Congratulations! You have made it to the end of November. And if you’re in certain parts of the globe, you’ve already arrived in December.

I don’t know about you, but between writing like crazy this month, and getting caught up in the flurry of the holiday season, I’m already exhausted. Happy, but exhausted. Honestly, I can barely function after pulling a crazy marathon writing day yesterday in order to finish NaNoWriMo, so I’ll keep this short. 🙂

Even if you didn’t participate in the insanity of NaNo, it’s important to form good habits with your writing all year long. And after finishing a draft, or polishing your manuscript, or finally pressing ‘send’ on your query email to that agent you talked to on Twitter, it’s good to sit back and appreciate the milestones!

So here are my Top 3 Ways to Celebrate:

1. Take a Break!

You’ve just accomplished something BIG! A mini-holiday (even if it’s just to your living room couch) can be just what you need to refresh before you get back to the next step in your process. So take a minute–or a day–and breathe. Take a walk. Do some yoga. Bake a cake. Treat yourself to your favorite wintery beverage. Binge-watch the Gilmore Girls revival because you haven’t had a chance to yet (Or is that just me?).

2. Dance!

Okay, no one is going to make you actually dance if it’s not your thing, but seriously, take some time to sit back and really look at what you’ve done. If you’re pre-published, you’re one step closer to your dream of seeing your work in print. If this is your fifth or your seventeenth book, it’s still worth celebrating. Turn up your favorite song and enjoy the moment.

3. Don’t Beat Yourself Up! (If you didn’t reach your goal)

Yes, okay, I realize that doesn’t sound like a celebration, but I think it’s really important here. One of the things the NaNo community talks about a lot is the fact that it’s totally OK if you don’t reach your 50,000 word goal in November. Why? Because every new word on the page is forward momentum, and that’s never bad. Even if you feel like you fell short of your goal. These things happen! (Remember, I’ve not met the goal a couple of times. But I’m still here, and I’m better off for it.)

The key thing here is that you haven’t given up! And that deserves celebrating.

 

So, Pen Friends, let’s celebrate the close of another great month of this writing journey. Don’t forget, we’re all in this together, and we at The Spinning Pen are all really glad you’re here with us!

How do *you* celebrate your writing milestones? Did you NaNo this month? How did it go? Tell us about it in the comments!

 

And don’t forget: we’re celebrating our birthday on Friday, and there’s still time to enter to win a first chapter critique and line edit from us. Check out the entry form here. It’s open for one more day!

 

 

 

Dana, signing off to go find a wintery beverage!