Writing Rituals, Do You Do anything special?

[Mike Martyn]

I curious about whether anybody has things they have to do before they start their daily writing (please no bodily function stuff!).

Me, I have a computer set up in a basement bedroom, I turn on my computer, open the window and put on my writing shoes, a pair of vintage Chuck Taylor All Stars, the black ones with the white toe caps.

Sure, I can write elsewhere in modern sneakers but it doesn't feel the same.

[three seven]

I do. I stare blankly at my monitor for hours. Then I have a nervous breakdown. Then I have a cup of tea.

[LightShadow]

I close the door, turn off any distractions (tv, radio, etc.) and write. If I stumble, I read for a while, then I write. Problem is, once I get going, I don't come out for a long time more often than not. I am known to lock myself in the room early morning and not come out until 14 hours later. I've got to. I work 14 hour days six days a week, so Sunday is my day to catch up. 14 hours in one day, I suppose, is the same I would do if I wrote two hours a day seven days a week, right?

[Mistook]

I turn off the lights, crack open a beer, and light a cigarette.

[Richard]

Procrastinate! Although occasionally I find I can put that off until later, if there's something good on TV.

[kristie911]

It's not really a ritual...more of a compulsion maybe. If I am forced to write or edit longhand (without my laptop) I can only use a medium point Vision Elite pen by Uni-ball in blue-black ink and write in a one subject spiral bound notebook with a black cover.

Okay, now I just feel weird admitting that.

If I have my laptop, I can write anytime, anywhere and tune out any distractions...I think my laptop is actually my muse...I love it.

Oh and I can't write on my desktop computer because I get sick to my stomach. It's a long boring story why.

Okay, I'm off to check myself into the mental hospital because I just realized I'm completely insane.

[scarletpeaches]

I write better with just-washed hair. I think it helps my brain work.

[willietheshakes]

(please no bodily function stuff!).


<Kramer> I'm out! < /Kramer>

In all seriousness, for me it's all about the ritual. Or the ritualization...
When I'm starting on a new (fiction) project, I can dicker away a whole lot of time looking for the right notebook (the novel that's coming out next fall was written in square-bound, perforated school notebooks, about 8 of them, using only the right-hand pages to reserve the left-hand pages for notes and tip-ins; the current project is written in 8.5x11 sketchbooks bound on the short side which I'm using as the top so it becomes a hard-back notepad) and figuring out the right pen (current project: Pelikan Steno fountain pen and Pelikan M250 fountain pen, both using Noodler's Black). Then keeping the pens filled, the coffee made, picking the right music...

For the reviewing and such, there's a lot less ritual: whichever computer I happen to be in front of.

[Cabinscribe]

I can't compose fiction very well on a keyboard.

I have to write longhand, and only with a Parker pen. I use either a Parker Jotter with gel ink, or a Parker fountain pen (I have a Vector and another that I think is an Insignia.)

Then, I have to write in either a spiral notebook (70 page college-ruled) or a legal pad (white or lavendar paper only) and I have special pad holders for each of these.

I'm so happy Mike started this thread. It felt really good to confess!

[Azure Skye]

When I write longhand I have to use a fine point pen and it has to be black ink. I have to write in a spiral notebook, college ruled and there can't be anything else written in the notebook. Why? I don't know.

I can't write on my desktop computer. For some reason the old laptop I have works better for me. I also prefer to write when there's no one else in the house but have found I write better and more when I'm in public, like Starbuck's.

[reph]

I write better and more when I'm in public, like Starbuck's.
Maybe it's the caffeine?

[scarletpeaches]

Or perhaps people see you with a pad and pen and think, "Hmm, a writer..." So if you sit and stare into space (research, planning, it IS work you know!) they think you're being lazy, so you think in turn, "Hmm, I better get some words down on paper." Maybe the presence of other people forces one to put pen-to-paper or fingers-to-keyboard?!

[Saanen]

I feel so normal after reading everyone else's posts! I like to write longhand, although I don't have a particular type of notebook or paper I prefer. I like college-bound spiral notebooks, but I'll also write on anything handy.

I am particular about my pens. I prefer the Pilot Precise Rolling Ball pens; black ink is best but blue (or even green) is acceptable. Other colors seem to affect me in odd ways, although I've tried them all--red makes me feel hot, aqua and pink make me feel weak, and lavender makes me feel sort of blinkered. Okay, now I feel less normal. Anyway, I like the V7 best, but it's hard to find so mostly I write with the finer tipped V5.

I always read at least a few pages of what I wrote last time before I start. It gets me into the rhythm, reminds me of threads I need to pick up, and gives me a quick editing pass.

[scarletpeaches]

When I write in longhand, it has to be a blue bic biro on narrow-lined paper. Does this make me the odd one out?!

[Azure Skye]

Maybe it's the caffeine?

Unfortunately I have to limit my caffeine. I think it's because I get distracted easily by things at home and when I'm in public I'm forced to sit and not do anything else or worry about anything else. Therefore I can concentrate better and get more done.

[KTC]

I write poetry. Non-descript continuous flow. It's my way of shaking out the cobwebs and finding out what falls out.

I almost always write on my keyboard.

I don't really have rituals when i get bic, but when I am not writing I picture my character's lurking around corners impatiently. I picture them angry that I am spending my time without them. That sometimes helps me to get bic, but at other times causes me to just give them the finger.

[cwfgal]

My only ritual is caffeine. Gotta have it. I used to write in longhand, but arthritis forced me to learn to write on the keyboard instead.

Beth

[BlueTexas]

When I write longhand, it has to be pencil or a roller-type pen. I like Zebra's Sarasa the best. Note-taking is in pencil, too.

Mostly I write on the computer, though. I get more done on a laptop in my backyard than I do at the desktop--I blame the cats.

[rhymegirl]

I light some candles and chant.



(and of course I'm only kidding)

No rituals. Just get the job done.

[WannabeWriter]

I take my laptop to a Borders bookstore and work on my novel there. It's refreshing to do it away from home.

[Ray Dillon]

I like your idea, Wannabe. Too bad we don't have a borders in Podunk, KS. :(

However, I do occasionally go to the public library (which is probably my favorite place to be besides home). It's a pretty awesome, two-story library and has recently been remodeled really well. I have a table downstairs in the kids library (I write kid's fiction primarily) that I tuck myself away at with my iBook.

The only problem with that is that I'm paranoid about leaving my computer unattended when I go to the bathroom or anything, so when I have to, I pack it all up and go, then come back and get going again. That has led to some inspirations for scenes, though.

MY NORMAL ROUTINE: I have a gamer's bean-bag chair in the corner of my room. I keep all the lights off (during the day), because I have issues about electronic, yellow light vs. natural, white/blue reflected light. I sit there with my laptop and a giant bottle of water.

