To Write:  Open Creative Doors With a Ritual

K Wordbird Bate   The Writer's Life Coach

I heard an angel speak last night, And he said, ‘write!'"  ~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

     Charles Dickens walked twenty to thirty miles a day, and then sat down to write. Benjamin Franklin wrote while still in the bath. Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway, and Lewis Carroll preferred to write while standing up. Mark Twain smoked a great many cigars before writing; Truman Capote wrote lying down. Edgar Allen Poe wrote with his cat sitting on his shoulder, according to the Writer's Book of Days. (A book I'm crediting, though not recommending.)

      Some famous authors listened to opera; drank a lot of coffee, read the Bible or sought out another inspiring text. Some, such as Stephen King, develop rituals like touching an object, arranging things on the desk, waking up at 3 a.m. or wearing a certain "lucky" item. I have never come across a productive writer who has no ritual at all. They each find an action or behavior that helps prepare and then propel them into that astoundingly difficult, incredibly simple practice: to write.

     These preparation rituals are a great way to make the transition from normal thinking and talking, to writing. Writing asks you to dive deep, observe closely, be intense, and say what's true for you. It's an abnormal state. It's fantastic! Yet moving into it is somewhat uncomfortable. Thus, many of us avoid writing, and make excuses. Just like getting out the door for daily exercise. We love it; it's good for us; we feel great about it; and we go to all kinds of length NOT to take those first steps. Creating a preparation ritual makes getting out the door far easier. In fact, once we have our ritual in place, we may feel uncomfortable when we DON'T write. A bonus!

     Good writing is like walking up to a closed door in the mind and soul, and pulling it open. We open a door that is tightly closed, most of our waking hours. We open access to vast internal worlds. We're going to walk through. We need positive, self-affirming and simple action that prepares us for this transition.  

     Do you have a practice in place? An action that greases the wheels of your mind and your spirit? It can be as simple as changing out of your shoes into socks or slippers. It should be something you can do anywhere. It should something you repeat, every time, before you write. Develop a ritual. It will become a welcoming friend who nudges you into your writing. 

Let Yourself Bloom.

© Kimberly Bate                                                                      

Photo by Love, Loren