Weekly blog — my writing rituals

I realize I already disclosed my writing rituals in class, but for those of you who missed out on some pretty tantalizing details: I almost always need coffee. Something caffeinated. I'm not even addicted to caffeine, and I'm not necessarily tired during, but I need to be kept alert. When I write, I always daydream. I daydream about fantasy novels and fiction and grammar and random things that don't have a place in academic essays or racial privilege analysis. It's not much of a ritual -- most people drink coffee or have their preferred beverage, and perhaps it's a cop-out that that's the main element in my "ritual." Whatever.

I'm not great at prewriting. Or, maybe I am, but I just don't know because I never do. I don't make outlines, I don't jot down ideas, I don't do, well, anything. I sit down and start writing. I hope for some brilliant introduction to burst forth from my fingers. Probably with headphones jammed in my ears to Mae or Incubus or Coltrane or something that calms and stimulates me simultaneously, if that's possible, and if all is right with the world, I won't be able to access the Internet. I'm not even that interested in visiting websites -- I just find a way to distract myself.

Of course, the writing I just described is limited to my papers for college. If I'm writing an email or an author query or blog/personal statement/whatever, I can write a surprisingly large amount -- surprisingly well -- in an astonishingly short amount of time. It all varies.

I think I realized that, after rereading what I just wrote, I don't have a ritual. I come from all angles. The only thing routinely done (or, should I say not done) is the lack of prewriting or preparation.

I should probably do something about that.