The act of turning on my laptop is what really gets me in the mood, though. It's the reason I bought the iBook. I already have a good computer for art and whatnot. Couldn't get comfortable enough to write on it, though.

I need to start turning off my desktop computer, though. ;) (That's the one with the internet)

Good question, Mike. It's interesting to visual all these writers in their unique routines and locations.

[orlien]

When I'm editing and analyzing a first draft, I'm burning peppermint oil. It makes my mind very clear. :cool:
It doesn't work for "real" writing though. I'm looking for something slightly entrancing that might help. Still searching.

[E.G. Gammon]

My rituals aren't nearly as involved as some listed here, but here's mine:

While I OCCASIONALLY like to write in public (when I was in high school, I'd long for that lunch hour where I'd skip the food and write the whole time), my current WIP (a 5-novel series) has too much 'hard-paper' to take it with me to a public place. After I weeded through almost 8 years of work this past summer, eliminating papers that aren't really important to the current story (because they contained information on old plots or characters), I ended up with 4, 3" binders and 1, 1" binder - all of them full of papers dealing with the plot. I can't really take that out with me, ya know. So, I've learned to love writing at home.

While writing at home, I have to be comfortable; this means no jeans, tight shirts, and socks that aren't big roomy ones with the prickly things on the bottom. I love wearing a big t-shirt, and thick - but soft - draw-string pants. People who come over have learned not to look at me with disgust, when I head up the stairs with my hair and clothes in disarray.

I also have to write at the right time of the day. Being a writer, I tend to go all off schedule, all the time, sometimes sleeping during the day and being up all night and sometimes the other way around. Writing in the middle of the night works best for me, because everyone in the house is asleep (no distractions), everyone in the country is asleep (no annoying phone calls that disrupt my train of thought), the roads outside are quiet, and there's not a d*mn thing on tv worth watching that will distract me from my work. And for some reason, I write some of my best stuff - those rare passages that writers actually read later and still love - on the verge of sleep.

My writing environment has to be perfect, too. The first thing is the temperature: I tell ya, it's a b*tch trying to be comfortable in the hot Virginia weather, because any fan I blow towards me ends up blowing my many papers everywhere (I don't have an air-conditioner!). Luckily, autumn weather is approaching and the heat is dying down, so I don't really have to worry about the temperature of the room anymore.

I'm also particular about the lighting in the room. My 15 year-old brother hates how bright my work area is, but writers do need light and lots of it. My eyes are bad enough having discovered the very addictive internet a few years ago. Any straining to see, due to bad lighting, is sure to ruin my already flawed eyesight by the time I'm 30.

Finding the right work area is tough for me, too. I really like writing by hand and having a hard copy of everything I write. I just don't trust computers anymore. This is the second one I've had (I lost my first one to lack of internet common sense and enough spyware to take down the White House computers). And, writing everything out by hand requires a nice, again COMFORTABLE, work surface. I've tried writing at my desk but it doesn't work for me. I've tried one of those lap-desks, with the bean-bag attached to the bottom. That didn't work. I've tried one of those tiltable hospital-style, bed-side tables. That didn't work (mainly because the only one I could find less than 100 bucks was made of material flimsier than cardboard boxes). Finally I found something that did: the Table-Mate II, this white table with a work surface that can tilt to 3 different angles, and has L shaped legs, letting it fit under the edge of any couch or bed, so you can pull it right up to you - I prefer working on the edge of my bed with it. The desk is perfect for me and it was only 30 bucks.

Now, materials... The most important thing of all (for me anyway). I have to have the right materials. And for me, they are white legal pads - NEVER yellow - even if 'yellow' is 'thought to be a color which stimulated the intellect' because they, really do a number on your eyes after 4 or 5 hours staring at them - and the perfect pen: a black 'Uniball VISION Fine Rollerball Pen.' These are my favorite pens and I LITERALLY have a box with 200 of them in my desk right now. I can't use another pen; I feel like I'm cheatin' on the Uniball VISION Fine. And pencils are out of the question. I HATE pencils. I have a piece of writing I wrote in pencil about 7 and a half years ago (when I first started developing my novel series), that you can't even read anymore because the lead has worn away. You have no idea how frustrating it is, wondering what was written on that piece of paper and if knowing what it was now, would make the current story any better.

Well, I think that about sums it up. Hmm, I guess that comment above about my rituals not being as "involved" as everyone else's, was sarcasm...

[Ray Dillon]

I can't remember the last time I wrote something by hand on paper. I think I'd spend too much time scribbling stuff out, starting over on a new page, etc. Just like with this sentence, as I write, I end up going back and rewriting to change a word or two. It would drive me crazy not to have that ability. I like the idea of writing on paper, but I just can't do it. I remember back in high school I wanted to write more, but I didn't have a computer, so I didn't. Finally I got a word processor, but it wasn't compatible with anything else, so I eventually abandoned it for the computers at the library.

EDIT: Oh, and thankfully, I finally have a couple of computers, including my iBook, specifically for writing. In fact, I even do all of my artwork on computer now. Photoshop and a Wacom tablet. Guess I'm just a computer junkie. :hat:

[WannabeWriter]

It doesn't have to be a bookstore where you can write. Come to think of it, even a library is a good place. Any place that is cool inside and has an electrical outlet to plug in your computer is a nice place to write. :)

[scarletpeaches]

I like to write in libraries (but I leave the laptop at home to be on the safe side). I feel as if I'm soaking up the creativity of others who've gone before. This isn't essential; I do my best writing at home, where I feel safe and secure and uninterrupted! But it's a nice 'treat', and it can give me a shake-up to write in a different environment to the norm.

[reph]

E. G. Gammon and others in the heat: We recently got a portable evaporative cooler. It's a low-tech substitute for built-in air conditioning. The thing weighs 25 pounds; you can wheel it around; it actually lowers the temperature in a room, as opposed to just moving air, so you can point it away from the papers and still get some coolth. It works best in dry heat.

The brand is WisperCool.

[E.G. Gammon]

E. G. Gammon and others in the heat: We recently got a portable evaporative cooler. It's a low-tech substitute for built-in air conditioning. The thing weighs 25 pounds; you can wheel it around; it actually lowers the temperature in a room, as opposed to just moving air, so you can point it away from the papers and still get some coolth. It works best in dry heat.

The brand is WisperCool.

Thanks, I'll try to find one in my area!

[pickman]

I don't usually have any rituals before writing, but when I wrote my novels I would always play the same CD in the background. I don't know why, as music should distract me, but I found that if I played the same album each time I sat down to write then it would act as an anchor, triggering the atmosphere of the novel in my mind. I know it sounds weird, but it did work. I played Joy Division's 'Unknown Pleasures' album throughout my first novel, and some compilation CD I recorded for the second.

