Open Novella Contest 2022: Celebrating the Little Wins! | The WriMo Blog. with E. H.

Hello, writer friends! Well, today's post is going to be a fun one. I want to talk about how I am celebrating my "little wins" in my writing. Also, the day this post is available on this blog, it is the deadline to submit the first 2000 words to the #ONC2022 - Of course, I already did this back during the first week. I do not like to leave things for the last minute. I prefer to get them done ahead of schedule. This does not really apply to my writing. Let's get to the main portion of this post.

I do not remember for certain where I heard this, but I heard/read somewhere that we, as creatives (everything is a form of art) need to celebrate all the wins. The big, the small, the in-between. All of them. For a long time, I only celebrate my bigger wins, which made it difficult for me to see how I was winning in the little things. This all comes down to a poor mindset.

I never thought I had a poor mindset when it comes to my writing. I never had any problem setting goals and never looking at the obstacles. It was very easy for me to "Just Do It" and move forward.

It is only in the last year that my mindset has really taken a tumble. I was so focused on making "The Big Win" that my "Little Win" didn't seem important enough to celebrate. This past NaNoWriMo, it really hit hard that I need to appreciate the fact that I wrote half of a novel, which was more than I had written in a long time. I think my best year of writing was 2016. I wrote four full-length novels, and I was also midway through a fifth. Of course, it took me two years to finish the fifth novel because the subject was a little difficult.

Back to my little wins. I write every day. That is a win and I don't celebrate it enough. My sister, also a writer, is always extremely impressed with how much I get done. I never realized just how impressive that is for some people.

I do believe I am the kind of writer who cannot force my writing. Many people say you should push through on the days you can't write. But that has never worked for me. It just makes it harder, and it makes the little wins even harder to notice. So, I am telling you that you should definitely celebrate your little wins. Did you reach a goal of 5k words? Celebrate. You reached 2,000 words, celebrate.

Now, on to how I am planning to celebrate my "Little Win".

For my overall reward for reaching 20,000 words, I am going to purchase myself a pearl necklace. I probably mentioned this in a previous post, but I am gonna go more in-depth today. (Pictured left, this is the very necklace I am getting.)

The reason I chose this particular reward is two-fold. 1) My novella revolves around Pearls as the main subject matter. 2) My birthday stone is a pearl. I also haven't had a pearl necklace in years. The last one I had was given to me by my older sister and it broke. I don't know what happened to it since.

I am also a huge fan of keys and angel wings. It's the perfect combination. I currently have this item in my Amazon cart and the moment I have reached 20,000 words, I will click the "Complete Purchase" button and it will be on its way to my hands. I will most certainly reach the goal within the next week if I haven't already. (Because I am writing this post on Wednesday, 23rd of February; five days before the 28th, when the post goes up.)

Now, will my story be complete at the 20k mark? Truthfully, I do not know. I feel the story will be done within that word count. I actually think I might go further to 25,000 words. But that is perfectly okay! Hold up, there's more!

I am going to have my book printed. But not just one copy. I am going to have two copies of the book. Two different covers and the interiors will be customized to match. However, there will be a difference in the content. Because the first version will be the draft I am currently writing. The second version is going to be rewritten to match the prologue.

I wrote the prologue in the 3rd POV, present-tense. And I love how it reads! I was going to write the rest of the book this way, but I was on such a roll that I just went with my gut. It has helped to get the story written. I am planning this because it will help me decide which way is better, and which version to make available for my readers to purchase physical copies! I also have plans for some bonus chapters that will only be available in the paperback... or maybe in a hardcover? *smiles thoughtfully* Yeah, maybe I will do that.

Well, that is all for now. Thank you so, so much for joining me. Stay safe, stay awesome. See you in the funny papers.

Answers to FAQs about the pearl necklace, for curious people: Yes, the pearl is real. No, the oyster is no longer alive. It is a farmed oyster specifically for its pearls. Yes, I could get the pearl from somewhere else, but Amazon was my best option because other websites sell the pearls at $25+ and I can't afford to buy the necklace separately.