✍️ The Momentum Method: How to Keep Moving with your Manuscript
- Florence Bliss
- Sep 20
- 5 min read
Do you struggle to get yourself to sit down and write? Or maybe you can get yourself seated, but you have a hard time staying focused and using your time productively?
In other words, do you struggle to build and maintain momentum?
Most writers think momentum comes from long, marathon writing sessions. I have friends that tell me they do 5,000 (or more!) word days. But when you are stuck in a rut or you are just starting out and still building your habits, setting lofty goals that you struggle to reach is more likely to discourage you from the whole process rather than help get your manuscript written (or edited or submitted).
What’s the answer? Building momentum. This happens by establishing small, repeatable actions that will keep your fingers flying and your creativity surging.
I call this The Momentum Method.
The Three Pieces of Momentum
This month, I’ve been talking about ways to set small writing goals in order to condition yourself to have productive, sustainable writing sessions. Let’s review and then see what happens when we put them together.
1. Writing 100 words a day Just 100 words. Not a chapter, not even a page. A tiny bite of writing that you can accomplish and turn into a habit. It proves you can write today, and tomorrow too.
✨I like this strategy for pushing through the drafting stage.
2. The Hot TenTen minutes of pure focus. No distractions, no other responsibilities, just forward motion. This burst of intensity keeps you sharp. It also helps you build trust with yourself. You can do anything for ten minutes and once you do it once, you know you can do it again. Lock it in.
✨I like this strategy for the editing phase.
3. The Hard StopStopping in the middle of a scene, a paragraph or even a sentence. It might feel strange, but it leaves you a breadcrumb trail for tomorrow. When you sit down again, you’ll know exactly where to begin. No wasting time trying to get your bearings.
✨I like to combine this strategy with the 100 words or The Hot Ten.
How It Works Together
1. Consistency. 2. Focus. 3. Anticipation.
These pieces work individually, but function together to help you build a system to keep you going.
Writing 100 words a day will push your story forward. Don’t worry about the words being perfect. You are getting the story on the page. The idea is that rather than being stuck in one spot, waiting for inspiration or some other solution to a problem, you just keep going. It will get you past the sticky parts so when the inspiration does strike, you are ready. This also serves to keep you in the habit of writing every day. Once this is an established pattern for you, you’ll be able to take less productive days in stride without feeling like you didn’t accomplish enough. It’s also an easy way to watch your word count go up up up.
A Hot Ten is perfect for editing days, or when you are more concerned about capturing a moment in your story than about how many words you put down. A short, focused burst of energy is great because it can be hard to measure completion when you are editing or just really need to perfect a particular paragraph. I have editing days that may mean I’ve done nothing more than delete things, so measuring word count would be useless. A Hot Ten is a tool to hold yourself accountable, even when word count goals don’t make sense. And just like the 100 words, it’s a habit that will keep you moving.
A Hard Stop bumpers both of these strategies. Stopping in the middle of an idea leaves the tab open in your brain. That means your brain is ready to pick up where you left off immediately. If you are at the end of your session and you are in the middle of something that you just can’t stop, that’s great! Keep going. But save a Hard Stop for those really difficult times where every word is a struggle and you know you will need the boost for the next day.
Should you do each each strategy in every session? That’s up to you. I like to alternate between 100 words and a Hot Ten. I may do a week of drafting with 100 words a day and then go back and edit using the Hot Ten. I only use Hard Stops when I know it’s going to be hard to pick up the next day. That’s the idea with The Momentum Method: it’s flexible, it’s sustainable, and it works the way you need it to work.
A few what ifs…
What if I want to write more?
That’s amazing! This is not about only writing 100 words or working for 10 minutes. It’s about keeping yourself going through the tough days so on days where things are really popping you have a foundation and can write as much as you want. These strategies are meant to help you feel productive even when you can’t commit bigger chunks of your time.
What if I miss a day?
It happens! Start again the next day. I DO NOT stack my goals. That means if I miss a 100 word day, I don’t start the next day saying I have to write 200 words. That’s quick to overwhelm me and then I’d start avoiding writing altogether. Again, you are training your brain to feel good about your writing sessions and to feel accomplished, which will help you write more in the long run. These goals will feed your brain dopamine and help you establish long term patterns.
What if 100 words a day or 10 minutes is too little for me? Or too much?
Adjust it! If you need to start with 50 words a day or a “A Feisty Five” (lol I’m hilarious) instead, do that. Or if 250 words feels natural, go for it. You have to be flexible in order to get to know what works for you. Just try to avoid setting a goal for yourself that is too challenging. You want to walk away from each session feeling like you accomplished something, not feeling like it got too hard to finish.
The Final Word
Small habits bring big accomplishments. You may not finish your draft in a week, but establishing these goals will help you become the kind of writer you want to be. You are learning how to build, and harness, your own momentum.
Your Turn
This week, choose one piece of the Momentum Method and try it. Maybe it’s your 100 words, your Hot Ten, or your Hard Stop.
Then ask yourself: Did it make writing feel lighter? Did it keep me moving forward?
Because momentum isn’t about speed. It’s about refusing to stop.
You’re closer to steady progress than you think. Comment below and let me know which of these strategies worked for you!
Keep going,
Florence
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