writing wednesdays: celebrating milestones

Writing a book isn't different from any other project. There are steps to take, milestones to meet. When I first started, I savored every step. Finishing a first draft was HUGE. Finishing a round of revisions, wine time. Getting a request from an agent, pop that champagne. 

Somewhere along the way, those individual milestones seemed to merge into one long to-do. I'd barely get one done and I'd already be racing into the next. I'd finish one manuscript and immediately dive into the next one. "No rest for the wicked," I'd joke. 

But here's the problem with that ... writing is creative (duh, I know) and creativity needs to be nurtured (something I clearly suck at). By not taking time to appreciate each milestone, I'd turned writing into one long slog. And there's only so long you can slog before mental exhaustion makes every word too heavy to carry one step further.

That's where you'll find me, sitting at the bottom of the hill, the fork in the path from one completed project and the start of a new one. Normally, I'd take a deep breath (a quick one) and plod on up the hill with my new story ideas pushing me along. 

This week, I got to that fork after sending the manuscript to the editor and immediately turned to attack the next steps. But no, not this time. Maybe because I'm too drained from a year (okay, years if we're honest) of non-stop slogging and frustrations. Maybe because I miss enjoying the process. 

This week, I chose not to continue up that next path immediately. I chose to honor that process, to enjoy the big fat notebook that is a completed draft of a book. I'm not stressing about the next step (okay maybe a little).  

For the first time in a very long time, I'm giving myself the time to celebrate a milestone.