Treats

Ridgebacks are food hounds.  They love to eat.   They are also talented counter-surfers so you have to be careful what you leave laying around.  Like an open bag of pork rinds.  That story is for another day, but a healthy appetite makes training easier.  Kassi is very responsive to being rewarded for following basic commands.  That’s going to make life easier for us all, especially once she is full-grown.

A treat system can work for writers, too.  Reading a book, a long walk, watching a movie can all be treats, as long as the writing is done for the day.  I have a word count goal I aspire to every day, and all the fun stuff comes after I'm done working for the day.  The easiest thing in the world is to have a treat and not write, but trust me, that’s not a cycle you want to start.  Sit, stay, get a treat.  You decide what the treat is.  Setting word goals for the day is the foundation for completing any large project, like writing a novel.  

Treats are in abundance this time of year.  Distractions are everywhere.   It’s hard to write every day, to stay on schedule, but if you treat writing as a job, then you have no choice but to get those words on the page.  Sometimes, the best treat is the simple satisfaction of being done for the day so you can enjoy whatever comes next.