Were you one of those students in high school and college who procrastinated until the last minute? You got your assignment done and handed in, then breathed a sigh of relief. Some of our writers today operate in the same way.
If they're writing for a contest, there is a deadline. Writing for specific anthologies or magazines, again there is usually a deadline. They know way ahead what the date for the submission is, and they think about it, but two days prior to the date, they finally write the first draft. Which leaves little to no time to let that first draft sit and simmer, edit and revise.
Consequently, what these writers submit will probably not be their best writing. When those end dates grow close, we want to write something but tend to hurry, Hurrying through the process isn't your best choice.
Changing your ways is a difficult process because procrastination becomes a habit. It's like people who are always late when they are invited to a dinner party. It's not that they want to create a problem for others; instead, it's a habit. Even so, habits can be broken. Time and determination are needed.
Give yourself enough time for a writing project to get through the process of writing the first draft, letting it sit, then more time for revisions, and some final editing. Do that, and you'll be able to feel confident about what you submit.
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