Bobochanti

I've always wondered if I was the only one with odd writing habits. To write I have to have my favorite music pumped up loud and it has to be late at night.

I also draw inspiration from so many things besides books. Movies, art, photography, anger, alcohol, drugs, etc.

So, fes up. What inspires you, name a few rituals. I'd to try new writing rituals. See what type of stuff comes out.

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funkyjoez

First of all I have to say that I love your Avatar.

Okay. Well when I write, i usually lock myself up in my room, light candles all around me and some incense while I play with my lighter.
When I need inspiration, apart from getting it from real life experiences, I have a merriam-webster dictionary of quotes that i look through. I have hundreds of post-it notes on my desk with quotes on them. I love quotes, dont know why.
What else . . .
Sometimes if I'm frustrated, I'll lock myself up in another room with loud music (or NPR) and IRON ALL OF MY SHIRTS! Thats only if im really frustrated though.
Other than that, I guess im just like anyone else. Ha.

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"I don't want to achieve immortality through my work, I want to achieve it through not dying."

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AshBeanNun

I have a white folder, with a full notebook inside, as well as the fifty or so extra loose sheets full of writing, and blank paper. Every day during study hall I write thoughts, ideas, and segments of ACON (my series) into it. I can't write decently anywhere else.

My inspiration: weird, obscure stuff, and a piece of foil.

The weird and obscure stuff are stories, diseases, etc., that I stumble across that really stick with me. The piece of foil is a joke between my co-writer 'Sally' and I. Whenever we can't figure out where to go with the plot, or don't know what to write, we usually write down 'Fudge this section' or 'Fudge!' And somehow we decided that the fudge needed foil to keep it together, so we now carry pieces of foil with us. It's actually a pretty good inspiration: nice and cool and reflective, like it's saying "I'm listening" and "Get to work!" at the same time. A piece of foil isn't pushy like people or stressful like deadlines, and it gives your hands something to do while thinking.

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Kamisama

What inspires me?
Well, I only quest to become forever strong.

What inspires me to do that?

Knowing out there people are being abused.
Knowing people out there are misguided.
Knowing there is someone who needs help.

Knowing that I'm willing to sacrifice myself to do what others will not.

Some of this stuff is shown in my poems.

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Titania

My best writing usually comes when I'm sitting on my bed with Japanese rock music playing really loud in my ears. But I'll write on anything... scraps of paper, little notes on the corner of my math notebook, tissues, etc.

Inspiration? I guess it comes from everywhere. A lot of times from nature; on the bus home from school I'll usually end up inspired in some way by the trees, the sun, or something else trivial and random.

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simon woodhouse

My best writing comes from staring at a blank wall, which allows me to see what's in my head as opposed to what's in the world around me.

I have music playing constantly, but only in the background. There's always a pad of blank paper on the desk next to my laptop, which I usually cover with my own name written in lots of different styles. I have one of those little things you fill with water and smelly oil and put a candle underneath. This sits on a high windowsill above my desk so I can look up and watch the wisps of steam rising.

Mike C

Before writing I bathe my genitals in goats milk then shake them dry by completing 3 circuits of my room naked , counter clockwise, on a pogo stick.

As I write I'll listen to Wagner (the first 7 seconds of the Valkeries, on loop) turned down really low, with my feet on the speaker so I just get some subliminal vibration. The first draft will always be written in a vellum notebook bound in calfskin dyed purple. The wrong shade cover can set me back days and can cost a packet in goats milk. I'll write with a quill made from the feather of a black swan. The feather must have fallen from the bird whilst in flight, and I have to catch it before it hits the ground, otherwise I have to pogo-stick 6 times clocwise around a maple tree at dawn to purify it.

Or, if there's no goat's milk available, I'll just open the laptop and write. Rituals are for pussies and obsessive-compulsives.

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Verago

Not really rituals...But they help.

I use my laptop and not my desktop.
I usually write in WordPerfect.
I usually write in Courier New font.

It helps to eat a bowl of cereal containing raisins and flakes.
It helps to have noise in the background.
The later at night, the better.

I can't write with people around, or even in the house, and if I do, it's not half as good as I could've done had there been no one in the house.

Weird, yeah.

-Ethan

CZ

I don't have rituals but I have things to do that help clear and focus my mind to get me started - listening to a little music and visualizing scenes/characters for five minutes before starting a writing session is always nice because it provides a transition between what I was doing before and settling down into an hour of writing.

For nonfiction, I don't need to do that - I'll just break out my notes and start writing articles. Fiction, however, is harder for me because I can't mold the story around quotes. So at the start of a fiction session, often I'll take a 20 minute walk with my collie and make an outline in my head, then come back and write a few thousand words.

p.s. Mike C., you had me laughing hysterically with that post

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mammamaia

sorry, don't have any... i write whenever and wherever and however i can... like breathing, it's just 'there'... doesn't need any inspiration or attention to ritual... i simply do it...

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Eratta

I like to write at night, but it's not a necessity. I prefer to write in longhand, as for some reason that makes the creative flow better than if I just start typing. I usually like to have some music in the background as well.

If I ever need inspiration or wonder why I'm wasting my time, I go re-read favorite books and re-watch favorite movies. That always makes me feel better and recharges my desire to tell stories.

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Wilderness

Hey
I love writing when its raining. I love hearing the sound outside.
I have a 'writing' playlist on my laptop. It has all my favourite slow songs that are really inspiring. I like to either write in bed or at my desk...with my laptop.
To get inspired, I usually come on this website and go on other writing websites to get me in the mood, and I read about my favourite authors and it motivates me heaps.

Also...lighting. It has to be perfect lighting.
I love writing at night with my main light on and just my bed light on. It has this orange glow to it. Ahhh. I love it. Lighting has so much inspiration. I also always have with me my trustee thesaurus and dictionary and notebook.

Lani

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"I wanna know the pain."
"The pain?"
"Yer," she replied, "all the struggles, the agony. I want to feel it, too."

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Aztecsfinest

A good cup of Belgian Hot Chocolate before bed and dreams will give you all the ideas you want. (Sometimes)
A walk down the country, perhaps a mountain hike or somethng. Or just staring endlessly at the clouds.

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Path to mastery, basically
Make more mistakes than the other guy and ask the right questions.

Lyrics sextion is my new house, don't throw up on the couch. Or corekt mye grammer.

Ferociouskater

I used to do really really well under pressure. I would crank out the best stories the night before they were due for critique. I think that's why I haven't written in so long - I'm done with school so there are no more deadlines. So I guess my ritual for writing was to wait until the last minute.

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SilkFX

In an homage to the youthful writer I was, I'm back to writing first drafts in longhand using a fine-point black ink pen on college-ruled loose-leaf paper attached to a clipboard. At some point I transfer the words to my computer; I never know exactly when that point is.

Beyond that, I've abandoned all my other rituals and pseudo-rituals. Graduate school will do that for you. I used to say I could only write in the mornings; now I write whenever. (In fact I just finished 2 hours' worth; it's 10:45 pm now (CST).) I used to say I needed to be "visited by the muse"; I no longer know where the chick is but I hope she's having a good time.

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you can't you can never be sure
you die without knowing
whether anything you wrote was any good
if you have to be sure don't write