What’s your writing ritual?

I like to think it’s a hobby of mine to look up topics in regards to writer habits. After all, if I can find that secret something they do which helped lead to their success, I could find that success myself, right?

Well, no, because each writer is not just unique in storytelling, their writer’s Voice, style, and luck, you also find every writer finds their own method to find that genius of creativity.

I should test a few rituals, but generally I need;

A quiet room. This includes no pets, no kid, no husband, no phone ringing, no traffic, and no-anything else that can pull me from my creativity. This is accomplished through a shut door, headset, and preferring the evening hours where there is stillness and unlikelihood that anyone will call or show up at my house.

A taste of creativity. To help get into the mood, I generally read. Mostly I reread what I wrote previously to get back into the story and slip into the ‘feel’ of the story. Other times, I might read favorite books or stories I find online. Freewriting can also help get into a creative mindset.

Setting priority. Trust me when I say I’m a master at finding excuses to get out of work. I will surf the Net, read emails, check the weather- anything than get back into fiction writing if I’m not in the mood.

Rather than find motivation, I simply find resolve and do it anyway, forcing myself. Sometimes this actually work me into the creative mindset.

Favorite coffee in my favorite mug. My writer’s group bought me this mug that says “I’m a writer. Everything you say or do may end up in my novel”. I add my coffee, Hazelnut creamer, and feel complete and ready to move into my writing rituals.

I might try;

Lighting a candle

Meditating 5-10 minutes beforehand

Saying a prayer to my muse to help me along the way.

What tips can you offer? Do you have a writing ritual? Do you have items you use, activities you perform, even prayers you say before you start writing, or do you dive right in? Post in comments below.

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The waxing and waning of creativity

I don’t keep a wordcount. Between blogging, writing my novel, and the amount of typing I do with homeschooling my son takes up tons of time. Taking even a moment to jot down my daily word count can get tedious.

Nevertheless, the other day I decided to do some writing in the terribly neglected novel, and managed to peck my way to almost 2,000 words. Words flowed, and I rode the tide of creativity for as long as I am able.

The next day….nothing. My muse abandoned me once again. I think she does that just to laugh at me. Maybe she gets bored with me. Maybe she just feels neglected. Its not as though I do much to ‘feed’ my creative streaks.

I’ve considered setting up a tiny altar in my office to offer libation (of the rum I sip in the evening hours) as an offering for her help. Maybe a daily prayer or ritual is in order to appease the creativity gods.

Muses, as any writer knows, are fickle. They grace you with their inspiration only to drop you like a hot potato at their whim. In some cases, I feel they have their phases like the moon, being full and bright and full of metaphor, weaving of words, and command of language, then turning to the dark of redundancy and mediocre expression.

It certainly feels this is the case, and personally I feel its the worst form of writer’s block. I can work through lack of ideas, time constraints, and even feeling tired or sick. What really bothers me is the moment when I can feel the eloquence and fluency begin to wan, like a sun dipping towards the horizon.

I suppose it can’t hurt to setup a candle to invoke my muse.

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