Ritual

[badducky]

What's your ritual?


I'm in flux when it comes to writer rituals. Dropped some bad habits. Need some new ones. You know what I mean: those things you do before you get to work to get in the zone.

[Maryn]

I don't know that it qualifies as a ritual, but I begin by rereading the last three or four pages I wrote. I allow myself to tinker and add or delete. By the time I've reached the blank screen or page, usually I'm there (in the zone, I mean).

Maryn, seeking rezoning

[TheIT]

Set up the environment properly. Light some candles, perhaps play some music (or computer games) for a little while just to relax and daydream for a while. Large cup of tea. Pet the cats so they won't bother me while I'm trying to type.

Flip through my notebook and reread my notes. Reread the last section I've written to get back into the flow.

[SeanDSchaffer]

As I'm preparing to do my daily writing, I make sure the lights in my apartment are set just right. I brew myself up a pot of camp coffee--mmm, tasty!--and put on some old 70's or 80's Rock Music to get me into the mood. Stuff like Van Halen or Boston usually start me off, followed by the Stones, the Beatles, the Eagles, etc.

Those are my daily writing rituals.

When I get done with a manuscript, I'll generally celebrate with a big cheap cigar.

[L M Ashton]

I'm pathetic. I'm in the middle of developing them.

I'm great for sprint writing - I can write 300 pages inside of 2 1/2 weeks, and yes, it actually is even pretty good. But the long haul I'm lousy at. That's what I'm working at developing habits for now.

However, I do wear my elephant writing hat when I write. :D It helps, as odd as it sounds. Or, um, as cliched as it sounds.

[Mistook]

I used to write in the dark, with only the computer monitor as a light, but I've found that candles really help the mood. I use those Mexican candles you can find at the grocery store, with the pictures of saints and so forth. And I usually burn a stick of incense at the beginning of the night to take care of all the cigarette smell that's built up in the past 24 hours.

[My-Immortal]

I usually have to have my 'writing music' on.

I like to have something to drink (Mt. Dew) near at hand (but not near the computer)!

Take care all -

[Lilybiz]

I have a cup of coffee and check my e-mail first. Then I disconnect from the internet entirely, or I'll never get anything done.

I usually write in the morning. Late in the day, long after my writing session, I've collected notes--ideas, thoughts, things that come to me, like "my heroine should wear boots instead of shoes" or any detail at all. I jot them down and keep scraps of paper. In the morning, when I start writing, I start by incorporating all the little notes I've collected throughout the day. By the time I get them into my main document, I'm involved in the story again and on my way.

[BlackCrowesChick]

I write at the same time everyday.

I have headphones on and music playing. I didn't use to all the time, but I have been lately. I find it helps more. I have to drown everything else out. It really puts me in my own little world. Sometimes, someone will try and tell me something while I'm writing, and they have to stick their hand in front of the monitor to get my attention. I don't even hear or see them in the room unless they do.

I have a bottle of water within arm's reach.

I always write in the dark (its at night that I write.)

Oh, and as I learned from Stephen King in his On Writing, I keep the door shut. That helps a lot. Small step, big help.

Really, a few things I put I learned from that book. If any of you haven't read it, I highly suggest it.

[Lilybiz]

Oh, and as I learned from Stephen King in his On Writing, I keep the door shut. That helps a lot. Small step, big help.

Really, a few things I put I learned from that book. If any of you haven't read it, I highly suggest it.

Yeah, great book. It's my favorite book about writing.

[(grasshopper)]

Me? Writing rituals?

Heck, I just dash to the computer and jot down a few sentences during commercials! :D

[LightShadow]

I have no rituals. Hang on a moment, I have to move my knee three times, pop my shoulder, flex my fingers, turn the tip of my unused pen due south, point the label of my drink due north, and turn my toes inward. Now, what was the question? Rituals? Is that what it was?

[Maryn]

I had no idea Nomar Garciaparra was also a writer!

Maryn, kidding, of course (but he'd probably outsell me if he did!)

[scarletpeaches]

Cup of tea and a saucer full of biscuits, switch on the computer and voila! Hours of staring at a blank screen.

Seriously, though. I sacrifice a chicken to the God Ummygummybumbollocks at midnight, under a full moon, then drink the blood of John Grisham, duh. Why, what do you do?

[CaptMorgan]

Cup of tea and a saucer full of biscuits, switch on the computer and voila! Hours of staring at a blank screen.

Seriously, though. I sacrifice a chicken to the God Ummygummybumbollocks at midnight, under a full moon, then drink the blood of John Grisham, duh. Why, what do you do?

This is the best thing I've heard all day.

