Rule C: Celebrate your writing successes

Linda’s Rules of Writing

I had such a big win in writing department that I treated myself to a trip to Las Vegas and stayed in a pyramid.  Aren’t those palm trees awesome?

We’re onto the letter C in Linda’s Rules of Writing of the A to Z Challenge, with a look at Celebrating your writing successes.

Too much about writing is focused on getting to the next word count. Sometimes, too, it’s important to pay attention to the successes, big and little.

Miasma was a complete disaster when I decided to take Holly Lisle’s How to Revise Your Novel course. I had a major problem with the story that very hard to diagnose. I’m not sure if I asked someone to beta read it they would have been able to pin down what it was, except that their comments would have pointed directly at it. I’d also discovered I wasn’t detail oriented, because they had exploded all over the book in an effort to eek up the too short word count (which resulted from the other problem).

I went through most of the course, got to lesson ten and the source of the problem revealed itself to me. It was such a huge find! I’d gone through four books trying to figure out what the heck the problem was. Finally finished that draft of the revision, and it was time to reward myself.

I went to Las Vegas for seven days.

It isn’t just about the writing. It’s about celebrating successes and having fun doing it.

What have you done to celebrate your writing successes?

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Caption: A to Z Challenge Logo

 

F is for Freezing

This year is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.  I got a chance to go see Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition at the Luxor in Las Vegas.  It’s a museum quality exhibit with artifacts from the wreckage, and stories of the people who died when the ship sank.

I’m kinesthetic, which means I learn by hands on.  Touching something tells me a story.   Most museums are a little flat for me, with pictures stuck on the walls.  As I was walking around the Titanic exhibit, I discovered a large piece of ice, probably about 6 feet long.  A sign said, “Please Touch,” so I did.  At first, my fingers felt smoothness, and cold.  Ice.  No story though.  Just ice.  Then I touched it again.

And got the story.  Of people in the water, in the icy cold, knowing that there was no hope.  That in minutes they were going to freeze to death.  Suddenly I was there, 100 years ago, knowing what they had experienced and understanding what they went through when they died.

QUESTION FOR YOU:  But with the 100th anniversary, it makes wonder about passage of time:  Do you think the lure of the Titanic will eventually pass into history, or is going to be something like the Civil War — something future generations will never forget?

 

E is for Elevator

We ride in elevators all the time, and most of the time we don’t think about it all.  They’ve become commonplace over the years.  But one of the scariest ones I was on recently was in Las Vegas. I went to the Paris Casino to ride up to the top of the Eiffel Tower.  I’m afraid of heights, but I figured that since I would be inside a building, I would be okay.

But this elevator had glass sides.  So as we rose, the world dropped away.  My stomach dropped with it, and I kept wondering if I had lost my mind for trying this.  I must have looked quite alarmed because the guide said, “We’ll be up in 90 seconds.”  That seemed like forever!  I stared at my feet, and then the elevator stopped.  I felt like a cat hopping out of the box after a trip to the vet.  I’m sure, if I had fur, I would have had that mashed down fur look.  But after a few minutes, I was okay, and marveled at how high I was.  I was even higher than all the casinos and I could see all of Las Vegas!   It turned out to be a marvelous experience that I’m glad I had.

QUESTION FOR YOU:  What’s a place you’ve been to where you had to experience a bit of danger — real or perceived — to enjoy the adventure?

 

C is for Cruise

This year, I decided to reward all the hard work I did on my novel with a trip to Las Vegas.  I solved several long-standing problems, so it was a huge win and deserved something important.   But it was also the first real vacation I’ve done in some time, and I need to do it more often to take care of me.  Too many people work and work and work and never get away from it.

So I was sitting in the travel office at work the other day, talking with the travel agent, and I mentioned that I was looking for a new vacation destination.

“Try a cruise,” he promptly said.  “I’ve been on ten.”

My only experience with cruise ships was taking the Catalina Flyer when I was in Girl Scouts and getting so seasick that all I could do was sit on the stairs and try not to move.   I’d sure hate to spend more than $1,000 and spend all of it seasick!

QUESTION FOR YOU:  Have you been on a cruise?  Tell me what it is was like.  Where did you go?  What would you recommend?  And the big question: Did you have problems with seasickness?