A writer friend of mine likes to give herself rewards when she finishes long writing projects. I had never considered that myself since I thought just being able to finish a project and send it off to the editor or publisher was reward enough. But as I thought about it, I started liking the idea.

I’ve bought myself address labels and new business cards and other writing related treats. This time I decided to splurge a bit and buy the newest Nancy Drew computer game.

I’m in my mid-forties, the mother of four, so why am I buying essentially a teenager’s game (well, technically, for 10 year olds and older)? Because I love mysteries. I love trying to solve strategic puzzles and searching for elusive clues. I especially love how this game challenges my mind and keeps me digging in the depths of my imagination for ways to figure out the answers.

I always work on the Senior Detective level since it’s more difficult than the Junior Detective level. I get less helps this way, forcing me to think and rethink the situations. What a fun way to keep my mind active!

It’s good to reward ourselves now and again for hard work and successful efforts. It can be something small like a colorful set of sticky notes, or something bigger like a computer game or even a laptop. The point is to acknowledge that our dedication to and our completion of projects are important and need to be validated, if even only to ourselves.

I’m working on a big book proposal right now. I wonder what I should do to reward myself this time?

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