[Branwyn]

:ROFL: LOL@ scarletpeaches ( I drink Anne Rice's blood)

[scarletpeaches]

Anne Rice? Tried that. Convulsions, foaming at the mouth...And that was just her reaction when I tried to get a vein with the hypo-syringe...

[badducky]

(previously) First I paced furiously, drinking coffee. Then, I'd open windows. minimize the screen. Play computer chess until I feel like the dumbest person in the world. Then, I open the file I want to work on. Then, I pace some more. Drink some more coffee. Then, I sit down and work for half an hour. Pace. Half an hour. Pace. Repeat until unconscious.

Currently: Go for a jog. Drink two pots of tea. Open Windows. Take a shower. Stare at self in mirror until I feel really pretty (takes a while). Use facilities. Open file. Eat something. Pace. Brush teeth. Read random passage from Bible. Work.

Except, it isn't working... I'd try the chicken sacrifice, but I'm a vegan. Hm... Tofurkey sacrifice?

[Outlaw]

I write at the same time everyday.

I have headphones on and music playing. I didn't use to all the time, but I have been lately. I find it helps more. I have to drown everything else out. It really puts me in my own little world. Sometimes, someone will try and tell me something while I'm writing, and they have to stick their hand in front of the monitor to get my attention. I don't even hear or see them in the room unless they do.

I have a bottle of water within arm's reach.

I always write in the dark (its at night that I write.)

Oh, and as I learned from Stephen King in his On Writing, I keep the door shut. That helps a lot. Small step, big help.

Really, a few things I put I learned from that book. If any of you haven't read it, I highly suggest it.

Excellent book actually. While my rituals don't follow everything he said, I really tried. Unfortunately I have a full time job that prohibits me from writing in the mornings as I would like and writing at night gets hairy with my wife and daughter not understanding the idea or 'Do Not Disturb'. They just haven’t figured out that losing my train of thought is a big deal...and well i guess until I actually get published they will not see this as an endeavor worth the time and effort.



That said, the one thing that I have done is I sit at the PC for no less that 2 hours during the first draft, forcing a minimum of ten pages out of my scrambled head. King said make it a job, and until I decided that was what needed to be done I got nowhere fast.



Other than that I only make sure I have on Sirius Radio, preferable a rock station and I type, type, type. Maybe later I will develop better habits, but until then I just plug along making myself do what I have always wanted to.

[crosseyed reader]

I'm like Maryn. I read the previous chapter to re-orient myself. Then I drive my stiletto heels through my head and ask myself why in hell I wanted to be a writer.

[kristin724]

Hmmm..

This is something I have to think about since it comes automatically. I get something to eat, setup in my writing space, put on some music or the tv. Sometimes I reread the last of what I wrote or I just start thinking about all sorts of things, then put it on the page. I can tell you what I don't do: answer the dang phone!

Kristin

[The Gorn]

I spend just about the entire day preparing to write. Typically I begin while driving. I just sit there behind the wheel and brainstorm.:e2writer: Then by the end of the day when all of my business is taken care of and it starts to get late (if I feel I have enough material to work with) I turn on my stereo, pop in some cd's, and grab a pad and pen. I begin all of my work by hand and once I have a few pages written I transfer it to my computer. That's my ritual.

[Jarsto]

I don't really have a ritual right now. Usually I start by looking for music that gets me in the mood to write, which can be very different from one day to the next. But I will also write with the TV on, though I don't write very quickly when I do that.

The only really consistent thing about my writing is that I will do most of it in the evening. There are exceptions to that as well, but morning or afternoon writing is rare for me.

[zornhau]

Um. Verify that I do indeed have a glorious hour or so of free time, then write like crazy. You guys just don't have busy enough lives!

For those without children and and still in academia or some other environment where you have lots of unstructured time, if you must have a ritual, can I suggest:

Close your eyes and visualise cubicle heck or some other future undesirable workplace
Do a quick mental calculation as to how much writing time you'll have when you settle down and make babies
Write

[LightShadow]

Early morning while everybody is still asleep is best for me (which is perfect on the days I don't have to go to work). Then there is no ritual, other than ritual silence. No television, radio, games or any other noise is allowed, except for the hum of the fan inside my little space heater and the breathing of my little dog as he sleeps in his bed beside my chair.

[AndreaGS]

I kind of have three separate rituals for the three different times I'm able to write. For bus time, on the way and back from work, I pull out a sheet of paper, stare at it for 5-10 minutes, and force myself to put my pencil to the paper and write.

For my lunch break, I eat, read the last few paragraphs on my computer file, then proceed to type up what I wrote on the bus and then some.

And when I have free time on the weekend or after work, I drag the laptop somewhere quiet, get something nice to drink and something to snack on, turn off the wireless card, and put on the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.

Mostly I just write when and where I can - ritual or no.