Sometimes writing can be described with one word: momentum. The process of continuously moving forward. What I’ve come to realize the most about momentum and writing is that it isn’t just one big push at the beginning or one big leap at the end that gets a book done–it is the daily solid push forward, the continuous application of momentum that gets a book done.

Let me tell you, April was not about momentum. It held, not one, but two trips. One for business, one for fun. It had two spring breaks. One for parochial school, one for public school. It was the push-me, pull-you sort of month that is like a big boulder in front of whatever momentum you have built up–everything this month came to a grinding halt.

Sadly, once you come to a dead stop on a project it is difficult (at least for me) to get back into that rolling-along-feeling that momentum offers.

What I find with writing a book is that I need exactly what I described in the first paragraph– a continuous application of momentum.

I need to be inside that book, working the pages, pondering the scenes. It wasn’t like I wasn’t thinking about the project while I was traveling or trying to keep one child, then the other amused during their broken up spring breaks. But that wasn’t enough. And I knew today, this Monday when I had my life back and several clear weeks (well, as clear as my weeks get) ahead of me to dive back in and work like a dog.

A dedicated dog.

But then this morning I ran into my current project and found it cemented to the desk. No matter how I tried to nudge myself, I couldn’t get it to move.

Did you notice that–nudge myself–because it isn’t the book that is stuck, it is me. I had every excuse in the book not to open up Scrivener and get working–I needed to check Ravelry, Facebook, compose something witty for Twitter. I think the tweet had to do with baking cookies. Which I also did. But I didn’t get doing what I was supposed to be doing, what I had been longing to get back to doing–writing my book.

Don’t get me wrong, I love writing, but like an athlete who’s been away from the game for a while, the first day back is hell. But I know what I need to do, and how to get back into it, slowly, purposefully and doggedly.

And I’ll write about that process later this week.

Once I get some pages in the hopper.