[vmtwriter]

I don't know if it's because I'm a procrastinator, but I can't seem to write until I have my "chores" done. I have a wonderful husband that works so I don't have to, and I get to spend my time at home writing. But, I can't write when I know I have things to do, so I like to get them done and out of the way. I also can't write first thing in the morning. I'm better at writing in the afternoon. The words flow better during that time. I guess that's not too weird.

[Jamesaritchie]

I don't know if it's because I'm a procrastinator, but I can't seem to write until I have my "chores" done. I have a wonderful husband that works so I don't have to, and I get to spend my time at home writing. But, I can't write when I know I have things to do, so I like to get them done and out of the way. I also can't write first thing in the morning. I'm better at writing in the afternoon. The words flow better during that time. I guess that's not too weird.

I find this interesting. I'm the exact opposite. I can't do other things at all well when I know I have writing to do, so I like to get the writing done early. Then, my guilt assuaged, I can concentrate on those irritating but necessary daily taskes that must be done.

[oswann]

...and still get some coolth.



Tell me 'coolth' exists as a word and you've made my day. Brilliant.


Os.

[Pat~]

When I write, it's usually very early in the morning and after some inspirational reading (I write devotionals and poetry, among other things). I'm in my favorite reading chair in our library, and write longhand on a legal pad, always with a Bic mechanical pencil. When I write later in the day, though, it tends to be on my laptop--esp. if I'm working on an article or my book. Usually I write best when I'm alone, and when all is quiet. I'll either be in my office, or out on the back upstairs balcony where I can watch the cows grazing on the ranch across the road. Thankfully, I have the house to myself during the day, but if I'm getting too distracted by the Internet, I'll pack up the laptop and go to Starbuck's where the 'peer pressure' keeps me on task (and where there's no Internet access, at least for me). This tactic also works if I get writer's block.

[StoryG27]

I have a VERY strict routine.

~First: go to my 'secret room'
~ Start a fire using undisclosed flamables (sorry, it's a secret)
~ Dance naked around the fire, summoning the writing gods
~ Make sacrifices to summoned gods to please them
~ Next, I have to call on the computer gods, so the comp won't crash while I'm writing
~ They also demand sacrifices
~ Finally, I purge my mind and cleanse my soul...ready to sit at the computer and write...
but frankly, after all that work, I'm just too dang tired to write.

Ok, seriously, I have no routine, no set things I do. I can write while kids climb all over me and take breaks to fetch snacks every five minutes. I can write in solutide and silence. It really doesn't matter when or where. Once I get that urge to write and I get involved, bombs could detonate around me and I'd hardly notice. And if I have to take a break, I can sit down and immediately pick up right where I left off. It all just depends on if I'm in the 'groove' or not. If not, any distraction catches my attention, and it's basically just best for me to do something else at those times. Oh, but I never write long-hand. I'd never be able to read it later if I did

[Jaycinth]

Feed the cat.(Or he will jump on my keyboard and create havoc.)

Get my CD's back from my children. ( I didn't take MY parents records, what IS this facination with MY music?)

Threaten my family with serious bodily harm if they so much as tiptoe past my door or even think about me too hard.

Set the alarm clock and put it in the kitchen so they know when they can bother me.

Turn the TV on, turn the sound off, and angle it away so I can't really see the picture. (I dunno, it helped me get A's on my college papers. Maybe I just need a fireplace)

Turn off my Cell Phone.

Make a cup of tea, coffee, or get a glass of beer depending on the day, time and outside temperature.

And read the last 5 pages I wrote.

[Albedo of Zero]

I sit in an old-mesh-bare lawn chair in my garden between the rows of slug-retarded peppers and bug-spit-holed tomatoes and in front of some viney purple giant-bumblebee-attracting flowers clinging to the fence.

Next to me on a small hippy-blue polyurethane table sits an ashtray melted Dali-ish in spots, a cigarette pack with only six smokes, a lighter and a 32oz. glass of iced tea with exactly five icecubes.

In my lap is a red five-subject spiral notebook and a #2 yellow pencil sharpened to a point that could poke an eye out of Washington's Mount Rushmore head.

Nobody from my family in their right mind will disturb me with the exception of the cat and a huge grasshopper I named Bud. There I write, until one of the following events transpire: I smoke all six cigarettes; I empty the glass of iced tea(drinking or spilling); the pencil point becomes fat or breaks; I get stung by a bee; it rains.

That is outside writing. Inside writing simply happens when I walk into my bedroom, take the doorknob out of the door and sit at the computer.

[MarkPettus]

Once the drugs take effect, all I do is whisper in the monkey's ear and he types my story for me.

[Azure Skye]

Once the drugs take effect, all I do is whisper in the monkey's ear and he types my story for me.


Hahahhaa! Where does one find a monkey like that and does he come supplied with the drugs?

[JANE007]

I sit with my feet up on the coffee table, my laptop on my lap, a glass of wine (or any kind of alcoholic beverage) within an arms reach, and I type out point form random ideas as they invade my brain. Some are good, some are bad, some are worse than bad. I delete the ones that suck and continue to write my book, developing it with the ideas that I spewed out.

Or sometimes I just giver.

[reph]

Jane007, what are point form random ideas, and what does givering look like?

[JANE007]

Jane007, what are point form random ideas, and what does givering look like?

Random point form ideas (usually written while i'm lightly "sauced") go a lil' somethin' like this:

- Jeff has affair with Summer's roommate
- No... Jeff is GAY!! Yeah that's it.
- Summer quits crappy burger job.
- Finds fame as a photographer
- Jeff goes to jail for fraud
- Summer becomes alcoholic
- Hooks up with an abusive dude
- Summer pines for Jeff (who she can never have)
- I'm getting another glass of wine
- Oh no, there's no more wine left
- Better move on to beer then
- Oh, back to the story
- Yeah, so Jeff is in jail and Summer is missing him

That kind of thing...

To "just giver" is kind of like the Nike slogan "Just do it". If you've seen the movie FUBAR (which you probably haven't cuz it's not a blockbuster or anything) you'll hear that phrase a million times over. You just gotta keep on given' er (translation: keep writing)!

[Lyra Jean]

Okay, I can only write at work during my 2 15 breaks and my 1 hour break. I write long hand in a journal I bought at the medieval faire. It's a cover made of black and green leather and has a simple turn lock w/o a key to keep it shut. The journal is removeable so when it is filled I can replace it with a new one. I can only write on unlined paper. Lines are distracting for some reason. I can't write on a computer it's a block to me.

