The Comfort of Writing Rituals

I admit it. Bubbles of anxiety bounce around my stomach just before I begin my writing day. One thing I’ve found helpful is to have writing rituals, things I do before I get going on my work. In that way, I think I’m no different than anyone setting themselves up to undertake something that’s going to require focus and concentration. Watch your favorite baseball player preparing to face a pitcher, or a basketball player getting ready to shoot free throws, and chances are you’ll notice that they repeat physical actions that mentally prepare them to perform—whether it’s swinging the bat or bouncing the basketball a certain number of times.

Now that I think about it, when I was dancing professionally, I was the same way. There were certain exercises I absolutely had to do to feel confident I was ready to go on stage. One of my husband’s favorite stories is asking me before a performance if I wanted to review a section of a duet we were about to perform, and my saying, “I can’t right now. I’m only up to dégagés in my warmup.”

As a writer, my rituals involve creating the illusion of entering my own little writer’s cave. In the mornings, after I exercise, I go into my office, water and coffee in tow, and shut my door. Then I light a candle, turn the string of lights on around my desk that my dear husband has strung up, and boot up my computer.  I open up the day’s work and always begin by reviewing and doing some light editing on what I wrote the day before. That seems to really help me push on to new writing.

I also play music, sometimes related to whatever I’m writing. For example, when I was working on Deadly Setup, I played lots of music from the 1930s and 40s, since my protagonist was a pianist who loved old standards from the American Songbook. I know lots of writers who prefer absolute silence, but for me, music helps me go into my writing zone.

Of course, I haven’t mentioned the most important aspect of my own writing ritual, which is repetition. The more consecutive days I enter my office to write, the more productive I am—and the more I enjoy the process.