If you write for a living, even if it's a small part of your duties, you know how fickle the muse can be. And how little anyone else cares about that fickleness. In the end, a professional writer is someone who can meet deadlines and do good work even as inspiration and energy ebb and flow.
That's why writers develop rituals as ways to find the magic when it seems hidden, as described in this Copyblogger post: 8 Strange Rituals of Productive Writers. Here are their rituals:
- Try writing horizontally.
- Take a walk or bike ride without a destination in mind.
- Put on some tunes (preferably without words).
- Write at a time of day that suits your productivity.
- Loosen up.
- Save your back.
- Invoke the help of some divine inspiration.
- If all else fails, have a drink ... or two.
This kind of stuff can save the day when you're stuck.
Here are some of my rituals:
- Go someplace different to write. Offices are not very writer-friendly, with their ringing phones, friendly colleagues, and steady stream of important duties. I go to cafes, the park (weather permitting), hotel lobbies, or take a ferry ride.
- Drink a glass of very cold water.
- Read junk mail. This is my main use for Uncle Maynard's Treasure Trove of Direct Mail Knowledge. I find inspiration in both good and bad pieces.
- Breathe deeply.
- Music. For me, most music is too involving to have playing while I write. But in certain moods, slower, less rhythmic music can loosen me up. Like Indian classical music, Gregorian chant, or Byzantine chant (if you aren't familiar with this genre, check out the recordings of Cappella Romana).
Care to share your rituals?
