Everyone has their own personal preferences for what they do in order to get into a writing mood. I’m no different. I have had multiple writing classes where we would talk about the things we all did in order to sit down and have a good writing session and I’ve learned that no two people ever do the same thing. I also found that it benefitted me to hear what others had done so I could try some of those things out myself to see if they helped me in any way; surprisingly enough, some did. So I’ll be sharing some of my own tips and tricks to setting up a writing session in the hopes of it either resonating with someone or sparking some creative curiosity so they can try it out for themselves.
Create an atmosphere:
I generally start getting ready to write by making sure I have a large water bottle filled with ice water, a large glass of sweet tea, and a few fresh fruit and sweet snacks all set aside on my desk so that I am not tempted to get up and walk around with the excuse of “I need something to drink” or “I just want a light snack.” No. If I get up, I will 100% get distracted and lose any motivation I have to write (my best friend FaceTimed me as I was writing this and I left for over an hour while doing house chores). After making sure I have all my snacks, I grab some blankets, pillows, my foot rest, and a fan and set them all near me in case I need any of them at any point. Right before I sit down, I will light a few large candles (make sure they can burn for hours without fear of them getting out of control) and fill a few diffusers around my room with a sweet orange fragrance (this scent specifically). Then, once everything is set up, I’ll get comfy in my chair.
Set the tone:
I always pick a playlist that I know fits my current scene/setting so that I can tap into the emotions that I need my characters themselves to draw off on. Sometimes the songs will get me in the right mindset right away but other times I have to sit and listen to them a little to really feel and understand the meaning behind the song. If I find that the song isn’t really resonating with me or my characters, I remove it from the playlist and go on to the next song, repeating this process until my mind is that of my characters. As I move from scene to scene, I have different playlists to match those. There are specific songs sometimes that I‘ll hear and know that that song is something I’ll add to the official playlist for the work because of just how much it resonates.
Going with the flow:
When I generally start writing, I set out with a goal. This could be a word count, a certain amount of chapters, or a place in the story I want to try to get to. Whatever it is, have at least some sort of goal in mind. I will begin by following a strict outline I have created way before my writing process begins but I don’t always stick to it. As I write, my characters become a lot more clear and I will always allow them to take me wherever they want to go. This won’t always follow my plan and that’s completely okay. Writing is about discovering your story and it’s people because there is always something to learn, even if you think you have it all figured out. I let things flow and simply follow them where they lead me. Our characters are their own people after all.
Making tweaks:
Following after the step above, when I am finished writing for the day, I will take some time to reflect on everything I wrote. I’ll then go to my planning and see if I followed my storyline. If I’ve made any adjustments or created new subplots entirely, I’ll tweak my existing outline so that it reflects everything I had just done. This helps me stay organized completely and, if I happen to take a long break between writing sessions, I’m able to read back over the last few chapters and familiarize myself with it again, thus making getting back into the grove smoother.
Stretch:
Finally, after I’m done with a writing session, I will stretch for a few minutes. Every writing session length will be different but stretching is important nonetheless, even if you sit for only 30 minutes. By doing this, you’re setting yourself up for a routine to check in with yourself mentally and physically after diving into your world. This can help transition you back from whatever world you’ve gone to and reintegrating yourself with reality. This also allows for a slow acclimation of standing again rather than just standing up and moving about as if you hadn’t just been sitting for lord knows how long.
Everyone’s writing styles and routines will be different and there is nothing wrong with that. These steps, however, are the things I have found to benefit me the most and are what has helped keep me in line with my writing. Having a routine to follow when beginning a session makes it easier to enter into a different type of mindset, which can improve your writing overall. These things work for me and I hope they’ll be able to help a few of you that want to start a routine as well!