Don't Forget to Celebrate

Sometimes we can forget to celebrate when we achieve a goal. Or feel guilt. I just finished the NaNoWriMo challenge this year. It was my first. I achieved the 50k word goal, with two days to spare on the 28 November. I finished it strong and wrote the last two days for a total of 53.5k words. The last two days allowed me to conclude the book. I even wrote on 1 December. And that's where the guilt came in.

All the writing advice out there says you have to write every day. Now I did in November, and that was fine. There were challenging days of course but that's what I wanted. My book came to a natural conclusion around the 30 November. Perfect. Challenge ends and so did my story. But the guilt of taking a break came.... Wasn't fun. But I was ready for a break. There were other things I wanted to do. And it's okay to break, take a pause, and celebrate the achievement. It's very key. Even if it's just one day. But you shouldn't feel guilty about it. Even a week off. It's healthy. The same goes for building muscle. You need that all important rest day. That's where all the strength building happens. Every time I take a rest day the next day I work out is easier.

So, celebrate guilt free. Breath. Go for a walk. Do something different. That's where the creativity comes from. Currently, I am working on complimentary skills for my book. I am ameliorating my touch typing speed and accuracy, studying my favorite authors, and catching up on some reading. I'll take a week off writing and then back at it. Well rested and with fresh eyes.