All of the holiday cheer in the air, and all of the traditions that go along with it, have prompted me to think about rituals.
We all have them, whether it's informal ones like the time of day we brush our teeth, the number of times we hit the SNOOZE button before we roll out of bed or the formal ones, like those we might observe while attending a church service.
But I'm curious about your writing ritual. What do you do to prepare yourself to write? Do you write at the same time every day? How do you decide you're done for the day?
Show me yours, and I'll show you mine.
I'm not sure it qualifies as a ritual, but I take a minute or before I start writing to visualize what might happen next in my WIP. It's a trick I learned way back in HS when I long-jumped in track. It seems to help...when I hit the keyboard, I'm ready to go.
ReplyDeleteI pretty much have to write between Midnight and four in the morning. There are so many less distractions. Even if I have facebook open, no one is online or updating statuses or commenting on anything. My phone never rings. My fiancee is asleep. I used to have a ritual of needing Mountain Dew by the bucketful around me, but now I just the absolute silence.
ReplyDeleteThat's just for "actual writing." As far as brainstorming, plotting, and mapping go, I spend a lot of time in the pool, also late at night, staring out at the moon and just thinking while I float around.
I don't recommend this last approach, Doug. It works much better in Arizona than it will where you are. ;)