mo·men·tum [moh-men-tuhm] noun
1. force or speed of movement; impetus, as
of a physical object or course of events:
When we think of writing, we think of characters, plot, climax, and cliff-hangers. We think of world building. We think of editing and beta readers. We might even think of age group, genre, and publishing.
Momentum is a word most often used in physics.
Newton's first law of motion is that "An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force." Most people stop after the second "stays in motion" part, and for this post I am going to do the same.
An object in motion stays in motion.
It's a natural law. It's natural for something in motion to stay in motion--and since "natural" is a current buzzword, this must mean it's good!
I typically avoid all things physics. Physics has an unfortunate friendship with math, and I don't like hanging out with bad crowds. But this is one thing that I can get behind.
Because building up momentum is a good thing.
Think back to the last time you were writing and you reached that perfect place where inspiration and creativity meet work and you can hardly get the words out fast enough. And it stays like that for a long time.
You built momentum.
It's like when you are on a run and you hit that sweet spot where it feels like you can run for hours. You're not fighting the exercise, and that helps you build momentum.
My Kickstarter campaign is now 37% funded after only a week. It has momentum.
The more you write, the more you write; the more you run, the more you run. (And apparently, the more people donate, the more other people donate.)
1. force or speed of movement; impetus, as
of a physical object or course of events:
When we think of writing, we think of characters, plot, climax, and cliff-hangers. We think of world building. We think of editing and beta readers. We might even think of age group, genre, and publishing.
Momentum is a word most often used in physics.
Newton's first law of motion is that "An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force." Most people stop after the second "stays in motion" part, and for this post I am going to do the same.
An object in motion stays in motion.
It's a natural law. It's natural for something in motion to stay in motion--and since "natural" is a current buzzword, this must mean it's good!
I typically avoid all things physics. Physics has an unfortunate friendship with math, and I don't like hanging out with bad crowds. But this is one thing that I can get behind.
Because building up momentum is a good thing.
Think back to the last time you were writing and you reached that perfect place where inspiration and creativity meet work and you can hardly get the words out fast enough. And it stays like that for a long time.
You built momentum.
It's like when you are on a run and you hit that sweet spot where it feels like you can run for hours. You're not fighting the exercise, and that helps you build momentum.
My Kickstarter campaign is now 37% funded after only a week. It has momentum.
The more you write, the more you write; the more you run, the more you run. (And apparently, the more people donate, the more other people donate.)
People who have successfully self-published often say that they had few to no sales for a long time, and then suddenly their sales pick up. That is because of word of mouth and moving up the list. It is also a product of marketing. But all of that is momentum. People start buying the book, and then more and more people buy the book until that momentum results in real sales.
And whether self-publishing is your goal or not, momentum is key to getting that book finished. Get writing. And keep writing. Make it a habit. Set a goal and work toward it. It can be a little goal, like writing 500 words a day. But do it every day, and you can write a 100K novel in under 7 months.
5 months might not seem to be a quick turnaround (or it might seem amazingly fast, depending on your past experience), but this is based on you only reaching your minimum goal of 500 words a day. If you double your words on Saturdays and Sundays because you have more time (1000 each day) you will write that 100K novel in just over 5 months. And if every couple of weeks you hit that "sweet spot" in writing on a week night, I bet that novel will be finished in under 5 months.
Because once you start writing every night, you will build momentum.
So I challenge everyone to try to build momentum for the rest of this month. Set a word or page goal, and meet it every day. You'll need to start yourself with a push, because an object at rest stays at rest, but once you get started just remember that an object in motion stays in motion.
Momentum is important. Build yours.
And whether self-publishing is your goal or not, momentum is key to getting that book finished. Get writing. And keep writing. Make it a habit. Set a goal and work toward it. It can be a little goal, like writing 500 words a day. But do it every day, and you can write a 100K novel in under 7 months.
5 months might not seem to be a quick turnaround (or it might seem amazingly fast, depending on your past experience), but this is based on you only reaching your minimum goal of 500 words a day. If you double your words on Saturdays and Sundays because you have more time (1000 each day) you will write that 100K novel in just over 5 months. And if every couple of weeks you hit that "sweet spot" in writing on a week night, I bet that novel will be finished in under 5 months.
Because once you start writing every night, you will build momentum.
So I challenge everyone to try to build momentum for the rest of this month. Set a word or page goal, and meet it every day. You'll need to start yourself with a push, because an object at rest stays at rest, but once you get started just remember that an object in motion stays in motion.
Momentum is important. Build yours.
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