Small Frequent Rewards to Keep Going
Studies have proven that small frequent rewards for achievement help us the most to keep us on track in reaching our goals. Most often you will find these studies listed under things like weight-loss, but it turns out they work just fine for keeping you on your writing schedule.
I think National Novel Writing Month has done a great job in giving those who sign up a lot of strokes and tangible rewards (even milk and cookies at Night of Writing Dangerously in Oakland) but you don’t have to have signed up to do it too, and you don’t have to do it only in November.
All of my students know that when they come to class they will get a gold star. Yes, gold stars really work. Don’t dismiss this idea. It can be as close as your nearest stationery store and imagine if the only thing between you and your completed book is a pack of stars and a place to put them. My students love to see them lined up all in a row, it reminds them in the down times just how much they have already completed.
I tell my students to give themselves small, immediate rewards for showing up in their writing time, and then set slightly larger rewards for longer accomplishments, like finishing a particular section or hitting a certain word count. Then think of something really big to do when you hit a major milestone, like finishing a draft. (Dinner out seems an appropriate reward, or a bouquet of flowers for yourself.)
So start now. Make up a list of tangible rewards for yourself. You need to enjoy them, and you need to be able to have them be something real and specific, and you need to keep doing it consistently.