It's kind of a romantic notion that writers must suffer. I ran across a different perspective on that at Caroline Leavittville's blog, from author Frances Greenslade:
"I remember when I gave up the idea that writers had to live on the brink of disaster in order to be creative. Hardship, the idea goes, keeps you on your toes creatively, doesn’t allow you to grow complacent…The year my son was born was, for me, the beginning of the end of the romantic notion of the suffering artist…And once I achieved some stability, I recognized how good it was for my writing life. I could relax enough to go deeply into the world of whatever story I was working on."
So what does her non-suffering schedule look like?
"I began a writing routine that I still follow. Once I get my son off to school, I write through the morning, avoiding email and putting off telephone calls that can lead me off on day-long tangents that leave me feeling that I’ve accomplished nothing."
I suspect that the writers who actually do work better under a lot of pressure are a small minority. If you think you are one, consider the wear and tear it puts on you and consider trying to write one project under less stressful conditions and see how it goes.
(You'll find lots of tips for getting loads done with minimal stress in my book, "Focus: use the power of targeted thinking to get more done," published by Pearson and available from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)