After writing a couple hundred words I open a file on my computer and copy my long hand into the computer. I ignore all the grammar/spelling mistakes that are pointed out to me. Then I switch pen colors. It doesn't matter what color I use as long as it is different from the previous color I wrote with and it can't be red. It must be a gel pen. Red is reserved for editing only. I change colors so I can keep track of what I already typed and what I still need to type. If I lose my pen and can't find the same color then I type what I wrote and switch colors. Black gel ink is my favorite.

I can only edit at home and I only edit when I'm finished a complete chapter. A chapter for my purpose is around 4000 words. Then I go to my computer copy fix all the mistakes they point out, print and pull out my red ink. I make a few copies of each of my chapters for friends and family to read. It keeps me motivated and they know that it is a rough draft.

So far it's working. I'm already on chapter three.

[willietheshakes]

To "just giver" is kind of like the Nike slogan "Just do it". If you've seen the movie FUBAR (which you probably haven't cuz it's not a blockbuster or anything) you'll hear that phrase a million times over. You just gotta keep on given' er (translation: keep writing)!

Yup. It's a Canadian-ism (and I'm getting flashbacks of my skunk-smoky youth, so you'll have to wait a moment while I put on a copy of Back in Black -- okay, I'm back).

I think it has to do with engines, and the personification of machines as female. IE, "give her the gas", meaning to accelerate or step up in intensity, shortened over time to 'give'er'.

[L M Ashton]

Yup. It's a Canadian-ism (and I'm getting flashbacks of my skunk-smoky youth, so you'll have to wait a moment while I put on a copy of Back in Black -- okay, I'm back).

I think it has to do with engines, and the personification of machines as female. IE, "give her the gas", meaning to accelerate or step up in intensity, shortened over time to 'give'er'.

I guess I'm so Canadian that I didn't realize it was a Canadianism. I thought everyone said that. Go figure.

Me, when I'm writing (not for plotting, editing, polishing or anything else other than blitz drafting), I wear my trusty elephant hat (http://www.srilanka.laurieashton.com/arc20050717.htm#BlogID1214).

[inexperiencedinker]

I have an itune play list named 'writing' that contains Norah Jones, Michael Buble (sp?), Frank Sinatra, and Sheryl Crow. The eagles and some other slow tunes make guest appearances, but right now, Michael Buble's song "Home" is the most mournful, beautiful, hopeful song I have ever heard.

So, I turn on my play list, fiddle with the speakers, press pause on the music and go outside and smoke. (we don't smoke in our house) I bring paper and pen just in case something 'comes to me', but this has yet to happen. I come back inside, go to the kitchen to throw away my butt ( ) and get a glass of ice water. I wipe up the dirty counter, rearrange the unopened mail, and go back upstairs.

I turn on the music, crack my neck, and then open one of my 10 documents entitled WiP.doc, WiP 2.doc, WiP Better.doc, Generation F.doc, Final Frank.doc, WiP-1.doc, WiP-Final.doc. They all contain the exact same story, just slightly edited. I am afraid to delete something once I write it down.

I pause itunes, go downstairs to get my water. I go outside and smoke, stare at the paper. I talk to my neighbor for thirty minutes about my 'writing' for the day, smoke four more cigarettes (to gear up for my supposed 5 hours that I will be glued to my computer making magic happen) , and then go back inside.

I sit down at my computer and write solidly for forty five minutes, and then realize my water is empty and I REALLY need another smoke. I leave the computer room, and don't return for probably three days.

All I have to show for my trouble is probable lung cancer, and another document entitled 2WiP.doc.

[JackieG]

When I really want to settle in for a long writing workout, I love to put on flannel pajamas, cover my legs with an old hand-made quilt my husband's grandmother made, and sip a cup of English Breakfast tea.

I can't remember the last time I had the luxury, though. These days I'm lucky to get a paragraph written between the knocks on my door, followed by the peeking head of someone in my family asking, "Am I interrupting?"

I'd like to point out that if you have to ask someone if you're interrupting, you probably are. :)

[AdamH]

To "just giver" is kind of like the Nike slogan "Just do it". If you've seen the movie FUBAR (which you probably haven't cuz it's not a blockbuster or anything) you'll hear that phrase a million times over. You just gotta keep on given' er (translation: keep writing)!

So what I do to just giver :) (Haven't heard that term since I grew up in a small village in rural New Brunswick. Don't hear it so much in the city.) is:

-Find my "writing hat" (a black baseball cap that I put on backwards. I fits like a glove!)
-Put on some music (doesn't matter what. Usually anything with a good beat.)
-Stare blankly at the screen or page as I disconnect from the world and lose myself in the music.
-then I write.

[mistri]

I need:

a glass/bottle of water
nibbles
wrist support straps
some kind of background noise, whether it's tv or music, but that isn't too distracting
dictionary.com and wikipedia windows, plus my livejournal friends list and Absolute Write, even though I know I'll surf more than I'll write...

[Thekherham]

I don't really have any rituals.
I just write.

[B.L. Robinson]

Ray, I think the ritual has to do with being born in Podunk, Ks. more than anything. As your near neighbor, having been born and raised in Sticks, Ks., I can certainly see the similarities, LOL!

I sequester myself (after a shower so I can't blame my inabilities to write on offensive body odors) in whatever room I think will take the longest for any member of my family to locate me. I have at times even gone out onto the second floor sun deck (under construction) and sat around the corner where no one can see me. I then plug in one of my "writing artist" cd's (Enya, Sarah Mc., Lorrena McKinnet, Celtic Woman, etc.) and fire up the laptop. After writing for an hour, I read over what I have done and delete all but about five words. (Or so it seems) Lifesavers and Dr. Pepper fuel my brain synapses for roughly two hours, then I shut down and nap for four... wait... that ISN'T the way it is supposed to work? :Shrug:

Bruce

[Ray Dillon]

Ray, I think the ritual has to do with being born in Podunk, Ks. more than anything. As your near neighbor, having been born and raised in Sticks, Ks., I can certainly see the similarities, LOL!

