Using Momentum Energy

As Tamilee Webb says in her exercise video, “Don’t let that energy drop!”

I’m trying the tactic I used last November for NaNoWriMo.  I believe it works on the principle of Momentum Energy.

I’ve had a book I’ve been wanting to publish for a long time, called “Love Letters From Your Soul.”  It’s had a difficult journey, with hiccups and re-directions along the way.  I made a commitment that I was going to get it ready to go by April. So, the plan was to give it some time every day in March.  Even if that was no more than making plans or rereading notes.  I’ve kept it in mind for 20 days now.

Now, as I cruise into the last two weeks of the months, I find I’m pleased with the progress I’ve made.  As I like to say, a small amount of effort, applied regularly, produces results.  And so it has.  What I have is momentum.  The project is alive with ideas, plans and small steps left to do. I’m really ready to push it through!

I believe, as busy, active people, we often long to languish and do nothing.  Or to take things slowly when we can.  It can be easy to sink into apathy or lose interest in something that takes too long.

Momentum is a beautiful thing whether you generate it consciously or find yourself in it.  It is helpful to use it when it’s there.  Respect it and let it carry you.  It can be powerful juju!

The Secret Gem inside NaNoWriMo

This funny sounding thing is just National Novel Writing Month.  Though I tend to prefer the shortened version of NaNoMo.  November is the month.

The premise is that if you make the commitment, you can write a novel in 30 days.  Now, as a novelist myself, I don’t quite buy that. I believe that writing a novel requires a good bit of rewriting to reveal all its inner workings.  But, I do see that with diligence and 30 days you can have a really good start or a half decent first draft to call your own.

Perhaps the greater gift of joining in the fun is what I call the writing “head of steam.”  When you wake up at night with a solution and scribble it down, hoping you will understand it in the morning. When you hear the perfect dialog in the shower.  Or when you’re doing other things, like going to your job, eating or being with other people, but all you can think about is when you’ll be able to get back to the desk!  If you’ve religiously done NaNoMo so far, you probably have caught that fever.

In previous years, I haven’t participated in this ritual.  Mainly because I didn’t have a novel to work on.  Perhaps I felt a little intimidated by it, as well.  This year, I have decided, with a novel in hand, to play.  Though by my own rules.  There are a number of projects on my plate, so I’ve set aside time I know I can give to it, including a big chunk over the Thanksgiving Holiday.  Wanting a little more than, “I’ll spend some time on it,” I set a few goals, too.

I’m finding there’s a momentum building. I’ve stuck to my promise, so far. I’m making progress and feeling good about it.  And I’m planning what I’m going to work on in December.  Perhaps on the same kind of schedule.  If this keeps up, just think what I can get done!

Getting Your Hands Wet

What about this concept of “Handling”?  That’s what SARK calls it.  She says, when you take your dreams out and handle them, you help to move them forward.  Makes sense to me.

Babies, they say, need touching and attention to grow.  It’s the same thing as “nothing breeds writing like writing.”  What you resist persists.  What you pay attention to expands.  So, if you pay attention to something you want in your life, you bring more of it to you. 

Let’s say you’re interested in cars.  You read car magazines, you watch car shows (like my beloved Top Gear).  You go to car shows.  You talk to your friends about cars.  There are a lot of cars in your life!

I found recently, when I put even the smallest amount of attention into a project I’m working on, ideas started to come to me. And I was eager to work on it again.  All I did was play with a few concepts, moving them here and there. This created a flow in me.  Momentum, if you will, which carried over into the next day.  I believe it was the lightness with which I did it.  Just to fill some time.  Nothing pressing.  Nothing I had to do.  Just tossing some balls in the air. Within twenty four hours it had congealed into something more solid that I could work with and shape.

A friend of mine thinks that’s how I work, not her.  I don’t believe that.  I think we are all creative, energetic beings.  And when we “handle” something, when we decide to put our attention into things, they expand.  I’m not sure there’s any other way for momentum to build.  No better way to keep it going into an easy flow.  You can’t get into the zone by not showing up. By not getting your hands wet.