How Do We Build and Sustain Momentum?

Don't waste it, it's like gold.

Hi friends.

Hope you’re surviving, holding steady, writing your way through it. Wishing you good luck in that election today, New York City.

My first update from here is I’m just sort of starting to dust myself off and come out of an intense period of work. It’s stupid hot every day in this city and I’m getting a little work done on the house to prep for hurricane season and I’m drinking lots of coffee to keep me going. That’s it, that’s what’s going on: heat, work, coffee. But I’m off to Portland, OR soon and I’ll be there for a minute in case anyone has any hot tips for fun, because it would be incredible to have a little bit of fun again.

My second update is that my first reader liked my book. I re-read their texts to me about it a bunch of times, they made me so happy. I had this moment where I was like, “God, all I wanted was for my friend to read this book and enjoy it, now I’m done here.” Like I could just not show it to anyone else and be perfectly satisfied that I’d done my work, successfully written a book from start to finish, and had created something that could entertain a friend.

It was just a fleeting feeling, but it was nice to sit in it for a moment. Then I remembered I had a mortgage.

So I sent it off to my agent instead. I would like to entertain her too, to be fair! But I have my fingers crossed she thinks I’m onto something here. My plan is to take whatever notes she might give me in a week or two along with a few more notes of my own and then dig in deep for the summer. Keep going while I still have momentum, while I’m still living and breathing this book. I hate to waste being on a roll.

Momentum is such an interesting idea to think about. How to nurture it, how to sustain it. So I did some musing on some strategies for it this week.