I sequester myself (after a shower so I can't blame my inabilities to write on offensive body odors) in whatever room I think will take the longest for any member of my family to locate me. I have at times even gone out onto the second floor sun deck (under construction) and sat around the corner where no one can see me. I then plug in one of my "writing artist" cd's (Enya, Sarah Mc., Lorrena McKinnet, Celtic Woman, etc.) and fire up the laptop. After writing for an hour, I read over what I have done and delete all but about five words. (Or so it seems) Lifesavers and Dr. Pepper fuel my brain synapses for roughly two hours, then I shut down and nap for four... wait... that ISN'T the way it is supposed to work? :Shrug:

Bruce

Hey! A fellow Kansan! Whaddaya know?! You wouldn't happen to be in Salina, would ya? That would be spooky. ;o)

Yeah, I suppose if I would have grown up in LA or NY, amidst the people and noise, I'd probably be able to write with distractions, but as is, if I hear a pin drop, it throws me off. :idea:

Sounds like you've got some issues to work through with your writing. ;) :sleepy:

[Jamesaritchie]

You know, I never thought of them as rituals, but I guess I do the same things before starting to write each day. Put on a pot of coffee in my office, turn the radio onto some talk channel, usually NPR, just in case one of the programs deals with writers, then open my games folder. I play a quick game of solitaire, then three quick games of Freecell to clear my mind. This takes about fifteen minutes.

Then I set the alarm on my computer and write for 2.5 hours. Then lunch and a walk. After lunch, I put on a second pot of coffee, tune into Old Time Radio and listen to whatever programs are on, anything from Fibber McGee & Molly, to The Life of Riley, to The Shadow, set the alarm again and write for another 2.5 hours.

First drafts are written in the recliner over in the corner, using an antique lap desk and a Penmate Duo Expert mechanical drafting pencil filled with twelve sticks of 4B lead and with a green, slide on, triangular nylon grip. Subsequent drafts are written at the computer.

This varies only rarely. On rare Autumn days, I move my writing to the patio, or even to the park. Once a month or so, if the weather is right, I'll grab a backpack and head for the woods for a night or three.

And every once in a while I'll skip the radio and turn on the TV, or stick a Celtic or classical CD in the player and listen to that.

But far more often than not, teh ritual is set, and I follow it day in and day out.

[aruna]

I find this interesting. I'm the exact opposite. I can't do other things at all well when I know I have writing to do, so I like to get the writing done early. Then, my guilt assuaged, I can concentrate on those irritating but necessary daily taskes that must be done.

Same here. I find it hard to get my mind on domestic issues if I have a story itching in my fingers. When I was in Germany I used to write in the a.m. and my kids came home from school at midday.
A typical conversation around this time: Hi Mum what's for lunch?
Wha... lunch? What time is it?... Damn! I think we have some frozen pizzas...

I can't write if there's a danger of disturbance. Kids at home, husband at home, telephone coudl ring at any time - I hate it!
SO now I write at 4 am. That's my absoulte best time, and I only discovered it a year ago. My mind is free and open, the world is still. Words flow.
Its good, becuase it leaves me the rest of the day to do other things without a bad conscience. Housework, paperwork, Absolute Write; I may be getting a day job soon so that's good too, I do have the time now.
There may come a time when I can retreat from family and world and live in a remote hideout overlooking the Caribbean (that's my dream, folks!) and just write all day.

Till then it's 4 - 6.30, day in, day out.

[aruna]

Oh, but I never write long-hand. I'd never be able to read it later if I did

That's another thing. I can't either. My hands are much too slow for my thoughts so it would all come out a muddle.

[Jamesaritchie]

That's another thing. I can't either. My hands are much too slow for my thoughts so it would all come out a muddle.

My hands being slower than my thoughts is one of the things I like best about longhand. It means I think about something two or three or four times before I actually write it. By the time a sentence goes down on paper, it's already been rewritten and edited in my mind.

[AdamH]

About 90% of my first drafts are written long hand too. Like James, it gives me a chance to edit while I go. Plus I enjoy the look of the organized chaos that falls upon the pages. The scribbled notes in the margins as I come up with a new wrinkle to add in the plot. The crossed out phrases (sometimes paragraphs) that happens when I realize the story is going in a different direction than before so those words become irrelevant.

Then when all that is written and done, and the first draft is finished, I move to the computer and edit again as I type.

[PeeDee]

My quandry is that I type extremely fast, always have, and am therefore used to writing at that pace. Unfortunately, I really love working longhand. I love the scratch of a nice fountain pen against a thick sort of paper. But I get impatient and wind up switching to the computer and finishing whatever I'm working on, leaving a few pages in a notebook of a story that's long-since done. So mostly I use notebooks to scribble thoughts on the story when I have 'em.

As for rituals, I don't havemuch. I like to listen to music while I write, unless of course, I don't. Usually, I have a couple of books in my office somewhere, but the one rule I make for myself there is that I've already read them. Otherwise, I get immersed in a new story and forget about writing my own. American Gods (Neil Gaiman) and A Canticle For Leibowitz (Walter M. Miller, jr.) are always there, but I usually bring a collection fo short stories in too. Anything I can open randomly and let my eyes scan while my brain works on the scene, basically.

Otherwise, I just...write. I write better at night, but I still write just fine in the daytime. I enjoy going out and about, but I like writing at home. Sometimes, in my office on my main computer, sometimes on my laptop on the porch (until killer Minnesota wasps start killing children outdoors, then I go back in). I've always had a sporadic enough schedule, what with work and a family, that I just write when I have time to bang out words on paper.

I do. I stare blankly at my monitor for hours. Then I have a nervous breakdown. Then I have a cup of tea.

Coolest. Answer. Ever. :D

[Jamesaritchie]

Sometimes, in my office on my main computer, sometimes on my laptop on the porch (until killer Minnesota wasps start killing children outdoors, then I go back in). I've always had a sporadic enough schedule, what with work and a family, that I just write when I have time to bang out words on paper.



Coolest. Answer. Ever. :D

Those three days of warm weather you have in Minnesota each year should limit the killer wasps, and the writing on the porch. The four seasons in Minnesota seem to be early winter, winter, late winter, summer, and then start all over again.

[aruna]

My hands being slower than my thoughts is one of the things I like best about longhand. It means I think about something two or three or four times before I actually write it. By the time a sentence goes down on paper, it's already been rewritten and edited in my mind.

But the way my mind works, it doesn't go over things 3 or 4 times. It races ahead; so my hands are still having breakfast while my mind is coming home from work in the evening! I can't read my own handwriting. I also type slower than the story comes out, but at least I can read it afterwards.

Corrections etc come in the second draft.

Oh - another ritual of mine: before writing, I pray/meditate. A few moments of inner silence makes all the difference.

[Jamesaritchie]

My quandry is that I type extremely fast, always have, and am therefore used to writing at that pace. Unfortunately, I really love working longhand. I love the scratch of a nice fountain pen against a thick sort of paper. :D

I really wish I could still use a fountain pen. I did up until some months ago, but between arthritis, neuropathy, and having had all sorts of broken bones in my hands over the years, I had to find something lighter, something easier to hold and write with.

The lightest, easiest to use pencil I found was the Pentel P205 Automatic Drafting Pencil with a slide on foam grip. But the Penmate Duo Expert, also an automatic drafting pencil,while not quite as light, holds more lead, and is considerably more stylish. Both have 4mm fixed sleeves.

