The great Douglas Adams once said, “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” I do not like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by, but I do love deadlines—I work best under the gun. If there’s no end in sight, I can find an infinite number of pointless activities to fill my time, all of them unrelated to whatever project is crying out for closure. Deadlines are my friend, the kind of friend who won’t let you off the hook because she knows you can do better.
But I also like the word “deadline.” It’s so dramatic! It’s the line behind which death resides, which is way more visceral a word picture than “due date” or “time limit.”
“Cross this line,” Deadline says, “and die.”
Deadline
Filed under: editing, life, writing Tagged: | deadlines, Douglas Adams, words I like
