Rituals

Monday

Mar152010

Monday, March 15, 2010 at 4:00AM in

Ever watch Monk? I did. A lot. And I miss seeing my friend, Det. Adrian Monk, in part because he made me feel kind of normal. You see, I can be pretty obsessive. That wall I painted a couple of weeks ago? I had no plans on doing that, certainly not on that particular day, and perhaps not on any day. But once I woke up knowing that the wall needed to stop being white, that's all I could think about. I called the paint store, ordered the paint, walked to the store to pick it up, came home, popped open the can, and didn't stop working until the job was done. I tried to stop. I did. I sat down next to my husband for a snack break, but the thought of all those open paint cans, damp rollers, and that line between dry white wall and wet grey paint had me back up on my feet again.

But where Adrian Monk's obsessive tendencies were sadly debilitating, I've always thought that I have a healthy amount of obsession. My wall did get painted, right? I've also lost a few pounds lately, doing it the only way I know how: obsession and ritual. Count every calorie popped into the pie-hole and make sure that number is less than the calories burned. (Shout-out to my calorie counter, Bodybugg.) Back at the District Attorney's Office, I used to crank through misdemeanor-issuing duty by forcing myself to issue cases in blocks of ten before even considering a coffee, bathroom, or hallway-gossip break. Yesterday, I ran three miles in precisely 24 minutes -- not 23:59, not 24:02, but 24:00. Why? Because I realized after a mile that I could beat my usual 25:00 pace, but didn't want an uneven number, so I sped up as necessary to get the digital readout to wind up at 24:00. No, I'm not kidding. I actually did that. Afterward, I looked like this, but without the tats. Or boy parts.

One woman's discipline is another person's anal-retentive OCD freakshow. I know.

But as much as I thrive on ritual, I can't seem to import my usual habits to writing. My fellow gym rat, Laura Lippman, recently compared her workout routines to her writing routine, where she puts in a requisite and round-numbered 1,000 words before considering a break. I know many of you have similar word-count, page, or hours-at-desk minimums.

Inspired by Laura, I've been trying to put in my 1,000 words a day. But where hard, concrete, numerical goals do the trick for me in every other aspect of my life, this time it's just not working. Yesterday I walked away from my desk with a mere 489 new words added to the manuscript. Unacceptable! I would never hop off the treadmill after 4.89 miles. 4-8-9. Nothing pretty or round or even or appealing about that at all.

The difference, of course, is that writing requires a different part of my brain. On a treadmill, I don't have to think about how to run. I just put one foot in front of the other and try not to disturb my fellow gym patrons with all my panting and stomping. Painting a wall is just a matter of moving brushes and rollers around until the color changes. But words and sentences and paragraphs and chapters and entire stories? Those require inspiration and voice and sense of character and... choices!

We writers often boast about discipline. Even I of the undisciplined do strive to write something everyday and never to miss two consecutive days. But I'm starting to think that walking away from the keyboard can also require discipline. Last month, I suddenly worked through a plot problem in my work-in-progress while I was staring at the beach in Jamaica. One of the biggest "a-ha" moments in my new book, 212, came to me during shavasana, or dead man's pose, in yoga.

"I'm not dead...but I know who's about to be." Is it that hard to believe that the art of writing requires you to let go of the part of your brain that likes round numbers? So now instead of forcing myself to stay put for that 1,000 word limit, I ask myself why I want a break. Do I know what needs to be written, but would rather play with Duffer or watch American Idol? If so, I need to keep my behind in the chair and my fingers on the keyboard. But if I want to leave my desk because I need to think - about character, about voice, about motive, about story - I'm going to start trusting my instincts and turning off my inner Monk.

What are your rituals, successful or failed? And when have you strayed from them, for better or worse?

Permalink | |

Email Article |

Print Article |

47 Comments

tagged

Writing

Reader Comments (47)

Rituals . . . I sit, therefore I write. I wish it were that easy! My ritual is to write every day, but sometimes that's 5,000 words, sometimes 1,500 words, and sometimes negative 10,000 because I realized I went off in the wrong direction :/ (and I round to the nearest 500 because I like round numbers more than I like being completely accurate!) But if I don't write daily, it's too easy to step away from the keyboard. Even if I'm in thinking or research mode, I need to make an ATTEMPT to write something -- even if it's just an idea for the next book.

What has always failed for me is setting a certain number of pages or words that I try and write each day. I can set a goal the day I wake up (such as, I need to write this chapter today) but I can't set a 2,000 word goal or a 10 pages a day goal. I have friends who do. I can (and do) set aside a minimum of four hours a day, even weekends, to write. (Though weekends I cut myself slack if I have family events.) But it's 1 am Monday morning and I just spent the last 2 hours rewriting a scene that I wrote yesterday morning. :/

Fun post Alafair!