Dixon sent me a couple of their Executive Ticondroga mechanical pencils, and those things are really nice, but I haven't used one enough to know whether or not it's a long term pencil.

But I do so love a good fountain pen.

[Codger]

My hands being slower than my thoughts is one of the things I like best about longhand. It means I think about something two or three or four times before I actually write it. By the time a sentence goes down on paper, it's already been rewritten and edited in my mind.

This is the way Shelby Foote (historian) wrote. He used legal pads, and old fashioned pens. He said that it was slow going. He then entered the contents of each day's writing session into his computer. He commented that working this way, there was almost no editing required.

I'm going to start doing all of my first-draft work in longhand. I think that this will force me to "craft" rather than "blast" my writing. We'll see.

[Ray Dillon]

I like the idea of writing longhand, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to do it. I type almost as fast as I think. And, I need to get the info out quickly, or I'll loose focus, forget things, etc. I'd be too focused on the words I'm putting down, instead of the story I'm putting down if I wrote longhand.

Besides, I kinda like editing.

[PeeDee]

The tricky business about fountain pens for me is that I'm left-handed. Not altogether that difficult, but if I don't pay attention, I smudge. Remember those Peanuts strips when Charlie Brown would be writing a horrible squiggly smudged up letter to someone? Yes. Like that.

By the way we've figured it, Minnesota has: Winter, Cold, Road Construction, and Humidity. (In the summer, we're a land of 10,000 lakes all of which have evaporated and are sitting in the air.)

I've always wanted to get some rough paper, a very nice fountain pen with a sharp nib, and sit there and write by candlelight...but rough paper writes poorly, my own fountain pen is not all that sharp, and my handwriting is bad enough by electric light. It's one of those weird ideas that I will try once, one of these days, and never attempt again.

[Jamesaritchie]

This is the way Shelby Foote (historian) wrote. He used legal pads, and old fashioned pens. He said that it was slow going. He then entered the contents of each day's writing session into his computer. He commented that working this way, there was almost no editing required.

I'm going to start doing all of my first-draft work in longhand. I think that this will force me to "craft" rather than "blast" my writing. We'll see.

I've been a Shelby Foote fan for many years, and like him, I've also used a dip pen at times, though never to write the big volumes such as his Civil War trilogy. I've even written stories with a goose feather quill.

To each his own, but I'm simply not a big fan of write fast and edit later. When deadlines force me to write first drafts at the computer, I write too fast and think too little. I've tried every trick in the world, and it still comes out too fast and too little. It always needs far more rewriting, revision, and editing than my lazy old rear end wants to do, and it's never as satisfying in the final draft. It sells, but I'm never as happy with it, and it simply is not as good as what I write in longhand.

There's an old carpnter's rule that says "Measure twice, cut once." In writing, I simply prfer to "Think twice, write once." If I could do this at the comnputer, I would. But I can't.

And because writing in longhand means considerably less rewriting, revision, and editing, I produce as many final drafts as most who do all thier writing at the computer.

[Ray Dillon]

The tricky business about fountain pens for me is that I'm left-handed. Not altogether that difficult, but if I don't pay attention, I smudge. Remember those Peanuts strips when Charlie Brown would be writing a horrible squiggly smudged up letter to someone? Yes. Like that.

By the way we've figured it, Minnesota has: Winter, Cold, Road Construction, and Humidity. (In the summer, we're a land of 10,000 lakes all of which have evaporated and are sitting in the air.)

I've always wanted to get some rough paper, a very nice fountain pen with a sharp nib, and sit there and write by candlelight...but rough paper writes poorly, my own fountain pen is not all that sharp, and my handwriting is bad enough by electric light. It's one of those weird ideas that I will try once, one of these days, and never attempt again.
Ha! Are you sure you'd don't live in Kansas? ;)

That's why I stopped illustrating on board and went all digital, using a wacom tablet. The weather here is so sporadic that paper curls one day and hardens the next, same with graphite and ink, which give you some really wacky and inconsistent results.

The Wacom tablet is always consistent.

Oh, and writing stuff. ;)

[NicoleJLeBoeuf]

Usually, I have a couple of books in my office somewhere, but the one rule I make for myself there is that I've already read them. Otherwise, I get immersed in a new story and forget about writing my own. American Gods (Neil Gaiman) and A Canticle For Leibowitz (Walter M. Miller, jr.) are always there, but I usually bring a collection fo short stories in too.I just now reread American Gods. It is not a good idea to reread it when you're recovering from oral surgery. I swear, every time those characters stop somewhere they have freakin' hamburgers. Now I want a hamburger so freakin' bad, and I can't have one for three. whole. weeks.

Writing rituals: I recently downloaded a stopwatch application called "Secs (http://www.sinnercomputing.com/secs.htm)" and have been using it to time myself writing. It has become a sort of writing ritual--the arbitrary action(s) that, through the power of association, put me straight into writer headspace. When I click the start button and the seconds start accumulating, my brain goes right into writing mode.

I want to develop some non-techie rituals though. Used to be I'd sit down with a particular mug full of a particular brand of coffee, light a particular candle, and the mental switch got flipped. If I want to get back into something like that, I'll need to stick to a writing schedule, same time each morning, something I haven't been too good at for awhile.

[CaptMorgan]

Hey! A fellow Kansan! Whaddaya know?! You wouldn't happen to be in Salina, would ya? That would be spooky. ;o)



I'm now living in Kansas...very near Salina, in fact.

[inexperiencedinker]

I'm not calling some of you old.....just saying I am young, lol.
I am 23, and I have always written everything on a computer. I don't remember writing hardly ANY english papers long hand in school, unless I was just trying to finish before the bell rang. I am far more comfortable in front of a computer, rather than a pad of paper and pen. If I have a pen I end up doodling, and instead of my novel, I have a page full of stars, henna designs, and my dream tattoo.

BTW- American Gods is a really great book. I really enjoyed his collaboration with Terry Pratchet, Good Omens, which is my all time favorite book.

[Ray Dillon]

I'm now living in Kansas...very near Salina, in fact.
Wow. Don't often meet someone else from Kansas. Small internet world, huh? ;)

Maybe we'll run into each other at a ... farm ... or something. Wait, pick up your can, we can just have a conversation via string.

:ROFL:

:Clap:

Yeah, I know, stop contributing to the Kansas stereotypes. :hi:

[reph]

Wait, pick up your can, we can just have a conversation via string.
You can get really good reception with those 5-pound coffee cans.

Oh. You mean nobody remembers...?

Never mind.

