Do you reward yourself?

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Kate Thornton

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Although I am fortunate enough to reap the reward of waking up above ground so far, I do reward myself when I do things I know must be done but are not high on my fun list.

These rewards include - but are not limited to -
Working on the fun stuff
Cookies (sugar free)
Playing with dogs/cats/computer/cooking
Reading just for the sheer pleasure of it

There's nothing wrong with shiny treats when you've been good - especially when you've been good to yourself and done the things you know will make your world better (like another 500 words!)
 
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maestrowork

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I "reward" myself with shiny treats all the time whether I do the work or not... so what is the question again? ;)
 

NeuroFizz

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I see a difference between celebrating a job well done with a treat and suspending a metaphorical carrot as an incentive to get to that celebration. Self-motivation has nothing to do with the former other than being a celebration of its effectiveness, while the latter can be a substitute for or a sidestep of self-motivation. For some, this can be dangerous territory in a business like this.
 

The Lonely One

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I see a difference between celebrating a job well done with a treat and suspending a metaphorical carrot as an incentive to get to that celebration. Self-motivation has nothing to do with the former other than being a celebration of its effectiveness, while the latter can be a substitute for or a sidestep of self-motivation. For some, this can be dangerous territory in a business like this.

Right. I kind of agree--if you're in it for the treat don't do it. If you can't write, then the next day you can't write, and you just don't want to, or aren't disciplined enough to get through the tough stuff...you probably aren't a writer (IMO). I think we all agree buying useless or expensive shit is fun and thrillingly stupid when you're poor like me, and celebrating, shit I celebrate making it to 5 o'clock. But there's something deeper propelling me forward. It's too dreary of an industry to stick with if there wasn't.
 

Jamesaritchie

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When did the pride of achievement slip so far down on the self-reward list?

Pride of acheivment is a good thing, and I suspect we all feel it when we accomplish something worthwhile, but there's nothing wrong with tangible, materail rewards, as well.

Besides, pride doesn't pay the bills, isn't nearly as pretty or as comfortable in the hand as a Mont Blanc. You can't hold pride and contemplate who used it before, wonder at their dreams and the kind of person they were, as you can a mahogany writing box crafted in 1810, or a silver teapot beat into shape during the Revolutionary War period.

I have a passion for antiques, particularly writing boxes, teapots, and weapons. The nice thing about this is that such purchases not only come from that earned ten percent, but they often generate stories and pay for themselves again and again.
 

Jamesaritchie

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Actually, I was planning on something similar. Seeing as writing income would be a second income for us, and we're surviving without it, 10% of what I earn will be mine to spend on whatever my little heart desires.

OK, now I need to go out and find myself a big, fat contract.

The system has worked extremely well for us. It takes the squabble out of money, and while I'd still be a writer with or without the system, it's just plain fun to have a solid, tangible item to work for.

And, really, how else can I justify buying a thousand dollar fountain pen, or a twenty-five hundred dollar writing box, or a four thousand dollar flintlock?

Without this system, I'd feel like I was throwing money away. With it, I have the pleasure of being a writer, plus some physical things that also mean quite a bit to me, and that I can pass on to my kids.
 

The Lonely One

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I almost bought a PS3 and two games the other day. Then waz like...wait...don't have job...rejection slips accruing...just payed off this credit card...

I guess you have to sell fiction to actually "celebrate" properly (or have other means of income).
 

willietheshakes

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I don't think there's likely anyone who writes for a self-administered reward (ie, my addiction to fountain pens) -- we're all grown-ups, and we can all figure out ways to rationalize our tchotchke lusts. The pleasure of completion (or of struggle, or of acceptance) is the bulk of the reward, in and of itself. But it also creates some nice excuses...
 

Jamesaritchie

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I don't think there's likely anyone who writes for a self-administered reward (ie, my addiction to fountain pens) -- we're all grown-ups, and we can all figure out ways to rationalize our tchotchke lusts. The pleasure of completion (or of struggle, or of acceptance) is the bulk of the reward, in and of itself. But it also creates some nice excuses...

