Celebrating Milestones

I reached a creative milestone yesterday -- I finished the fourth draft of my second novel and handed it over to my wife for her comments and corrections.  Taking this story from one that is solely mine -- a work only I have indulged in and only I know about -- and including anyone else in the process is a big step and milestone in the story's progress from amorphous mind-goo to finished product.

My reaction as I let my wife know I wanted her to read it?  I hope she hurries up so I can get on to the next draft.

Yes, after working with this novel for the better part of seven or eight years -- the past three months very intently working on it -- my reaction upon reaching this auspicious milestone is to want to blow on by and get on to the next thing.

We all do this, though: we reach some important milestone in life -- the birth of a child, the purchase of a new house, a promotion at work, or some great creative achievement -- and we usually have one of two reactions:

• We try to come to an absolute stand-still, basking in the glory of this one achievement and willing time to stand still at this one glorious moment for all eternity.
• We give the achievement a half-second nod and then turn toward the next step in the process, the next achievement, the next item on our to-do list.

I've done both of these, and I'm pleased to say that -- despite my current feelings and reactions -- I know there's another way.

Yes, after my first composition was accepted for publication, I basked in my own joy and perceived glory for the better part of a year before I submitted anything else -- not exactly a healthy reaction.

And yes, I've had a publisher accept a piece and before I've even finished reading the acceptance email, I've already been thinking, Well, yes, that's all well and good, but I'm still behind where I ought to be.

There is a middle ground: we can enjoy our accomplishment for an hour, or a day, or two -- whatever seems appropriate to the achievement -- and then we can use this success to spur us on to the next step in our evolution.  For Creatives, this is so tremendously important.  Our Inner Creative Being (ICB) is a playful one, but it is also a very insecure one.  When we reach a milestone and fail to celebrate it, our ICB can't help but think it's done something wrong, or that what it did wasn't good enough, and so it retreats into the shadows.  This is not good for our creative souls.

On the other hand, if we let our ICB indulge in weeks or months of celebration and revelry, it will never, willing, on its own, continue on to the next creative task.  Much like the average child won't eat his or her vegetables unless required to do so, our ICB won't move on to the next project, the next step in the process, the next creative endeavor, unless we make it.

So, I celebrated my success by taking the evening off, playing some piano, and guiltlessly watching a movie.  I pampered my ICB as a reward for all the great creative truth it sent me as I worked on the story.  And I'll allow my wife as much time as she needs to read my novel, and resist the urge to ask her every five minutes if she's finished yet, how far along she is, and if she likes it. 

And now this morning, I'll sit back down at the keyboard and move on to the next creative project, knowing that I've done well, but that much more of my creative journey still lies ahead of me.