Author: Angela Rydell

Ah, who doesn’t love that thrill upon reaching an important level of attainment in an electronic game. That hokey sound effect and accompanying glitzy graphic gin up endorphins—and we want more.

When you level up in a game, it usually means you’ve accumulated enough points through a series of tasks—whether you’ve found the gold in a treasure hunt, picked off the bad guys with pizazz, or cared for the plants on the windowsill till they’ve flowered. Your achievement is unlocked, and you’re ready to “level up.”

When you level up as a writer, it means you’ve completed an important task as well—you may have reached a page goal or finished a draft. You may have found a way to unstick a stuck scene, filled a plot hole, or rounded out a flat character. Or you may “level up” upon mastering a technique like scene arcs, plot points, or omniscient point-of view. Heck, even dialogue can qualify as a level-up achievement when, finally, you get what your friend meant when she said dialogue isn’t about transcribing conversations, but approximating them—capturing their essence. You hit just the right balance in your scene, and voila: success. The scene’s stronger. Your story’s stronger. And the next time you write dialogue, your story will be the better for that earlier insight, too.

Wouldn’t it be a delight if, upon reaching a plateau, we also got to hear that sound effect emanate from our pages.

Seriously, don’t poo-poo it! You may want to save that link. Have fun with it. Play this sound for yourself (or find one you like more!) when you accomplish a goal—even if it’s a small one. You deserve to feel that thrill. In fact, I want you to seek it out. To relish those successes. Each moment you recognize achieving something you’ve been working towards in your writing helps you strive for more of the same.

Or how about a delicious piece of chocolate. A deep breath and smile to recognize a job well done are nice things, but a little extra effect can help those “job well done” endorphins—and make you want more of what got you therein the first place.

I give you permission to treat yourself. You’ll be all the more ready to take on to the challenges  on the next level.