Ritual vs. Inspiration, & The Subtle Happiness of Writing
On writer’s block, inspiration as luxury, and the quiet contentment of putting pen to paper.
Does writing require ritual or inspiration? If you want to write, you’ll need to have at least one of the two — though having both is ideal. Let me tell you why:
Ritual begets inspiration.
Let me explain.
My favorite time to write is in the morning, twenty minutes after I wake up, coffee in hand. I often write in bed, pushing aside the ‘don't work where you sleep’ rule, where I can look at my favorite tree — a luxury in New York.
I can write at 2 pm; I can write at 8 pm. But the best writing I do, the kind where thoughts flow easily and my body is content to sit for an hour or so, happens in the morning.
In other words, ritual offers glimmers — or a full-blown spotlight, depending on the day — of inspiration.
Inspiration Is a Luxury
On the rarest of occasions, I wake up knowing exactly what I want to write about.
But most days, I wake up knowing that I want to write (thank you, rituals), but without a topic. Even knowing that writing will bring me some form of happiness, I do not necessarily know where to start.
Hedging Your Bets
Be prepared for inspiration throughout the day. You don’t need to write then and there, just write down your idea and save it for later.
For the majority of times when you lack inspiration, create a backlog of topics for later on.
When it’s morning again, I choose the writing prompt that appeals to me — writing prompt being a generous term for the collection of words that I scrawl into Medium drafts — and go from there.
Write Poorly and Quickly
I used to be paid to write articles in less than an hour.
Ignoring the potential ethical implications of having ill-informed 22-year-olds writing articles that thousands of people read, the ability to write quickly on topics that mean little to me is a great skill.
These articles were never groundbreaking, but they did teach me the merits of starting somewhere— and that writing can be done without a lick of inspiration (or real knowledge, for that matter).
Does Writers’ Block Exist?
Like Anne Lamott, I’m not a big believer in writer’s block, most likely because it has never been something that I’ve allowed myself to experience.
At school, papers had to be completed, and, as a nerd, I enjoyed writing them.
At work, there are real-world unmissable deadlines for content that I must create.
In my personal writing, there are two kinds of topics: things I want to write about, and things that I don’t. Though neither will be easy, the latter is always hard. As this writing is supposed to be fun, I push those subjects aside.
Writer’s block is a glamourous term for not having the right topic or the right disposition.
Do You Force Yourself to Write, or No?
When I first started writing for pleasure, some degree of force was involved. I did not create a fascist schedule of making myself write for X hours per day. But during times when I don’t want to write, I ask myself a couple of questions.
What would I rather do right now than write?
Sometimes there is a real answer to this. I would rather watch Succession than write. I would rather gorge myself on Italian food and wine rather than write.
To quote Anaïs Nin, “I am more interested in human beings than in writing, more interested in lovemaking than in writing, more interested in living than in writing.”
But, most often, especially in the mornings, as my ritual has encouraged, there is nothing I would rather be doing.
What can I do right now that would make me feel better than writing?
Again, this isn’t a rhetorical question. Working out can make me feel physically better than writing — especially if I am feeling antsy and not getting much done anyway.
Scrolling through Twitter or Instagram, online shopping, or re-watching an episode of Selling Sunset will not.
Learning to Recognize Subtle Happiness
When we opt for television, shopping, or social media over something like writing, we’re choosing the cheap, stronger dopamine hit over something more subtle.
The feeling of quiet satisfaction, of staving off existential dread for a few hours, of creating, rather than consuming — these are hard emotions to recognize in the face of immediate, tech-driven gratification.
They are also critical if you are to write.
There are two kinds of happiness, in my opinion, and only full-body euphoria draws headlines. The other kind, the kind that you, like me, probably get from writing, is less sugar rush and more food for the soul.
Ritual helps me remember that I want these feelings, and inspiration represents the lucky shot of euphoria that comes from doing something slow and gratifying, despite everything telling you otherwise.
