by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Today’s topic is on something I’m really bad at: celebrating writing wins.
I’m trying to do better. My usual m.o. is to finish one project and immediately hop into another, often on the same day.
That approach is good for making progress, but it’s not necessarily good for preventing burnout. When I don’t acknowledge that I’ve done something I should be proud of (finishing a book or an outline, editing a tough section of a book, or creating ad copy for Amazon ads), I do end up feeling more run-down. It’s as if I’m looking for a little self-congratulation.
Whatever your writing-related wins are, they deserve recognition. It’s a celebration of more than just a particular milestone. It’s also a celebration of your drive, consistency, and creativity. Not only can celebrating these wins help prevent burnout, they can also help replenish our motivation and keep us going.
The scale of the celebrating is entirely up to you. It can be private (mine usually is) or can be celebrated by a group. It can be inexpensive (binge-watching that show you haven’t had time to watch) or pricier (something you’ve wanted to buy yourself for a while). I like picking up take-out for myself.
The point is just to take time out of your busy schedule to give yourself a little pat on the back. Writing and the writing business can be grueling—we need all the encouragement we can get.
Are you good about celebrating your writing wins?
Celebrating Writing-Related Wins: Share on X
I'm just the same, Elizabeth! I don't celebrate milestones, especially small ones, as I probably should. Among other things, milestones really help develop confidence as a writer; we should pay more attention to them.
Exactly! It’s nice to stop and reflect every now and then.
I'm not very good at celebrating my accomplishments either. Thanks for reminding us to stop and enjoy our successes.
Every bit we do counts, too! For writers working on their first books, it can mean celebrating the end of a tricky chapter, a bit of character development that’s really good, etc.
I'm probably not very good at it either. Good point that we need to though.
We should try to improve!
Great post! And I'm not good at celebrating the wins, especially the small ones that lead to the bigger wins!
Thanks for the reminder!
Hope you’ll do it, Rose!
Good reminder! I'm terrible at celebrating the wins. Because I usually have 3 or 4 stories on the go, I never think about the end of a project as something other than more time to work on the next one! I don't think anyone in my real life even knows when I publish a new book :)
I like the idea of small wins – and a takeout dinner sounds like a good one.
That’s exactly the way I am! In some ways, it’s healthy (not focusing/worrying over past books), but in others, we really just need to slow down and pat ourselves on the back. :)
I celebrate every book DLP releases. Otherwise it's all work and no fun.
Excellent point!
Hi Elizabeth – I've got lazy and procrastinate too much – now I must settle and get on with things – life's thrown an opportunity at me – so now's the time. I'm pleased as punch with myself when I get positive and thought- provoking comments on the blog … it's kept me going – even though I'm not writing a book. I enjoy supporting others along the way – and learn as I go … never being too proud to think I know it all. Well now – I'd better get on! I have a post to get up today – cheers and it's great you're around with your wise words and ideas for us. Cheers Hilary
You’re one of the most supportive writers out there! And you *should* be pleased with yourself! Congrats to you for all your accomplishments!