As I watched this year’s football season come to an end, I couldn’t help but contemplate the importance of momentum. I had been rooting for the 49ers throughout the game, and for the first three quarters, I was enjoying myself. 

Then, San Francisco’s game went off the rails. Every seasoned football spectator saw the shifting moment. 

The third quarter was well under way and San Francisco was ahead on the scoreboard. But sometimes, momentum is more important than the lead. The Kansas City Chiefs were forced to punt the ball yet again, but when the 49ers fumbled the return, turning the ball over and back to Kansas City, the atmosphere in the stadium shifted. It’s a phenomenon football fans have seen time and time again with team after team. This time, it was San Francisco’s game that went off the rails, and the Chiefs fought their way to a victory. 

More than once, while writing a novel, I’ve lost the momentum against my story. The plot, the characters, pretty much everything has gotten out of my control in the worst way, and I grow desperate to trash the whole thing right along with my career.

In those moments, I’m left asking, “Can any of this be saved? Is this fight against my work in progress unwinnable?” 

What does a writer do when the momentum seems lost?

For me, the first thing I do is fight tooth and nail to get it back. Lost momentum does not have to stay lost forever. Stay in the fight. 

And to get back to football, staying in the fight is a skill my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers seem to epitomize. 

The nicest thing I can call Pittsburgh’s 2023 regular season was nail biting. Their offense barely deserved the title. Every offensive statistic was grim. And after all, offense equals points scored, and no points equals no wins. 

And yet… 

Again and again, after trailing for three quarters in multiple games, the Steelers somehow would walk away with the win. Why? Because they stayed in the game. Maybe the defense would force a turnover or intercept the football and return it for a touchdown. Regardless of how it happened, the Steelers stayed in the game until the clock ran out. One sports analyst, while talking about their inexplicable winning record, said that the Steelers seemed to be bad at everything but winning. 

Your process doesn’t have to be pretty, fit in a timeline, or look like another author’s. Do what you have to do to stay in the game. Lock yourself in a room. Brainstorm ways out of the mess you’ve written across your bedroom wall. Delete scenes. Kill characters. Drop a grenade into the story, but don’t stop. It may be ugly, and it may be stressful, but as we Pittsburgh fans say, “A win is a win.”

The other thing I do when a novel has gone off the rails is ask myself, “Is this story actually that bad or is my self-doubt lying to me again?” Every writer questions their talent. For every sentence I like, there’s five I hate. I’ve never been, or met, a writer whose confidence doesn’t wax and wane. What do we do to get back our self-belief? Cliché as this phrase may be, we have to fake it ’til we make it.

The Steelers wouldn’t have won a single one of those games the math said they were supposed to lose if they had stopped acting like they could. Act like you can finish the chapter even if you’re not sure. Shut down that voice telling you you’re a fraud. Refuse to listen to self-doubt. All writers need to find ways to hone their skills and turn criticism into progress. But insecurity is not criticism. Fear is not criticism. Changes can always be made. New drafts written. Act and believe like the writer you will one day be, and stay in the game, and you’ll keep that train on the tracks.

What do you think? What do you do when your story goes off the rails? Tell me in the comments. While you’re here, be sure to stop by my CONTACT page and sign up to get the newsletter! Or, if you’re in the mood for a new cozy read check out SPRINKLED WITH SABOTAGE!