1. You’ve finally reached the point where you don’t care how much people judge you for saying you want writing to be your full-time job/more than just a hobby.

2. You still share your work even when it’s scary/you’re not sure if it’s “good enough.”

3. You’ve learned how to handle constructive criticism and you’re able to use it to improve your writing.

4. You’ve established a set writing schedule you know works. You might not always follow it line by line, but when you do, you’re right on track.

5. You’ve kept going even when you didn’t immediately fall in love with what you were writing.

6. Even if it sometimes feels like you’re not making any progress, you’ve written and memorized your goals. You know where you’re headed and how you hope to get there.

7. You’ve overcome the urge to quit more than once because you’re determined to succeed — whatever that might look like for you personally.

8. You’ve tried good ideas, bad ideas, and ideas you weren’t sure could ever work. You’ve learned to give your creativity a chance to “accidentally” make cool things.

9. You’re better at selling yourself than you used to be. You know how to talk about even your small accomplishments in a way that makes people curious.

10. You can say with confidence that you’re a better writer today than you were yesterday. You get that improving takes time, that nothing happens in a day, but you’re getting there. And you can’t wait to finally cross that finish line.

Meg is the creator of Novelty Revisions, dedicated to helping writers put their ideas into words. She is an editor and writer, and a 12-time NaNoWriMo winner. Follow Meg on Twitter for tweets about writing, food, and Star Wars.

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