A friend of mine once invited me to hear Michael Korda speak at a luncheon. It was a genuine treat. Korda was witty, urbane, amusing, a touch gossipy, and just wise enough not to take himself too seriously. He was also accomplished. Not only was he Editor-in-Chief of Simon & Schuster, he was also a best-selling author with quite a list of hefty tomes to his credit, including Charmed Lives and Queenie.
After his talk, someone asked the question on the tip of many an envious tongue: How did he manage to be a publishing powerhouse with a demanding editorial job and still find time to write so much? Well, he may have been supremely efficient or had a small army of assistants to grease the wheels of his busy life. But he didn’t mention any of this.
Instead, he talked about one simple routine and one simple idea. He said that regardless of what was going happening at his job, he got up every weekday morning at six, sat at his desk, and wrote until it was time to go to work. And then he uttered a golden phrase: “In writing, forward motion is everything.”
Ponder that for a moment: “In writing, forward motion is everything.”
Sometimes Korda wrote a lot. Sometimes nothing much. But whatever happened the day before, he showed up at his desk the next morning, ready to go. And just by showing up and doing whatever he could, day by day, he made progress. He wrote some pages, and eventually, he wrote a book. And then, he wrote another.
Momentum is the name of the game. So forge ahead: keep moving, step by step, and you’ll be amazed at the progress you make. Write one page a day and by the end of the year, you’ll have 365 of them. And as Michael Korda might be the first to tell you: that’s a book!
“ Momentum is the name of the game. So forge ahead: keep moving, step by step, and you’ll be amazed at the progress you make. ”
This is so true in all of life. I use that to make my way across Tennessee each year and now I’ll try it with writing. I really want to have a daily habit of writing but always think I have to wait for something to write about. Needless to say, I never get anywhere. Thank you for all your wisdom both on your blog and in your messages to my hotline, Karin
Hi Terrie,
I’m so happy to see that you’ve made a connection between your epic Tennessee journeys and momentum in writing! I always think that when we show up, the muse does, too. Often, as a wise writer once said, inspiration comes during writing, to before it. So sit and write and see what happens. You may be amazed!
Write on!
Karin