When I was an athlete, I had a lot of pre-race rituals. I had to tie my shoe-lace like that, or make sure to wear my lucky hair-band. Now, as a writer, I find myself having rituals, too.I like the curtains arranged just so (yes, I am slightly OCD, I admit it!), and I must be wearing my fluffy slippers at all costs.
There must be no music playing, my preferred pencil has to nearby and my glass of water must be half-full.
Now that I've made myself look a complete freak, please tell me I'm not alone!
What are your writing rituals?
LOL!!!
ReplyDeleteOh Talli - I loved you before, then you showed me Banoffee Pie and now...the idiosyncrasies are without a doubt your newest endearing quality.
Yes, yes, you are not alone. I have very distinct areas of the house that I prefer to write in, a favorite pillow by my side, certain music, ONLY GREEN TEA to drink while writing & it MUST be in my Princess Tervis Tumbler cup...
We are a weird bunch, we writers ;o) God love us.
Visit My Kingdom Anytime
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ReplyDeleteoh yeah - left you an award on my post today!
ReplyDeleteVisit My Kingdom Anytime
Girl, you are nowhere near my freakiness, so breathe easy. I wear a robe in 100 degree weather, leave the tv on, muted, and sometimes, not fully clothed but always wear socks.
ReplyDeleteI need to have a cup of tea or coffee handy. And I have to have a clicky pencil, not an old fashioned one!
ReplyDeleteYour rituals aren't so bad :)
My only writing rituals these days are a glass of water (or a Sonic drink if I have one), and a movie on for my five-year-old so he'll be happy for a couple of hours. I used to have a lot more rituals and I have a lot of friends who have them, so I don't think you're alone at all!
ReplyDeleteI have to play one round of a stupid computer game before I can write anything. It's weird.
ReplyDeleteAlso, check out my blog. I left an award for you there today.
I would not call them rituals, but I tend to get the most done after first arriving at my desk in the morning. I'm lucky enough to have a job where I can do my own thing between answering the phone. Well, that is I did until I got promoted.
ReplyDeleteNow I blog for about 30 minutes from 6AM on, then try to read other blogs before I get busy. There is no more time to edit during the day so I have to do that in the evenings, usually after dinner and a glass or two of wine, sake or beer - or maybe all 3 on the weekend.
The QQQE
Yeah, I'm with Candice...these days with kids I'm just happy if they give me five minutes of peace! I think I *would* have rituals if time allowed for it!
ReplyDeleteI have no real rituals for writing...just that I like to be left alone. And I like having coffee and snacks at hand.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't NEED any of it to write.
Happy Tuesday, Talli.
Lola
Courtney, aw, thanks for your comment! Nice to know my idiosyncracies are appeciated! :)
ReplyDeleteAnd so nice to see I'm not alone in my rituals. Thank you, thank you, everyone!
Nope...sorry...you're completely alone in your freakiness! :)
ReplyDeleteJust kidding. I really only have two rituals for when I write, coffee (A MUST) and music. I can put my headphones on and be completely alone...and transported to wherever I'm writing about.
I don't feel like I can write anywhere except my "place" and I enjoy connecting with other writers and readers online before I feel ready to work on my own novel. :)
ReplyDeleteHahaha! I assure you that you are not alone in this. I have my own rituals as well, some of them very strange. I used to always have to have cheetos near me, but I got tired of the orange keys on my keyboard, and I seem to have abandoned snacking while I'm writing. But I also can't write with any noise or mostly anywhere except in my cave of an office.
ReplyDeleteI need to be listening to the soundtrack I put together for this WIP. Also, I have to have just used the bathroom, because if there's the slightest urge, I can't concentrate. The dishes must be done, and no pressing housework, or I'll let myself be distracted.
ReplyDeleteI light at least one candle on my desk, look fondly at my little bird figurines, look more fondly at the birds outside, check my email eighty times, and then get going.
