I'll be back soon with April's Cheerleader of the Month.

March 2010, Cheerleaders-Top 100 Creative Writing Blogs

Every month, I aim to post a "cheerleader" to encourage Christian Writers in their publishing journeys. 

Today, I found a secular website that lists the "Top 100 Creative Writing Blogs".  I visited a few of the links already and thought  it a good site to pass on to my readers. 

I don't often run out of things to write about ; I run out of free time to write about them or information on where to submit them after I write them. Nevertheless,  all people get writer's block at times and a website so full of ideas from other writers might help to cure that. 

 On the TOP 100 Creative Writing Blogs, you will find writing challenges, contests, information on getting published and many miscellaneous writing pointers. It's great for beginning and intermediate writers, especially. There's a cute blog on apostrophe abuse. (Who'd a' thunk it?)

Some of my readers self-publish, write e-books or write for their churches. I've had a few things published in the non-fiction category (articles, poetry, songs, etc.) but one of my goals as a writer is to be published in many genres since I like to write about many things. I am sure that non-fiction writing is my niche but diversification is a good thing too and it never hurts to try. One never knows where he or she will strike gold. 

Meanwhile, I intend to continue to write and learn. A few months from now, my whacked out schedule will slow down to a reasonable pace and I will have more time to blog and write. I look forward to that day. This has been a very full season of my life. My season of rest is en route. When it arrives, I will write to my heart's content.

Meanwhile, I plan to keep working my craft (writing) and learning new skills.  I read many, many blogs. Some of them are about writing but many are about life in general.  One must live life to write about it. 

Despite that, it's my aim to read more blogs about writing. The above-mentioned website is a wonderful resource. Maybe you have  writing blogs that inspire you that are not mentioned on the above mentioned site or in my sidebar links. Check them out. I have some excellent writing websites and blog links.  Here's a link to one of my absolute all-time favorite websites/blogs.

What writing websites or blogs do you read on a frequent basis? What do you find helpful about them? What  tips would you, as a writer, give my readers about visiting writing blogs? How important do you think it is to writers?