Do you have a writing ritual?
And if you don’t, what would it look like?
I have a friend who puts on her rings before she stretches and flexes her fingers over the keyboard. She always wears the same five. It’s not a series of actions, it’s just the one, but that’s her writing ritual. It’s like she’s putting on a uniform or costume. Maybe she thinks the shiny metal will attract the muses. Maybe it does.
I have a friend who always writes in the morning. She wakes up, washes her face, and puts on a clean shirt and her glasses. She also puts on perfume. It’s like she gets ready to go out, and steps into her world of words instead.
I have another friend who journals and says she likes to light a candle or a couple of them. Her reflections aren’t always relaxing, but she says she likes setting the scene like it is a self-love moment.
Some writers tell you to lock yourself up: a writer needs a room of one’s own. Stephen King tells you to shut the door on the world, so you can create your own. Elizabeth Gilbert tells you to slip away like you’re having an affair and guard that intimate moment when it’s just you and your words.
I’m not sure if I have a ritual (yet?). I write anywhere and everywhere, on my computer, and my phone, my notebooks, and loose pieces of paper. In the morning when I’ve just woken up, and also rushing out of the shower to write down the ideas as they come, and at night when I’m falling asleep and my eyes feel heavy and my handwriting comes out all clumsy and typo-laden.
Having said that, I do have a playlist I like to write to, and sometimes (though I know this is weird) I’ll write with the same song on repeat. It’s a sort of non-aggressive white noise for the brain, like on some level it can listen so it doesn’t hear everything else. I have a desk where I love to imagine myself writing. It’s a perfect desk with a perfect view, even before I got it, I would look at the spot where it sits and think: that’s where I’ll write. And I do sometimes, but is it the sacred writing spot I thought it’d be? Is it the altar where I light the candles and call upon the muse and go into a writing trance? No, (not yet?). I write there as often as I write sitting on the balcony ledge or the couch.
I do like the idea of the ritual: of these small steps and gestures to tell myself this is the moment we’ve carved out for the words. If I had to make one up right now, thinking of the moments when I’m most “inspired”, I think my ritual would probably start with an exercise to clear my mind: breathing or taking a walk. Maybe have a snack handy, as if to tell the muses we’ll be here a while and then I’d put on my writing playlist, open the word document and select the font I like.
What does your ritual look like?
