So here's the plan.

Writers have a love/hate relationship with deadlines. On the one hand they are, of course, deadlines and are a pain in the bum to meet. On the other hand, at least the actually force you to produce something. Trying to write the perfect paragraph goes out of the window, but at least you produce a paragraph. That absolutely brilliant plot twist that would make the reader gasp in awe eludes you...but at least you have a plot. Your writing doesn't stay as the perfect platonic novel in your imagination...it is something that is imperfect but at least it exists.

Self-imposed deadlines have never worked for me; the one time I have produced something tangible was when forced to be an outside deadline from a publisher. So here's my plan. I have bought a copy of   'Writing Magazine' with a special supplement on writing competitions. Armed with this, I plan to enter at least one short story competition a month. If I win; brilliant. If I don't, well at least I have a short story which I can either enter elsewhere or try and publish as an e-book. 

In the mean time; a couple of links.

Firstly, to prove I am an actual proper published; here's a review of the short story compilation that my story was featured in by the legendary D F Lewis. http://nullimmortalis.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/book-the-inkermen/

And possibly the best advice I've ever heard on writing can be found in this song by Paul Simon. 

Quite simply

"If you want to write a song about the moon.....then do it, write a song about the moon"