The Eleventh Month by Diana Ting Delosh

It's that time to rally one last huge effort before times up. Tick... tick... tick...BOOM! It's November, the eleventh month and a few of us, myself included are prepping for a few final Reviews, Illustrator contests, Events etc. of the year. And to add to the stress there is a major holiday at the end of this month. The clock is definitely ticking. So what to do or not to do?

FRIGHT © Diana Ting Delosh
Brush pen, watercolor digital.

Don't try and hide. Feeling overwhelmed and procrastinating only prolongs the inevitable. While I have been inspired by things I see on TV and Twitter, sooner or later you need to sit down and face the work.  It's the fear that it may not come out the way you want or whatever that's making you uncomfortable but the only way to conquer the fear is by working through it.

ZEN RAM © Diana Ting Delosh
Ink, watercolor

Find your Zen Mode. When I feel like I'm in a time crunch I make a list. Cross things off the list that aren't MUST DOs. Do I really need a brand new shiny postcard? Do I need to make a real dinner or can we have whatever? Can it wait until after the deadlines?  Simplify the list and breathe easier.

HOT DOG © Diana Ting Delosh
Brush pen, watercolor

Juggle or not. Some of us are better than others with multitasking. I'm not. I like to wear blinders and focus.  However I still use a trick from my student days, before I fall asleep I tell myself to dream/or think a solution for whatever I need to be working on next whether it's how to tie up loose ends in the story or how to layout the hand lettering on the current illustration spread. 99% of the time I wake up with a solution of sorts and I'm energized to see if it works.

JESTER PIG © Diana Ting Delosh
Ink, watercolor

Dig in and do the work. Sketch, sketch, sketch. Ink, ink, ink. Paint, paint, paint. Write, write write. Pixel by pixel it will get done. If I need to do 16 sketches by (pick an almost impossible date) I divide the number of of sketches that need to be done by the REAL days/hours I have to work with and that's what must be done before I sleep, within reason of course. Allowing that some days will be naturally more prolific than others. Pass the caffeine and chocolate.

DIGGING DOG © Diana Ting Delosh
Brush pen, watercolor

And that's all folks. Now back to the studio and drawing board for me.

In case you missed it, I was recently interviewed by Dana Carey on the SUB IT CLUB. Take a peek and read  The Postcard Post: Diana Ting Delosh.

Web: dianadelosh.com

blog: dtdelosh.blogspot.com

twitter: @dtdelosh

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The Beauty of Deadlines - by Diana Ting Delosh

I'm always amazed at what I can accomplish with a deadline breathing down my neck. It doesn't matter if the deadline is a sale for a postcard printing, submission window, conference or a commission. The hard deadline forces me to find my zen mode, banish distractions, make decisions and finish. It forces me to produce.

Meditating Lady - © Diana Ting Delosh Ink, Watercolor, Digital

Currently I'm in the throes of prepping for the upcoming SCBWI NJ June Conference. I've got about 2 weeks+ to get things done on my list. As usual the list starts out ambitious and very long. Now that time is running out, the list is getting pared down. Rather than a portfolio of totally New Art it's down to new pieces judiciously mixed in with older pieces and picture book dummies are getting their final tweaks. The deadline forces me to get my butt in chair and not get up until that illustration is painted.  

Postcard Front: Odion Skunk - © Diana Ting Delosh,
cover art from my Skunk story PB Dummy.
I had actually picked this as a possibility for the Postcard weeks ago
- was just holding out for future illo.

Monday night, just hours before the 40% OFF Sale at Vistaprint ended at 11:59 pm PT, it was suddenly crystal clear, what illustrations to pick, card size and how many to order. All of which I was fuzzy on until 11:49 pm ET.

Postcard Back: Boy Meets Octopus - © Diana Ting Delosh
This illo was inked, painted, scanned & PSed the day I  uploaded the design
because that morning, I decided my Conference Postcard
must have a kid on it and not more animals. So I just had to give it a go.
It is after all a conference  for the KID Lit & Art set.    

No a deadline won't help you make the best choices but it forces you to make a choice. Sometimes that's the difference between finishing and still working on it. Trust me, finishing things feels very, very good. I keep an annual list of my finished work.

The beauty of a deadline is that it breaks you free of the endless revision cycle. The one that you got lost in when you decided to try your best not to send out crap. Of course you should always do your best but at some point you have to draw a line and say this is the very best I have right now and show, submit, whatever. If it's a personal project, you can always toss, redo and revise later... again and again.

Grab the caffeine and eye drops. Show angst and self-doubt the door. Time to go into hyper-speed and make that deadline.

web: dianadelosh.com

blog: dtdelosh.blogspot.com

twitter: @dtdelosh