Make Writing the Reward #NaNoWriMo Prep #Nanotip #Writetip

Make writing the reward.

Go ahead, play a video game for a little bit. "I'll just play for 20 minutes or until I unlock this achievement." 

Scroll on social media.

Whatever activity you do that keeps you from writing.

BUT FIRST

Write this down:

"I will (whatever activity) until (whatever time or goal). Then my REWARD will be GETTING to write (for whatever amount of time or word count)!"

Then read it to yourself. For that second sentence, use all your enthusiasm. 

It will feel silly at first.

Keep doing it. Every time. Every day. 

The goal is to trick your mind into believing that writing is your reward.

All too often we reward ourselves for stopping writing. "I hit my 1,667-word count goal for the day, so now I'm going to do something fun."

It wires our brain to treat writing, our creative gift, as work. As something we HAVE to do. Which kills the desire and passion.

So make writing the reward. Decide that it is. Say that it is. Phrase it that way. 

When you actively think about writing as a reward, it will become one. You can get yourself excited about it again.

Don't say you HAVE to write 1,667-words a day. Say you GET to write them. 

Not even that you want to, hope to, or plan to. Phrase it as a reward. "When I get this other stuff done, I'll let myself write those words."

Remember to use enthusiasm. Sound upbeat. Even if you're just saying it in your head. Strike that- ESPECIALLY when you're saying it in your head.

And after you've written your words, cheer for yourself. "I got my reward! Yay! I'm excited to get more of this reward."

If you have a bad writing session, you can say, "I wish I was able to enjoy this reward more. I hope I can sleep on it and get another chance tomorrow."

Keep that mindset. 

Sometimes we do get rewards in life that don't live up to our hopes. But it's still something we didn't have before. Every word you get on the page is one more that wasn't there before. It's one more that can be edited, be improved, and counts toward your lifetime of words. It's better than none. It's great practice, at the very least.

This costs nothing to try. You don't need to buy any special software. Give it a shot. And please share your success stories in the comments!