We're all different. I've met a fair number of very grownup writer who write ONLY because it allows them to buy things.

I've met writers who actively hate every part of the writing process, including the completion, but who happen to be good at it, at least in a commercial sense, and for them, writing is 100% about the money.
 

maestrowork

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I don't need any excuses to give myself a reward or "shiny treat." In fact, I give myself a treat every day, all the time. Today, I rewarded myself a nice big cup of hot chocolate (and it was good) for no reason other than making myself happy. I travel and enjoy something good whenever I want to. Life's too short to hold back from ourselves. I don't write for the "rewards" -- the writing (and products) is the reward.

Of course, I do know others may see it differently. Everyone has his or her own thing. But that's how I see it. Every day is a gift, and every writing session is a blessing (I could be out shoveling sheep dung right now as a job). I don't feel like I need any extra reward to keep myself going, as if it wasn't something fun already.

I remember George Clooney saying, when asked if he took vacations, "Vacations? Going to work every day is vacation for me!" I can relate to him.
 
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Jamesaritchie

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Must you? I buy myself nice things anyway.

Well, my ONLY income is from writing, and I'm not rich, and likely never will be. All sorts of things, ranging from food, clothing, shelter, health insurance, and even a thousand dollar operation on one of our cats, to unbelivably expensive college tuition, depends on my writing income.

If I were Stephen King or Tom Ckancy, my system wouldn't be a must. If I had a high income spouse or a rich uncle, my system wouldn't be a must. If I had a $150K nine to five job, my system wouldn't be a must.

But as it is, yes, it's a must. It means no squabbling about money because everything else gets paid before I do, and I have to earn enough not only to pay everyting else, but ten percent above that. This means I get things I could never justify without the system. I spend gravy money, not meat and potato money.

Writing income is always flexible, and it's too easy not to put in enough time and effort, especially enough smart time and effort.

This way, I figure out each year what we need to cover everything, and then I do my best to make darned sure I earn enough extra to buy myself something I really want.

And here's the thing; if, in a gven year, I don't earn that ten times the cost, I haven't bought anything I'll regret buying, nothing will go unpaid because I bought something I really couldn't afford, and I won't be one penny in debt because I over-extended.

Unless you are a Stephen King or a Tom Clancy, writing for a living is full of pitfalls, and none are wider or deeper than how you manage money.
 

Jamesaritchie

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I don't need any excuses to give myself a reward or "shiny treat." In fact, I give myself a treat every day, all the time. Today, I rewarded myself a nice big cup of hot chocolate (and it was good) for no reason other than making myself happy. I travel and enjoy something good whenever I want to. Life's too short to hold back from ourselves. I don't write for the "rewards" -- the writing (and products) is the reward.

Of course, I do know others may see it differently. Everyone has his or her own thing. But that's how I see it. Every day is a gift, and every writing session is a blessing (I could be out shoveling sheep dung right now as a job). I don't feel like I need any extra reward to keep myself going, as if it wasn't something fun already.

I remember George Clooney saying, when asked if he took vacations, "Vacations? Going to work every day is vacation for me!" I can relate to him.

Yeah, but George Clooney makes millions and millions and millions from his work.

If a cup of hot chocolate is a reward, then not much matters. I drink hot chocolate because I like hot chocolate, not as a "reward."

No one travels and enjoys anything simply because they want to. You have to be able to afford it first.

It's been my experience that if the rewards aren't important to you, you definitely have a secondary source of income. One that pays for your rewards.
 

maestrowork

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Yeah, but George Clooney makes millions and millions and millions from his work.

If a cup of hot chocolate is a reward, then not much matters. I drink hot chocolate because I like hot chocolate, not as a "reward."

No one travels and enjoys anything simply because they want to. You have to be able to afford it first.

It's been my experience that if the rewards aren't important to you, you definitely have a secondary source of income. One that pays for your rewards.

