momentum

After the Fall…

July 10, 2019 by Marcus Leave a Comment

I wish you could have been there with me. But if you’re like most ‘normal’ people, you were probably still sleeping.

It was Saturday, 28 June 2019, and at 5:30 am I left my condo for my morning run. When I hit the Martin Goodman Trail, and even though the sun was on the rise, I could only see a couple of hundred yards ahead due to the thick fog. Running away from the downtown core towards the Humber Bay Arch Bridge, the view was spectacular. The fog blanketing the city rendered the CN Tower — all the buildings, actually — invisible. I usually run without stopping, but this time I planned to stop and capture the view. [Read more…] about After the Fall…

How I Begin

November 21, 2018 by Marcus Leave a Comment

I don’t set an alarm. I don’t need to. I’m a light sleeper and wake up a couple of times during the night. But when my back starts to ache, when I’m just rolling from side to side, that’s when I know it’s time. It’s time to get to work. This is how I begin each day.

That’s sometime between 3:30 and 4:00 am. I don’t shower or brush my teeth. I put on my running gear (shorts and a T-shirt), prepare my Amino Energy drink, and sit down at my desk. Then I capture the moment — the sort of haggard, sleepy look — with the camera on my iPhone and post it to Instagram, and sometimes Twitter. Proof that I’m up writing. Proof that I’m sticking to my routine. Already, it’s taken fifteen minutes before my pen finally touches the page.

How I Begin

A small sample of my journal collection.

I take my latest notebook (I try not to use the same one twice, so I have a diverse collection) and begin with my Morning Pages. Afterwards, I start the first draft of a blog post. By this point, I’ve been up for an hour and a half to two hours. The blog post isn’t done, but it’s time to get out for a run. I run under the veil of darkness, and when I see another runner it does feel like two ships passing in the night. The cool, crisp morning air fills my lungs and, running, I’ve gone into ‘the zone.’ I quiet my mind. I try to hear life speaking to me. Now I’m ready to take on whatever the day throws at me.

Back home, I peel off my sweaty running gear, throw on one of the ratty, fraying yet comfy ringer T-shirts I bought from Old Navy ten years ago and just can’t throw away, and finish the blog post. It’s a draft. Is it any good? Will people find value in it? I don’t know. I’ll come back to it in a few days to tweak it, rewrite it … maybe even chuck it out and start again. All that matters is that I’ve written something without letting procrastination have dominion over me.

Keep it Going

Even though I’m a morning person, getting up early every day isn’t easy. Some mornings, my energy dips low around 8:00 am. As a result, I crawl back into bed for forty-five minutes to an hour. I don’t sleep. I just lay there, let my body rest. Afterwards, I get up, shower, have breakfast, and park myself at my desk. I work on my primary writing project, which is either writing the first draft of a book or rewriting one. When I’m just staring at the spines of the dictionaries and thesauruses on my desk, I know I’m no longer being productive. The writing day is over, usually around 1:30 pm. I step out of my writing world and into another.

I don’t worry any more about how many words I’ve written, how many pages I produced, or how good the writing may or may not be. I’ve shown up and done the work. That’s what counts for me.

This is how I begin. This is how I make it over.

How do you begin each day? At what point do you know that you’re no longer being productive and must step away from the work? Hit Reply or leave a comment in the section below. I’d love to hear from you.

Momentum: 3 Ways to Keep the Momentum Going

November 7, 2018 by Marcus 1 Comment

I’m a light sleeper. Even if I take a sleep aid before bed, I wake up three or four times during the night. Tossing and turning, and a dull ache in my lower back signal that it’s time to get up. Resistance is futile. So, I roll out of bed, usually between 3:30 and 4:00 am. About fifteen minutes after my feet touch the floor, I’m seated at my desk. After an hour or so of writing, I’m heading out the door for a run. It’s all I can do to keep the momentum going.

If you’re like me, you’re trying to build your artistic career — as a writer, painter, musician, artist, entrepreneur — around a day job. It’s not easy. Sometimes it feels like the job that pays the bills, and allows you to do what you love, is getting in the way. Especially when you feel like you’re on the cusp of finishing a large project.

Currently, I’m rewriting a manuscript, the last round of self-editing before having my novel professionally edited. Yet every time I go to work, which takes me out of the country for three days, the rewrite grinds to a halt. I start to think, “I’m never going to finish this” or “Do I really think I can pull this off?” The momentum that had been building starts to ebb.

But I need to keep going, need to get right back to the work, need to stay the course. Here are three things I do that keep the momentum moving forward.

Have a Routine

Writer at desk early in morning to get momentum going — Here I am, at my desk at 4:15 am. Love this time of the day. It’s quiet, and it helps to get the momentum going.

If I’m not at home in Toronto, then I’m usually in London (UK) for work. I have a routine for both cities that keeps me writing and my projects on track. I get up early, at home and in London. It’s especially challenging in London when getting up at 6:00 am local time is 1:00 am in Toronto. I aim to do my most important work first because I’m at my best creatively in the morning. I said I try. Sometimes life interrupts. I run [almost] daily because it helps quiet my mind, gets me into a zone. I come back to my writing refreshed. And running keeps me active.

A routine keeps you grounded. If you don’t have a routine yet, try getting into one. The results will surprise you.

Finish Something

Nothing energizes me more than finishing a short story or novel. Sometimes I’m tempted to step away from a project when a new idea pops into my mind, but I don’t. I’ve learned instead to keep notes on new ideas and go back to them when my current project is complete. Then I’ll be in a better mindset to also assess the validity of a new idea.

Finishing something offers reassurance, when doubt lingers large and heavy, that you’re in fact on the right path. It’s a reminder that you’ve heeded the call of what it is you feel compelled to do in life. Finishing something reinforces the artist in us all. It says, loud and clear, “I’m an artist, hear me roar!”

Believe

I believe in myself. I believe in myself as a writer who’ll succeed. And that belief holds me accountable, sends me daily to the page. It does something else, too. It holds fear at bay.

Believe in yourself and your talent as an artist. Believe that you can and will do great things. In such a competitive world, we must be our greatest champion.

Forward Momentum

These three things (and there are others, too) keep the momentum going, setting me up for success. And that’s why I take to heart the words of Audre Lorde: “When I dare to be powerful — to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”

How do you keep the momentum going on your creative projects? Do you have a routine? Hit Reply or leave a comment in the section below. I’d love to hear from you.