As much as I love what I do, I’m the first one to admit that writing can be hard! Sometimes, all you want to do is binge shows and eat garbage food. On the days when I am less than fully motivated to hit the laptop and get some words down, I have a few rituals and routines that I follow to get me in the mood to write.
After all, sitting down to write is almost like a date with myself. A very labor inducing date but a date nonetheless.
So what do I do when I want to work on everything else but my books?
I set my workspace in such a way that my mind is immediately tricked into wanting to write. The following rituals are by no means the reason I am able to get through my drafts, or edits, or revisions, but they definitely help me associate writing with peace. It took a bit of time to get myself into the habit of following these but since I’ve taken them more seriously, I’ve been hitting and surpassing my word counts regularly!
With that, I give you, my writing rituals for the year.
Scents:
Scent is a big deal for me when I’m writing. I love having a woodsy aroma in the room I’m in to help relax my mind. Currently, my go to’s are Laline Room Spray in Musk and all the Woodwick Candles I can find. The candles are always a must as the sound of crackling helps me zone out of the world and zone into my work.
Sounds:
I was never the type to be able to listen to music when I’m writing. Anything with lyrics or a flow that isn’t repetitive tends to distract me to no ends. Instead, I listen to white noise. When I’m about to start writing, I pop my headphones in and turn on a playlist of rain or snow sounds. I’ve discovered the Elpy App a while back and it’s my favorite app to use for this. You can actually mix two sounds together to make your own little cocktail of white noise.
Feels:
Almost as much as sound, what I feel on my skin can either set or break the mood for me when it comes to writing. My favorite place to write is either the bed or the couch, somewhere nice and cozy where I can wrap up in a blanket and wear some fuzzy socks. I have also taken to wearing my Storiarts Raven Gloves which immediately signal my brain to get writing.
Trackers:
Anyone who has word count targets knows you need some way to record them. I love going through my writing monthly and seeing the progress I made. It truly inspires me to work harder! To record my words, I use a planner. I actually have designated a planner just for writing and mental health and in it I track all my progress on my books, plan my months and record my card readings. For this year, I am using the Cloth & Paper Spiral Planner which I’ve taken apart and punched for a ring-bound system. If you want to see more photos of it, follow me on Instagram where I post a lot of my planning.
Distractions:
Finally, and probably the most important part of my writing ritual, is getting rid of any and all distractions. When I’m writing, I need my focus to be strictly on the work. To do that, I make sure that the house is cleaned ahead of time and there are no dishes in the sink (that would drive me crazy!). I also tend to eat a big meal before writing so I don’t need to think about being hungry. Lastly, if my fiancé is home, I let him know when I’m writing and he’s great enough to keep it down.
And that’s it!
Those are my writing rituals. Simple and easy to follow each time but incredibly effective.
Stay magical,
Alexis.
