I have been in the habit of bribing myself to write – I set targets and little awards for reaching them. Finish this story, and you’ll get a serving of ice cream, or a Mars bar.
Which, in a village where a Mars bar goes for two bucks, is no small thing, you will agree.

Right now I am writing a short story for an anthology submission, and while I have a good idea of where the story needs to go, and through which specific way-points it’s got to go to get there, I am having a hard time finding the proper voice and tone for it.
I really like the theme (a cross-over of history, myth and weird fiction) and I really want to make it into the finished book, but I’ve been wasting a lot of time.
So I was looking for a little bribe for finishing the job.

Then, a friend posted something on Facebook.

Playmobil has made its Historical collection of Greco-Roman deities available in my country.
At 4 euro each.

Now I am not a Playmobil sort of guy; I’m too old, I belong to the Lego generation – the earlier Lego generation, the guys that only had square and boxlike bricks. It’s my brother, actually, that being six years my junior, was the Playmobil guy in our home.

On the other hand, they have Athena.

And what the heck, she’s got the Aegis shield, the helmet and the howl…
I need this thing.

So, the deal now is – if I finish this story by tomorrow at midnight, I will order myself a box with the Playmobil Athena, to place on my bookshelf, on the archaeology and ancient history shelf.

Let’s do this!