Friday, November 15, 2013

Plan Your Reward

Take a moment to celebrate. Today is the halfway mark of NaNo! Woohoo! You should break 25k in your story today. Now, if you aren’t there yet, please do not panic. There is still plenty of time to catch up.

With the finish line finally visible in the distant horizon, today I will give you another strategy to help you keep going, despite the headaches your character is giving you. Today, I want you to think about the first of December. Your writing vacation will begin. Your local region will likely host a TGIO party, celebrating the end of NaNoWriMo and everyone’s successes. In December, you can focus on your family again, start planning holiday things, and enjoy your free evenings.

Now, to help motivate you further to finish your story, I want you to plan a reward for yourself. It does not have to be expensive. It does not have to be done alone. But I want you to promise yourself a treat when you finish your story. Regardless of your views on your story, this reward will remind you that you have accomplished a tremendous feat. You wrote a book. That’s an awesome thing. Finishing is always fun. You deserve to relish your victory.

Go get a milkshake. Watch a movie. Take your family out to dinner. Cook for your family again. Get a haircut. Buy a new outfit. Buy a new Christmas decoration. Play that game you’ve been avoiding the past month.

Do you have an appropriate reward in mind? Good. Now get back to that story and break the 25k barrier! If you can cross this line, the rest of the writing journey on this draft will get a little easier. When you get discouraged, remind yourself of that reward.  It should help you keep writing.

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