The Efficacy of Bribes

Last night, my husband proposed a deal: if I worked hard on the book, he would take me to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. I've been dying to see this movie ever since I learned of its release (the remake of the classic George Smiley/John Le Carre tale). It was a fabulous bribe. I worked like a slave all day. Problem is, it's only in limited release. The nearest theatre is about 10 hours away. Of course, we didn't find that out until after I had completed a whole day's work. Oh, well.

We went out to dinner instead.

The movie didn't work out, but it illustrates a larger point. And that is the efficacy of bribes. Writing's hard, especially when you first start a big project like a book. So feel free to give yourself some reasonable incentives for reaching certain milestones. It will make the process a lot more pleasant.

Eventually, the work itself will become the incentive. But it doesn't hurt to kick start the process with a few well-chosen bribes.(Just be a little careful with food bribes or your may end up with another problem....Trust me on this.)

I'm happy to report that I made some significant progress this week. I've been moving content around, rearranging and splitting chapters, and have decent drafts  of several of them. There is still much content to add. But I'm seeing the book starting to take shape, and that's always a good thing.

In the meantime, I'll continue to reward myself for each milestone I attain. And will definitely go to see the newest version of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and will fix regular pots of cinnamon tea in my new French press that I carted home from Belgium. (It's red! Too cute to leave behind.)

I'm now on Day 6. Writing this blog has proven helpful in keeping me focused on the task at hand. So that's for your support. Talk with you tomorrow.