My writing ritual? I need to block out distractions, if I'm not alone, I need to put on music and listen to it with my headphones. I prefer to write with my family out of the house but that doesn't happen much.
ReplyDeleteann
Well first off you're not a freak... you might be a little crazy though however not to worry that is one of the requirments to be a writer so you've successfully passed the first test!
ReplyDeleteAs far as random and weird things before I write I wouldn't say I have any... I write what I feel and when I feel it however when I've found THE song for my MC and the playlist for my novel the songs repeat so frequently in my head that I must have them playing in a certain order to be able to concentrate and write my heart out until it's finished!!!
Talli, I'd say that's a bit more than "slightly OCD." LOL
ReplyDeleteIt's okay, I won't even go into my own OCD tendencies...
Okay, you're not a freak because of the rituals. But no music??? Are you insane, woman??? (Ha ha!)
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I have rituals, per se, but I definitely have places of comfort and places I DO NOT like to write. I tried doing the coffee shop thing for a while, but I was paranoid that somehow my not-so-stellar prose was like... projecting itself onto the walls and that everyone was reading over my shoulder. Plus, even Bose headphones don't completely block out some of the bad coffee shop music.
ReplyDeleteI think I might move around too much to actually have rituals... no wait, that's not true. I don't have external rituals, but I have tons for the actual laptop. My documents open can't all collapse into one mega window thing at the bottom of windows, they have to be lined up. Itunes also has to be open, though I might not actually be listening to music. I cannot write in any font but TimesNR, and if my document is not zoomed to 100%, I can't begin.
You're not alone. I must have Mozart playing gently in the background, a pot of tea within arm’s reach, my favorite pen and a pad of ruled paper with my dictionary, thesaurus and quotation index at my finger tips on the kitchen table. You think you are leaning towards freakish, you are only trotting after me! LOL
ReplyDeleteI have to have my chapter play list (I create one for each)
ReplyDeleteMy Siamese cat, Mooshu on his bed in my office (he pretty much sleeps in whatever room I am in)
Hot coco or tea and warm lightening =)
Haha your so cute!
ReplyDeleteI have to have had at least 3 cups of coffee, background noise (which comes with the office) and I have to be in a certain mood which can be achieved by alot of candy!
Gotta have candy while Im writing!
Yay! I'm not alone! I'm not a freak - or maybe I'm a freak in good company?
ReplyDeleteThanks, all, for sharing your rituals! :)
Can your water glass be half empty instead? ;-)
ReplyDeleteI need to sit in my usual spot on the couch, but first, I have to take a potty break. I don't want to spoil a muse by having to get up in the middle of writing a scene. Then, I open either Pandora or my writing music list. I have to have my earbuds in--it drowns out household noises so I can focus. I prefer to have my SF Rockstar, but if it's evening, might be a Diet Coke or water. That's it.
i used to have to play a game of minesweeper or solitaire (and then it would morph into a "play until i win" sor of deal) but i think i've pretty much gotten over that
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteBefore I start writing I have to read The Archers' Messageboard just to reassure myself I'm not the only one driven mad by what's going on in Ambridge. I have a squizz at Twitter, and perhaps the blogs of writers that I follow.
Then I light a row of scented candles on the windowsill, turn on the radio downstairs so that there's sound, but not too close and then with my mug (always the same one) of water to my right, I'm ready to start writing.
Glass of water, full, clean ashtray, complete silence and maybe a snack, depends on what time it is.
ReplyDeleteI've actually been TRYING to recreate some rituals I've let slip. I used to have a number of rituals for when I'd write. Unfortunately, my writing schedule became so sporadic and unpredictable that I finally had to just write whenever I could, wherever I could regardless of the circumstances. As a result, my writing doesn't have any rituals now except that words must somehow be produced.
ReplyDeleteMy life is much too chaotic for rituals. I write when I can. I have run to my desk and typed standing up for thirty seconds.