March 15, 2010 |

Allison Brennan

Wish I had a ritual. Right now the ritual is to write when I can. That seems to be working. For now.

March 15, 2010 |

Chris Hamilton

I don't have any rituals. I'm probably very chaotic to you. Does that make me obsessive the other way around?

March 15, 2010 |

PK the Bookeemonster

Alafair, I give myself a weekly quota and keep track on a spreadsheet. I break it down into days, but if I miss a day I don't worry about it. I make it up on another day. There is something to taking a strategic break, though. I find that if I have a particularly knotty plot problem, a walk outside lets "the boys in the basement" do their work. I take a small notebook with me and when things bubble up I jot them down. But you do make me wonder if the "boys" would work even harder on a beach in Jamaica. I'd like to test that theory.

March 15, 2010 |

James Scott Bell

Don't even get me started about rituals...creating imaginary lines on sidewalks that I can't step on, going back and redoing some insignificant task that I didn't do the "right way" the first time after I've already moved on...just a couple of the things I've done at one point in my life or another. And don't get me started about what I used to do when I listened to my favorite baseball team on the radio when I was younger!

March 15, 2010 |

Brett Battles

I check the contents of my pockets every day, but then, that's a sort of 'Did the pencil fall out again? Will I be without something if I need it?' type deal. (And my jacket pockets have a pencil, pen, swiss army knife, book light, fingerless gloves for typing, a small notebook, and a clothespin. Over-prepared.) I can't do that with writing.

When I'm stuck, I tend to play online games. Tower Defense games, to be specific: there's something so soothing about sticking things in specific places to get specific results, and helps me come to terms with 'okay, this'll make things more difficult down the line, but it's the ONLY WAY right now' which is usually what's stopping me.

March 15, 2010 |

Eika

I wish I could find a ritual that really worked.

I flirt with different rituals: write in the AM while it's still dark outside, go to the library; move to different locations around the apartment every few hundred words, coffee shop, etc.. This seems to keep my mind off balance in a good way. If I get really stuck, I write on paper or draw diagrams.

March 15, 2010 |

Shizuka

The closest thing I've developed to a ritual is always writing on the same computer rather than moving back and forth from the laptop to the desktop like I used to.

However, I do find that getting up, walking around, petting the dog, sometimes even picking up someone else's book and reading it for a few minutes, can jar the next few dozen words loose. It's a godawful slow way to work, but it does get the words onto the page. I just have to be careful not to distract myself with something that'll keep me distracted, like Facebook or chat or Civilization IV or something like that.

March 15, 2010 |

JD Rhoades

I used to have a ritual of 2000 words a day, come hell or high water. I'll get back to that someday. In the meantime, I think I'd be really good at shavasana right now.

March 15, 2010 |

Louise Ure

I love hearing about other people's routines. We all take up the same craft and execute it so differently. Eika, online games are ruining me. I'm a straight up boggle addict.

Brett, I'm trying to figure out how obsession would rear its head while listening to basketball. Hmmm...

March 15, 2010 |

Alafair Burke

Rear its head indeed, Brett..........

You'll have to come clean on that before the end of the day.

(You're funny Alafair)

March 15, 2010 |

anonymous

Oh my God...with basketball, you'd die of a heart attack trying to do everything you'd "have" to do during a game.

Great...now that suggestion is in my mind. Thanks, Alafair. Grrrrr.

March 15, 2010 |

Brett Battles

I'm what I once heard someone call "anal *intentive*," meaning I keep thinking I should be organized, but it never quite happens. I'm really good at apartment painting, though.

March 15, 2010 |

Cornelia Read

Brett. There's something that is really dirty and disturbing about this basketball fetish of yours.....

> ; - }

March 15, 2010 |

anonymous

Nice one Cornelia. Anal intentive........I am soooooo stealing that.

March 15, 2010 |

anonymous

I have a question for ALL the writers. Especially the OCD ones! What writer organizational software do you use ? Just word processing or do you use something like Scrivener or whatever?

March 15, 2010 |

anonymous

When it comes to software, I am a big fan of StoryMill for Mac. I know many of my fellow Mac-based writers prefer Scrivener, and I agree that is a fine piece of software. I prefer StoryMill because it has features which are more specific to writing fiction. The big one for me is in the area of Scene management. StoryMill has a very nice Timeline view for scene management and timing, which is particularly handy when you have overlapping story lines.

That said, I have no gripe against Scrivener. It's an excellent piece of software. My suggestion is to try both and see which fits your work style the best. They have a similar organizational metaphor, though the subtle differences can make a huge difference in which you prefer.

March 15, 2010 |

Bill Cameron

I always wish I had a word-count-per-day ritual, but that never happens, and I gave it up a long time ago because the idea of it just leaves me depressed. I will sometimes have a huge day and I will go days without having much in the way of progress at all.

