When it comes to my writing process, I am a creature of tradition. And I’m not even talking about the actual writing process. I’m talking about before, in that strange limbo between when I say, “Okay, it’s writing time” and when I actually put words on the page.
These little rituals have evolved over time, but at the moment they include the following:
– Lighting three writing candles (yeah, those same ones I have at the bottom of every post…)
– Making tea
– Finding suitable music (normally movie scores)
– Putting on my writing necklace
– Staring at notebooks or the computer for a meditative length of time
And that’s not including other methods of writerly procrastination. Rearranging my desk. Painting my nails. Juggling. Flossing. Petting the cats. Picking dust out of the keyboard. Etc…
I’ve heard it said that people who have trouble falling asleep should set a routine of bedtime activities such as reading a book or writing in a diary to signal to the body that it is time for sleeping. In that context, it makes sense to me that writing should have a similar process. Writing is, in many ways, like dreaming. Traditional activities help me make that transition from the real world to the one inside my head.
So, my original reason for posting this was so I could ask: What are your getting-started rituals?
Or, if you’re one of those magical people who can just start something: How do you do it?? Seriously, I’d love some pointers, because life is busy, and some days I can only carve out a half-hour of writing time, during which I light candles, make tea, and then say, “Well, that was fun.”