ReplyDeleteWhat great writing rituals!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd very normal they are too - and if they all help the creative juices to flow - why not?!?!?!
:-)
Oooh writing rituals?!?! Must have a snack, a glass of solpadeine (I get headaches staring at the pc!), coffee and a cat nearby! Oh peace and absolute silence. And a cat nearby.
LOL!
take care
x
I've heard of writers who put a lucky article of clothing on when they sit down to write. I've got to start auditioning wardrobe options!
ReplyDeleteGuess I'm a freak in a different way, because I can't think of any rituals. Other than I don't write in the first hour after coming home.
ReplyDeleteI actually have to have music playing and I have a whole "Writing Music" playlist on my iPod. I also like complete silence (aside from the music) but that doesn't always happen.
ReplyDeleteOh, I also have a "Lucky Pencil". It is the pencil I used to write my very first story and it has been sharpened down to just the tiniest of nubs. I'll be framing it someday. ;)
Nope you aren't wierd. Although I don't have too many rituals left, I used to have my fair share.
ReplyDeleteLOL :) Not a freak at all! I need tea (Earl Grey or Chai) & either music or the tv on for background noise.
ReplyDeleteI have rituals for a lot of things I do. I'm an athlete as well and have rituals for that.
ReplyDeleteFor writing, I have to get my music going first off to get the muse going. Then I get my thesaurus and dictionary ready. Everything has to be situated for me as well. :) You're not alone.
I used to have more ritual to my work .. but the kiddos kept messing it up and I realized that if I waited for silence or a clean desk (my previous requirements), I'd never get anything done.
ReplyDeleteso, I had to let go of those things and learn that I can write through the chaos. that was an important lesson for me.
The only ritual/thing I need is a cup of coffee at my side. I'm not sure this is a writing ritual though, I pretty much need a cup of coffee by my side all day long - but there's no way I'm writing without it.
ReplyDeleteMy rituals change depending on where I write. At the coffeeshop I need my tea my blueberry scone.
ReplyDeleteAt home, it's all about stealing a chunk of time and a quiet place. That's it!
My bed must be made and my kitchen must be tidy and then I write.
ReplyDeleteAnd I do like to organize my papers a lot.
The tv has to be on with the sound off. Always on my couch with my laptop and in sweatpants if possible. I guess that's why I do most of my writing either when I wake in the morning or after I put the kids to bed.
ReplyDeleteHaving dabbled in OCD before, I try to not let myself develop any rituals - but a hot pot of coffee by my side seems to make the words flow better!
ReplyDeleteHow funny! Can't you write unless you have all these things? I don't have any rituals - all I need is my laptop, my notebook and a pen - and preferably some tea:)
ReplyDeleteI actually have to have music playing, but only something that themes with my story.Glass of water in my reach. iPod. No tv and no threat of anyone coming in to bug me or I just get too agitated.
ReplyDeleteThat's it!
I've never been able to work with music playing. It was the same with my homework when I was at school. There has to be silence or no ideas come. I have no actual rituals but since Mr.A has retired I may develop a ritual of going down the garden and hiding away in the shed. I can't write with people in the house. How anti-social is that?
ReplyDeleteI more often have to have the right mindset and mood. I'm a moody writer. Ha!
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter where I write but I do like to have music or something else going on the background. I like writing in cafe's a lot, sometimes people watching helps me create realistic side characters and such.
But most often, I just sit anywhere in my apartment, writing playlist going on the stereo and my G2 and moleskine in hand. :)
I need everything else on my to-do list done first!
ReplyDeleteI also require silence and a water glass, and I'm only truly content if I'm in my little office and I'm wearing sweatpants.
ReplyDeleteYou're not alone. And I'm glad you wrote this post because it was fascinating to read about your rituals as well as everyone else's. When I write fiction, I like writing in coffee houses; in Chicago there are coffee houses everywhere so they're hard to resist anyway.
ReplyDelete