How to Celebrate Your Writing Success

Photo credit: tseyin on Flickr
So it’s now officially December, which means NaNoWriMo has come to an end. While not everyone who participated and became NaNoWriMo winners completed a full novel (as 50,000 words doesn’t always equate to a full-length novel), chances are those that didn’t will be doing so in the next couple of weeks.

So for those of you who are NaNo winners or have recently reached another writing milestone (or even wrote anything at all in the last month)—Congratulations! You’re awesome.

Naturally then, celebrations are in order.

I admit that I haven’t had the best track record when it comes to celebrating my writing successes (namely, finishing a WIP), in fact more times than not I sort of let the event slide by quietly and celebrated by giving people hugs, not writing for a couple of days, then going back to work.

Now, while hugs are fantastic, I’m making a point of actually celebrating next time I have a writing accomplishment, and I think you should too. Why?

We deserve it. Whether it’s completing a first draft or a final draft or getting an agent or being published or a plethora of accomplishments in the writing world, you deserve it. Writing is hard, time-consuming work and you deserve to take the time to celebrate when you’ve reached a milestone.

Really. You do.

Then of course there’s the question of how. How do writers celebrate completing a novel? Or getting an agent? Or whatever writing milestone they’ve reached?

So I’ve decided to formulate a list of ways to celebrate so no one can claim they don’t know how. Excuses are no longer an option. You’ve been warned. (You’re welcome).

  • Bake something delicious. Whether it’s Oreo-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies or Butterbeer Cupcakes or Red Velvet Cookies with Cream Cheese Swirl, make yourself a delicious dessert to share (optional) with your friends and family. Don’t forget to tell everyone it’s to celebrate how awesome you are. Or that you finished a book/got an agent/are going to be published. Either way. 

  • Go out to eat. Maybe you’re not big on the baking or you set your kitchen on fire every time you step into it. No worries! Eating something yummy to celebrate is still an option if you go out to eat. Plus then you can talk about how awesome you are while enjoying your delicious hot meal.

  • Throw a party. Hey, why not? This is especially appropriate if you just got an agent or a publishing contract or anything of the sorts. Throw a party—invite everyone—and make sure the cake says “Congratulations on being awesome.” 

  • Do something fun you don’t normally do. Go to the theater and watch a movie (or a play). Or go ice skating. Or go on a day trip somewhere. Point is that you do something enjoyable and out of the ordinary so it’s a legitimate celebration. 

  • Spend time with your family and friends. Chances are you’ve been kind of neglecting them since you’ve been busy with the whole novel-writing thing. Go out with your loved ones, spend some time with them and let them know they’re appreciated. (And you can mention how awesome you are—just throwing that out there.) 

  • Read. I’m sure you have a couple of books sitting on your TBR pile (and if you don’t, go find some). Guess what? You have a little extra time now. Go read.

  • Don’t write. Even if it’s only for a few days, take a little writing hiatus. Or at the very least don’t write anything WIP-related.

So it’s not a comprehensive list, but it should at the very least generate a couple of ideas. Now go forth and celebrate.

What do you think? How do YOU celebrate your writing accomplishments? Any ideas to add to the list?

20 comments:

Jennifer Bennett said...

I'm totally doing some of these things (mainly the baking and not writing) We deserve it!

Ava Jae said...

We absolutely do! Let me know how the baking goes. I'm always on the lookout for new delicious recipes. :D

Laurapauling said...

I love buying that book I'm dying to read and then holding off reading it until my deadlines are met. Great motivation!

Ava Jae said...

I can't say I've done that before (I mean, that would require me to stop reading!) but I imagine it's great motivation! Plus reading afterwards would probably be that much better. :D

Heather Kelly said...

I love Laura's comment. What self control she possesses! I love baking. Maybe that is what I will look forward to when I finish this draft!

Ava Jae said...

She certainly has more self-control than I do. :) 

Baking is a fun and delicious way to celebrate. I wish you the best with your draft! 

Daniel Swensen said...

All I know is I want one of those cupcakes.

Seriously, usually I celebrate by not writing. I struggle fairly constantly with an "I should be writing" guilt-storm whenever I goof off or so something leisurely. If I set a goal and rock it, I earn myself a day off from those feelings. Then I get back to work.

Ava Jae said...

I really do have to try to hunt down the recipe for those cupcakes...

I'm the exact same way when it comes to goals--I set goals to complete every day so that I don't guilt myself with what if I didn't do enough today? When I accomplish my goals I can relax afterwards knowing I had a productive day. ^_^ 

So I suppose I'll have to set a goal to celebrate my next writing milestone, ha ha. 

Dasia said...

You make really good point here! I'm always so anxious about catching up and not doing enough, I hardly ever acknowledge my own accomplishments. I participated in NaNo and won for the first time this year, after two failed attempts in previous years. You've inspired me to do something really special for myself - even if it's just printing out the Winner's Certificate and putting it up on my pinboard. :)

Ava Jae said...

Firstly, congratulations on your NaNoWriMo win! That's fantastic! 

Second, definitely go and do something! Celebrate somehow--you've worked hard this last month and you deserve it! You wrote 50k in a month which certainly isn't an easy thing. Celebrate it! :)

Dasia said...

Thank you :) It's actually a big deal for me because I'd never attempted something novel-length before. Maybe a nice evening out is the way to go. I can have the sushi bar spell out "Congratulations on being awesome!" in maki! :P

Ava Jae said...

First novel AND first NaNo win? Even more congratulations! That's so so so so so wonderful and amazing and if you don't celebrate you're crazy. :) 

Spelling out "Congratulations on being awesome" in maki sounds like the way to go. (Kidding! Though if you do it, you have to take a picture. Just sayin. :D)

inluvwithwords said...

I usually celebrate by starting a new project, but the longer I look at that photo, the surer I am that I should incorporate chocolate cupcakes in the next celebration. 

Ava Jae said...

^_^ Certainly wouldn't hurt to add some delicious baked goods to the celebration. 

M. Howalt said...

Nice post! :)
This NaNoWriMo I'm celebrated by having a drink with a friend who also won, and I'm going to the local "TGIO" ("Thank God It's Over") party tonight. But somehow exactly this writing success has been such a wonderful ride that I'm just looking forward to continuing it.
When I have something accepted for publishing (only a handful of short fiction so far), I usually ... Don't really do anything except feel really happy. Perhaps I should. :)

Ava Jae said...

I hope you do! I haven't in the past done anything but felt happy either, but I'm going to make a point of celebrating from now on. Enjoy your TGIO party!

Jennifer Bennett said...

I actually posted one on my blog Nov 30th, you should take a look ;)

Ava Jae said...

That was the recipe with the zucchini, right?

Jennifer Bennett said...

yes! It is total celebration food :)

Adam Gaylord said...

Great post! I JUST posted an article on the same topic. Check it out:

http://adamsapple2day.blogspot.com/2012/03/how-do-you-celebrate-writing-success.html

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