I just finished something at work that’s been nagging me for a while now. One of those projects where almost everything was perfect, but that last 1% kept it from being completely done and cost me a lot of time in the process. I’ve been digging for the answer for a while now. Wracking my brain, searching google with as many variations of my keywords as I could think of, trying new and different things…and none of it closed that last little gap.

Until yesterday. I stumbled on exactly what I needed, at exactly the right time for it to make sense to me. It’s possible I’d seen the article before, I don’t have any idea. But yesterday, it all clicked. I tweaked, I tested, I tested some more, I tested a third time (because even though it continued to work, it made me nervous because I’ve been working on this for so long).

This morning I let it go. I stamped it done, and posted it to a public environment where it would impact people who weren’t just me.

I like that feeling. I get that feeling every time I finish a novel or a major rewrite. Even if I know I’ll have to go back for another pass, there’s a sense of accomplishment in knowing that I got done what I wanted to, and that I’m happy with the results.

I’m working toward that now with my two NaNo novels. I know, its been less than a month, and I shouldn’t be revising yet, but I did finish one of them more than 30 days ago, so I’ve given myself permission.

I’m already making some big breakthroughs in the revision that I didn’t think were going to be possible at this point. I’ve solidified my pantheons and my gods’ names (which is a much bigger relief than you might realize). And I’ve figured out that even though I desperately wanted this to be in first person, for the sole reason that it would fit the voice of my other novel, I’ve decided it can’t be. It’s not right for the tone of the story. I’ve switched back to third and I’m SOOO much happier with it.

And know that I have a fresh memory of how sexy accomplishment tastes, I’m that much more motivated to plough through this. I’m looking forward to the end and then re-reading it just for fun at least once ^_^.

How do you celebrate milestones and accomplishments?