You seem to be turning this into this money-reward-job thing. If that's how you see it, that's fine by me. Some of us simply don't need that reward to write, and it's not about what we can afford and not. Otherwise, OK, how about getting myself a big yacht as a reward for finishing my book?

To ME, it's just silly. I don't write for that yacht, and never will.
 
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Adam

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I don't need a reward to write, but I bloody well want one! :D

I generally use cups of tea though, as I'm poor. ;)
 
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willietheshakes

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We're all different. I've met a fair number of very grownup writer who write ONLY because it allows them to buy things.

I've met writers who actively hate every part of the writing process, including the completion, but who happen to be good at it, at least in a commercial sense, and for them, writing is 100% about the money.

I don't think you actually read what I wrote...

Of course having money coming in ALLOWS you to buy things. That wasn't the issue. What I was...

Ya know what? Nevermind. As you were.
 

StandJustSo

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As I edit the chapters in my WIP to get to the 'final' draft, the one I will submit to publishers, I get a huge sense of reward just from getting each one done. When my reader tells me the pace is good, the characters continue to be sympathetic and believable, and the story is flowing well, etc., that is a HUGE sense of reward for me.

I also like to do something for myself when I reach a goal though - bought myself an inexpensive MP3 player that plays videos, ebooks, and audible books, AND also records, so I can read my writing out loud and then play it back to catch awkward sentences and so on. I LOVE that feature, as much as I dislike hearing my own voice, lol.

But the main reward is in doing something I love, that I waited all my life to do, and the slow realization that maybe, just maybe, there are more days of getting it right than of getting it wrong.
 

jerry phoenix

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my reward for finishing a story is to title it.
 

Nya RAyne

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I reward myself when I finish the first draft, second draft, etc. And then when a full or partial MS is requested. Of course, my reward is always a wonderful bottle of expensive wine.

Now, when I finally land that agent, I'm probably going to reward myself with two wonderful bottles, and when I get published, because I WILL get published, I'll probably reward myself with a stroke or a heart attack, because I'll be unable to control my elation.

So, yeah, I reward myself!!
 

brokenfingers

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For every five minutes I write, I reward myself with six hours of goofing off.

Obviously my WIP is going very slooooow.
 

kaitie

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my reward for finishing a story is to title it.

I just found this interesting because I didn't tell my title to anyone for weeks. Not sure why, but it was almost like a nice little "it's finished" nugget that I held onto for awhile.

I don't necessarily see a reward as the motivation for writing. In fact, I outright don't. I write and continue editing and working and I've never given myself a reward for any of it that I can remember. At the same time, and I might have mentioned this somewhere before, I have a somewhat hard time feeling a true sense of accomplishment. Someone said something about writing a novel being a big deal once and it seriously hit me as, "Really?" It might just be because I don't really have a lot of others encouraging me or making a fuss when I do accomplish the goals. I definitely feel a higher sense of accomplishment when someone else praises the work I've done. Maybe I'm just weird.

Anyway, my thinking of the reward wasn't actually as a motivational tool at all, but as a way to remain positive and focus on encouragement and achievement rather than "now you have to do this to get that new PS3." I haven't tried it yet, but I thought it sounded like a neat idea.

Wait, I'm lying. I have rewarded myself, but it wasn't for writing. I bought myself fifty dollars worth of really nice paper to origami with when I payed off one of my student loans. I figured that warranted a woohoo, but it wasn't as though I was paying off the loan to get the paper.
 

kaitie

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I reward myself when I finish the first draft, second draft, etc. And then when a full or partial MS is requested. Of course, my reward is always a wonderful bottle of expensive wine.

Now, when I finally land that agent, I'm probably going to reward myself with two wonderful bottles, and when I get published, because I WILL get published, I'll probably reward myself with a stroke or a heart attack, because I'll be unable to control my elation.

So, yeah, I reward myself!!


Or cirrhosis of the liver! :D
 
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