writing rituals

etrizz

etrizz

Member
do any of you guys have a ritual for when you write?

for me, i need a glass of scotch, cigarettes, and music. i also generally wear wife beaters for some stupid reason.
 
Is there ever a stupid reason to wear wife beaters? I usually just need to be left alone, so I head out of the house. Even if it's just me and the dog, the dog distracts me. I can write, and usually do, in the middle of a crowded coffee shop (not Starbucks) as long as I don't know anyone there. But I might try your method next time.
 
Wife beaters huh? I'll try it too.

For me it's late at night. Everyone is sleeping but me. I usually don't get going until 1 AM. Ice water and sugar free gum but lately it's been roasted and salted soy nuts.
 
isolation, smokes and something visually artistic that pertains to the screenplay...could be a photo, book, object etc.
 
I usually write at the 2:00 am slot, alone, with either music, or a movie in the background, some kind of background noise, but it's usually music (lately it's TV on the Radio and Elliott Smith). There's also breaks where I just lay down and think. This isn't a conscious ritual, it's just what I usually end up doing subconsciously. it just always happens that way.
 
wifebeater.jpg

wifebeater.

haha, i'm glad it's helping you out, Schmovies.
 
For me, it has to be the 11pm to 4am slot, and there has to be nothing of any interest on tv. Lots of coffee and cigs, and I used to warm up with a half hour of America's Army. Something about intense simulated killing helps clear my mind.
 
For me...

For me...

I turn on music that wil be in the scene or the style of music that will be in the scene, and I repeat it over and over. The repetition gives me a point of reference. Too young to drink or smoke so I don't drink anything. I usually take a couple Advil to numb out though. Weird I know...but hey...it works.

-Michael
 
Yeah I like the coffee shop. I try to head down for two hours around the same time of the day. Usually I can get a lot done. Total silence is a killer for me, but then again music distracts me too easily.
 
first i watch a bunch of movies, then i sit down at my laptop and start writing. usually its at night when everyone else in my house is asleep so that i'm not distracted from writing. usually have a Dr. Pepper or Pepsi by my side with some kind of snack, then i just write and write and write, then re read what i wrote, and tighten it up a bit.
 
I write well after an afternoon spent hanging around the Arab Quarter, drinking mint tea and munching on some falafel.. the cafe is in a 600m long alleyway with no cars and some birds...

I'll lug my laptop there one day to write on the spot..

here's a pic of it..
Arab_Street_by_selfrevolution.jpg
 
For me it's a little diffrent. To be in my writing prime I've got to go to sleep really early the night before and wake up (not by alarm or anything, just by chance) around 5 or 6 am. Then I usually write until 8 or so. Sometimes being wrapped up in a blanket doesn't hurt either.
 
When I first started writing, I found the need for rituals. What they turned out to be (at least for me) were excuses NOT to write, because, if something wasn't just right, I couldn't. After I realized that they were excuses, I jettisoned them and guess what...I began writing. If you really want/need to write, you'll be able to do it anywhere, anytime. You'll no longer be saying, "I can't write because I don't have my ______." or "I can't write because of all these distractions."
 
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