[BLOG] Rituals

So I've identified a new problem in my writing. Some writers may be able to relate to this concept, but I have a writing ritual. My writer fiancée has one too, and she assures me that others do, too. The problem with mine is that I haven't been in the right position in a long time.

Let me explain my writing ritual. I've identified that there are certain times and places where I feel like I'm ready to write. In particular, these are the requirements that I can identify so far:

-3:00 AM
-In the room that I currently don't occupy and cannot occupy.
-Dressed in boxers only.
-On my laptop as opposed to my desktop.

This is a situation that I haven't been in for a long time, and I can trace it back to the point when I started having difficulty in writing.

So this leads to my new idea/project. I wish to research how to change one's writing ritual, if it's even possible. I'll need to identify what factors are actually important to a ritual, whether it be time, place, clothing, food; any number of random factors could be vital to the ritual, even if they're incredibly small.

I'll also need to find a method of changing the ritual. My hypothesis is that it may be possible to dilute the importance of each part of a ritual by adding more actions or conditions before one writes, then removing certain undesirable factors, thus leaving a changed ritual. Other candidate hypotheses include brute forcing, or creating a trigger that isn't common to the ritual already. I expect these to be less effective, as there will be more mental resistance via these methods.

This is where I wish pastebin had a comments system. It would be helpful to hear from other writers what they do before they write, even if they don't acknowledge that they have a writing ritual. If I could find out what the context is around each writer, I may be able to find common factors. I also hesitate to post this in the FR threads, since I haven't shown my face in there for a while, even though that would be my first port of call to spark discussion on this topic. Perhaps I shall do what Raritan did and create a new email account. Perhaps not.

Either way, this is the latest in the saga of my writing troubles. Just thought I should inform anyone who swings by this way anymore.

Oh, and, Happy Halloween!