Lately I've noticed a trend of people who want to write and publish books--but they want to do it under some kind of deadline.

I want to have finished a book by the time I'm 16....

I want to be published by the time I'm 18....

I want to win a Pulitzer/hit the TIMES list/have a movie made, etc., etc. by the time I'm 25....

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for goals. I'm all for hard work. I'm all for putting your money where your mouth is and realizing that books get written when you stop TALKING and start WRITING.

But something about the deadline-y nature of this gives me some concern. First, it makes me--as someone who finished my first book and got an agent in my late twenties--feel like some kind of slacker who isn't to be respected. Second, I fear it puts the emphasis on the wrong things.

Writing in your teens is a blessing. It's a chance to learn and experiment and grow as a storyteller. It's a chance to write FOR FUN, which, let me tell you, is a completely different experience than writing for money.

I could write a whole post on this subject, but I won't because Diana Peterfreund has already done it and done it very, very well.

So go read Diana's post.

Go read it right now while I get back to work on GG4.

-Ally