On Finishing

I finished the second draft of To Be Phoenix,

and I must say, I’m getting excited about this book. I think it’s going to be one of my best.

Now to reward myself.

I find that writers don’t do this often enough. Writing is hard work. It’s never-ending. In between the giddy highs of milestones, the work is frustrating, annoying, defeating, and infuriating. Why in the world would we want to keep doing something like that? Sometimes we need little things to keep us happy.

When I’m having trouble staying motivated, I set little milestones with little rewards. Maybe, once a chapter is rewritten, I’ll go sit on the deck for the rest of the day.

Sometimes I need a reward for even smaller milestones: half a chapter, one page, sometimes even just figuring out a difficult situation without it even being written. I might get a little prize.

Bigger rewards are for bigger milestones. I finished a draft of my novel. I get dinner out. Though, it was a very difficult rewrite. Maybe a movie, too.  Yes, that’s the ticket. Dinner and a movie!

When I get it published, maybe I’ll take a little trip somewhere. Not a big one, just a weekender. There is the work of the release party coming up, after all. And the next novel is waiting in the wings.

The point is: Writing’s hard work; reward yourself often. Bribe 
yourself. Do whatever you have to do to make yourself keep coming back to your story. And finish it, any way you can.