[Jamesaritchie]

I'm not calling some of you old.....just saying I am young, lol.
I am 23, and I have always written everything on a computer. I don't remember writing hardly ANY english papers long hand in school, unless I was just trying to finish before the bell rang. I am far more comfortable in front of a computer, rather than a pad of paper and pen. If I have a pen I end up doodling, and instead of my novel, I have a page full of stars, henna designs, and my dream tattoo.

BTW- American Gods is a really great book. I really enjoyed his collaboration with Terry Pratchet, Good Omens, which is my all time favorite book.

You youngsters think you invented the computer. We had computers way back when I was in college. And electric typewriters before that, and all sorts of dedicated word processors. It ain't about the comfort, it's about the quality.

As for doodling, that's one of the best parts about writing in longhand. Doodling usually means you're in a creative, alpha state. You just need enough discipline to doodle some, then write some.

[Jamesaritchie]

I've always wanted to get some rough paper, a very nice fountain pen with a sharp nib, and sit there and write by candlelight...but rough paper writes poorly, my own fountain pen is not all that sharp, and my handwriting is bad enough by electric light. It's one of those weird ideas that I will try once, one of these days, and never attempt again.

Oh, and on this. I've written by candlelight, using a goose feather quill I cut myself, and using paper and ink I made myself. There was purpose behind it, and it worked out very well, but that's a bit primitive, even for me.

But I tend to do many things characters in my fiction need to do, whether it's writing this way, or making tallow candles, or making a walking stick using period tools. Sometimes I need to actually do something myself to get it down on paper in a way that pleases me.

[inexperiencedinker]

dang, I was hoping for you to throw in a 'whippersnapper', but thats alright. lol.
You're right, I do assume anyone older than my mother is nearer to my grandmothers age. I don't think she has even seen a computer, unless she asked what that 'funny plastic box making all the noise' was when she visits my mother. Then again, she could have been referring to the stereo.
Long hand is just so foreign to me that I can't imagine writing an entire novel that way.
Ack! Then you would have to transfer it to computer, which seems like that is ten times the amount of work!
And what about spell check?? :eek: There is no spell check in my pen! nooooo way!

:D

[NicoleJLeBoeuf]

You can get really good reception with those 5-pound coffee cans.

Oh. You mean nobody remembers...?

Never mind.I used to have a Dr. Katz strip up on the fridge. The characters were discussing "kids these days." It went something like...

"Remember how we used to play Telephone using two coffee cans on a waxed string? I saw two kids today playing Cell Phone."

"Cell Phone? How's that work?"

"No string."

[Jamesaritchie]

Ha! Are you sure you'd don't live in Kansas? ;)

That's why I stopped illustrating on board and went all digital, using a wacom tablet. The weather here is so sporadic that paper curls one day and hardens the next, same with graphite and ink, which give you some really wacky and inconsistent results.

The Wacom tablet is always consistent.

Oh, and writing stuff. ;)



I don't think the weather gets much more sporadic than where I live. It's what we're famous for, and very close to the conditions in Kansas, for some odd reason, though we tend to change conditions a good deal more rapidly. Probably because we're well north of you. A hundred degrees and 90% humidity one day, then 40% humidity the next, and a high of sixty the day after that. There are times during the year when it can be seventy degrees with thunderstorms rolling through, and then twenty degrees with a blizzard the next.

We don't have the highest temperature variation in the country, but we put on a repectable show. Our record high is 116F, and our lowest recorded temperature was -43F, just a few years ago. That's a variation of 159 degrees. Again, close to what Kansas gets. Temperature can drop as much as 58 degrees from morning until evening.

When I get the last kid out of high school, I'm moving somewhere that has sane, consistent weather. Maybe Ireland.

But despite the wild weather, I never have had a problem with paper, graphite, or ink. Good paper should neither curl nor harden because of the weather, and quality graphite and India ink should be unaffected by any weather, unless it's cold enough for the ink to freeze, which I have had happen. But I do use good paper for most things. Cotton, cotton bond, parchment, or real vellum, all archival quality. Yet I've never had short term problems with cheap notebook paper curling or hardening, despite the wild humidity changes.

But I probably will run out one of these years and buy a tablet PC. I've used one, and in many ways they do combine the best of both worlds. They aren't really where I want them to be yet, but another three or four or five years, and I'm sure they will be.

[reph]

I tend to do many things characters in my fiction need to do....Sometimes I need to actually do something myself to get it down on paper in a way that pleases me.
I do hope you have no plans to venture into slasher fiction.

There is no spell check in my pen!
There's one in my head. That's where we all used to keep them.

[Jamesaritchie]

Ack! Then you would have to transfer it to computer, which seems like that is ten times the amount of work!
And what about spell check?? :eek: There is no spell check in my pen! nooooo way!

:D

Transferring it to the computer is one of the vital methods of getting in an extra draft. You don't copy to the computer, you edit as you go. I find it's far less work, not more. Ten times the work is having to do multiple revisions and drafts because the first draft is lousy.

And don't get me started on spell check. Since spell check programs came out, I can't spell nearly as well as I used to. I still don't need spell check very often, but it's annoying how many words I've forgotten how to spell because Word takes care of them for me.

And the "s" and the "d" are side by side on a keyboard. Intend to write "sick," but hit the "d" instead, and spell check tells you nothing is wrong. This can lead to interesting sentences, and great confusion with editors. Especially if the sentence in question is supposed to read "I feel sick."

I do not trust spell check, and keep one eye on it at all times.

[inexperiencedinker]

There's one in my head. That's where we all used to keep them.

Yeah, I think I heard about those good ol' days. Or read about them in some ebook somewhere. :)
Just kidding guys. As much as I appreciate computers, and all they can accomplish, I don't think they will ever take over for good old inspiration, talent, knowledge, and sometimes, a little luck. They are great tools, but just that, tools.
I am a compulsive person in that I print out much of what I want to read, whether it is my own or not. I prefer having paper in hand rather than a screen. I've just never had an inclination to write my novel long hand. Then again, this is my first go at a novel, so I may feel different with experience.

[Codger]

I've been a Shelby Foote fan for many years, and like him, I've also used a dip pen at times, though never to write the big volumes such as his Civil War trilogy. I've even written stories with a goose feather quill.

To each his own, but I'm simply not a big fan of write fast and edit later. When deadlines force me to write first drafts at the computer, I write too fast and think too little. I've tried every trick in the world, and it still comes out too fast and too little. It always needs far more rewriting, revision, and editing than my lazy old rear end wants to do, and it's never as satisfying in the final draft. It sells, but I'm never as happy with it, and it simply is not as good as what I write in longhand.

There's an old carpnter's rule that says "Measure twice, cut once." In writing, I simply prfer to "Think twice, write once." If I could do this at the comnputer, I would. But I can't.

