What Is Your Writing Starting Ritual?
Photo by Emily Bauman on Unsplash
Let’s face it, the blank page can be daunting. Once we settle on a schedule for writing, we still have to show up and do the work. In that moment of decision, it’s easy to defer our writing until later, until tomorrow, until we feel like it...
News flash: you may not ever “feel like it.” You’re not going to come to the page super-motivated every day. If you only write when you feel like it, you probably won’t get much writing done.
Having a starting ritual can help.
What is a writing starting ritual?
It can be anything that helps you transition from not-writing time to writing time.
There are only two “rules”:
It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.
It should center you and help you focus on your writing.
Why is it effective?
It helps your brain realize it’s time to sit down and write.
It shifts your focus from “everything else” to writing.
If you do it consistently, it will train your “muse” to appear once you start the ritual, so that by the time you’re finished, you’re ready to go.
It helps quiet any excuses or fears, because you’re not “really writing yet.”
What should you do for your ritual?
By “ritual” I don’t mean anything elaborate. It can be simple, and in fact, it should be – otherwise you may not feel like doing the ritual either, thus defeating the purpose!
It should also be something fun, or at least painless. Something you don’t mind doing, that you might even look forward to.
Some examples:
Make a cup of coffee, tea, or other beverage.
Light a candle and put on some music that gets you in the mood of your story.
Sit silently and focus on your breath for a few minutes.
Set a timer for 5-10 minutes and freewrite. Let all the junk that’s filling your mind spill out onto the page. If you have any questions about your story, or feel stuck, just write out the question and see what comes up, without judgement. If you have a regular journaling practice, you can use this as your starting ritual.
Do a word puzzle. Crossword, one of the infinite Wordle variations... something that gets you in the “word” mode. If you are doing it online, set a timer or website blocker so you don’t waste your entire writing time playing games!
Get physical: Take a walk around the block, or do a few yoga poses or a few jumping jacks (depending on whether you feel like you need to slow down and focus or need to generate some energy).
Read a passage from a favorite book. It can be a book in your genre or not; or it can be a book craft. This can be dangerous, of course, if you can’t stop reading! But it’s also a great way to get inspired.
You might also consider a brief closing ritual, rather than simply rushing off to the next thing. This can be even simpler: close your eyes and take a few breaths, acknowledging that you showed up to work today (not matter how it went). Blow out the candle and shut off the music, if you use those.
Providing that mental transition time between writing and other activities helps you feel like a) writing is an important activity and b) you can now focus on other tasks, without feeling stressed or guilty about not having written.
Building a ritual around your writing – whether you’re doing only 30 minutes or a full-day retreat – gets you in “the zone” faster and enables you to focus and get more done in the precious writing time you do have.
What are your favorite starting and/or ending rituals? Let us know in the comments!