And because writing in longhand means considerably less rewriting, revision, and editing, I produce as many final drafts as most who do all thier writing at the computer.


Speaking of old rules, have you heard the "law of diminishing precision"?

Measure with a micrometer. Mark with a chalk. Cut with an axe.


The write fast and edit later approach is satisfying, in that one has the instant gratification of seeing their words nicely laid out and in the font of choice, but in my case anyway, it's not anywhere near what will be in the final draft. I think that a lot of my quality problems will go away once I start doing first drafts in longhand. I too tend to throw things together when composing at the computer.

I'm going to borrow the "Think twice, write once." slogan if you don't mind.

[Jamesaritchie]

Speaking of old rules, have you heard the "law of diminishing precision"?

Measure with a micrometer. Mark with a chalk. Cut with an axe.


The write fast and edit later approach is satisfying, in that one has the instant gratification of seeing their words nicely laid out and in the font of choice, but in my case anyway, it's not anywhere near what will be in the final draft. I think that a lot of my quality problems will go away once I start doing first drafts in longhand. I too tend to throw things together when composing at the computer.

I'm going to borrow the "Think twice, write once." slogan if you don't mind.

I hadn't heard that rule, but I like it a great deal.

Borrow away of the "Think twice, write once" slogan.

Each writer is different, and what works for one doesn't always work for another. Writing in longhand, slowing down to the point where my writing is legible, think hard before writing, all works very well for me. I hope it does for you, as well.

On a side note, Neil Gaiman also writes his first drafts, or most of them, in longhand, and he does all right. Type "Neil" into Google, and the number one hit is for him. When your first name draws number one, it's hard to complain.

[CaptMorgan]

Wow. Don't often meet someone else from Kansas. Small internet world, huh? ;)

Maybe we'll run into each other at a ... farm ... or something. Wait, pick up your can, we can just have a conversation via string.

:ROFL:

:Clap:

Yeah, I know, stop contributing to the Kansas stereotypes. :hi:

...but Kansas stereotypes tend to be true! Well--some of them, at least.

[PeeDee]

The very first thing I do whenever I install Word on a computer is turn the spell-checker and the grammar checker OFF. There is nothing that will set me off quite as quickly as those stupid things. Who cares if you have perfect spelling? THat's what the edit's for. Besides, eventually if you write long enough, your spelling will sort itself out. My spelling is pretty solid, and usually when it's off it's because I type too fast, hit the wrong key, dont' see it, keep going.

When I do write things on paper, I never just copy-type them into the computer. Instead, I read it again, set it open on the desk, and then write it from memory. Some passages change, but by and large they change for the better.

I'm curious: How many drafts/edits/re-writes/etc. do ya'll do, and when do you do it? After each chapter? Word-by-word as you go? When the whole things done?

Myself, I write until I hit a knot in the story (some scene I haven't figured out in my head yet). I'll write it and if it goes wrong, I'll get rid of it and write a new one until it's write. Otherwise, I just keep going. Usually, my second draft is more or less just an edit. I tighten up a few loose sentences, I eschew surplusage whenever possible, I murder the adverbs in their sleep, and I make sure I didn't use the word "hte" have a dozen times throughout.

What about you?

[inexperiencedinker]

Funny, I am thinking of using "Hte" as the title of my book. It is the most common theme at this point.

[PeeDee]

Hte Whit Wale or Mobey Dik

"Q: So, what was it like writing this book?"

"A: OMG LOL u do not even REALIZE!!!11 it was like so hard and my mom said st0p rwiting go outsie but i kept going11:):):)"

Good spelling is one of the last bastions we have against slip-sliding into...that....

(also, books, god bless 'em)

Go ahead, call it "hte" but fix it afterword....or else... ;)

[MarkPettus]

OMG LOL u do not even REALIZE!!!11 it was like so hard and my mom said st0p rwiting go outsie but i kept going11:):):)"


PeeDee, you may have the beginning to a great little story there. Use the language in contrast to a storyline about a teen girl facing some very adult situation... I can see this in Paris Review.

Tell the entire story as a series of instant text messages, but only from POV of the person receiving the message... an implied character...

[fringle]

I get a cup of coffee and sit down to write... The baby cries. I nurse her. I put her down. I sit down to write. My 3 year old gets tired of Spongbob Square Pants. I surf all the channels. She doens't like any of them. I help her pick a DVD. I sit down to write. The baby needs to have her diaper changed. I change it. I put her down. I sit down to write. My 3 year old wants some juice...

[louisgodwin]

On the first draft, I require absolute quiet. But when editing the second draft, I always seem to want music that matches the mood of the scene currently being worked on. I usually start off a first draft writing session by staring at a blank screen for half an hour, sometimes more. However, this is not a voluntary ritual. It's just something I have to sit through. It's like waiting for a really slow dial-up internet connection to pull up your browser.

[Summerwriter]

It doesn't have to be a bookstore where you can write. Any place that is cool inside and has an electrical outlet to plug in your computer is a nice place to write. :)

That is true, I must say that. I am exactly like that. All I usually need is my laptop. Sometimes, when the inspiration strikes and I am too tired to put my laptop work, I just catch the ordinary white paper and write with a pen with ink....no matter of the maker of the pen, only the ink is the key. I know...my English is miserable, but I try to tell you things.
Best: Summerwriter

[CaptMorgan]

I like good music. I never used to like listening while I was writing, but since I began writing novels about music, I can't do without it!

[scarletpeaches]

The very first thing I do whenever I install Word on a computer is turn the spell-checker and the grammar checker OFF...Who cares if you have perfect spelling?

You are kidding, right?

Besides, eventually if you write long enough, your spelling will sort itself out.

Yep, and eventually if I throw enough bricks into an empty space, I'll build Buckingham Palace!

My spelling is pretty solid

:Shrug:

[Sharon Mock]

Bah. Word can tell me what it thinks of my spelling when I ask it and not a minute before. ;)

[oswann]

I write to have fun. I don't need the money and I'm not a tortured soul. I am capable of BICcing with the best of them, if I feel like it or I can write thirty-odd, well placed words and feel equally satisfied.

Yes, I'm your worst nightmare - no routine, no manic pulsions to bleed through the eyeballs. I work with the English language and enjoy the pursuit of making my words as interesting as possible for the reader and don't consider this writing as work.

If it's not fun I stop. This doesn't mean I don't sweat from time to time or go through the ups and downs of eeking out the right sentence or suffer moments of doubt, it means I enjoy all of these things. As for the rituals, as you can imagine, I have none. No chain to the keyboard, or eight hours of solitude, no specific music or brands of coffee. I just write when I can because I want to.




Os.