My only real ritual is butt-in-chair. I set aside time to write every day, and sometimes that means research and sometimes that means staring off into space, daydreaming. [Except for when there's been family emergency stuff, like the last three weeks, which has meant precious little time to write. I did sit in the chair, and all I could think about was trivial stuff, nothing story related. When that happens, I just cut myself some slack, get up, get the trivial stuff out of the way because what's really going on is that I'm exhausted. When I'm fine, the trivial stuff can pile up until it grows legs and growls, and I still wouldn't notice it.]

March 15, 2010 |

toni mcgee causey

I have always used Word but just moved to Scrivener for my new book and am really enjoying it. The problem I've now discovered is that my editor can't read Scrivener, so I have to export it into Word for her to read (and edit!), and then cut and paste those changes back into Scrivener. I haven't worked on editing with her yet, but am dreading this aspect of it.

March 15, 2010 |

Alafair Burke

Hi Alafair

Great topic. I love the idea of you altering your pace to finish on a nice tidy 24:00 minutes!

I try and write something every day, because if I don't, I really feel I lose momentum and connection with the story. I have a monthly target, or in the case of the last book, a three-months-and-a-week target. I make a note on a spreadsheet of my target words, my achieved words, the running total, and the amount still left to write, working on 110,000 as a finished book. I embolden milestones - every 5,000 words, just to be encouraging.

Then it's just a straightforward breakdown of numbers, dividing the amount left by the number of days. A good day brings the total down a little, a bad day makes it go up a little. Nothing to get bent out of shape about.

I always get the first chunk - around 10k - done before I put myself on this treadmill, because at the beginning of a book I want to be concentrating on edging my way into the story, not building up bulk. I started the current book with 10k in the bag on Dec 1st. I finished it on Mar 9th at 106,400, having clocked up 20 non-writing days during that time, including time away working and Christmas/New Year.

The last week - sorry I've been quiet - has been spent reading and polishing, and today it went off to my agent. Hurrah! Time for celebration. I think I'll do the ironing ...

Oh, and anon "I have a question for ALL the writers. Especially the OCD ones! What writer organizational software do you use?"

I use my necktop computer (head) and antique laptop (notepad and pencil). Seems to work for me ... ;-]

March 15, 2010 |

Zoë Sharp

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, Alafair and Bill. I needed your reviews.

March 15, 2010 |

anonymous

Zoë. LOVE it. You're funny. I'm still a pen and paper guy but I would like a good Mac software program, as well.

March 15, 2010 |

anonymous

I need a new Ritual right now to get me through my editing. Someone posted about "The Fire in Fiction" and I want to thank you profusely because it broke a block I was having...

I try and sit down every night if I can avoid the client in town who wants entertaining, or the all night briefing schedule put on Bill Evans (I have about 3 days worth on the computer) and work in the evenings about an hour (I get home around 8 p.m., feed the cats, look at the mail, grab a cold one for dinner...you get the picture)...by the time the "hour" is up it's around 10:30...the music I don't really hear as I play the same thing pretty much, but it does help wall off the distractions.

On the weekends, I am better. Exercise first, then coffee, then set up for writing. I like to edit long hand then type, but I am doing major reorganization so it's on the comptuer, using my "map" of chapters (like a table of contents). I do what JD does, set up the writing, then pet the cat, clean the kitchen, make white beans, make ice tea, all in between editing. Writing the first draft is easier for me, specific goals. Here, I'm all over the draft, weaving the changings through.

I am NOT very disciplined but extremely goal oriented. I need a deadline so I keep giving myself ones, but they don't have teeth really. Need to work on that. thanks for the great post.

March 15, 2010 |

Allison Davis

I've tried various rituals. I've set a specific daily number of words, which works well for NaNoWriMo, but not for the long term, at least not for me. I get burned out too quickly. I've also tried setting a goal to write two hours a night 4 nights a week. That worked well for me for a while. I plan to try that again beginning this week.

My primary ritual though has always been to write during my lunch hour at work. I can get a solid 30 to 45 minutes of writing/editing in during that time and often find I've produced some of my best work then. Obviously, I need deadlines!

March 15, 2010 |

Nancy Laughlin

I put on my shoes..not flip flops, nor slippers....usually tie ones or sometimes loafers, but regular leather shoes.

March 15, 2010 |

kit

Great topic - I am pretty sure all writers are OCD, in our ways.

I must work out every day and unless there's a great dance class at night I try to do it in the morning to get it over with, otherwise I'm antsy about it. Which makes no sense, but there it is. When I start a first draft, I have a 5 p. per day minimum, and I keep writing if I'm inspired. I write my dreams down every morning and I do a gratitude list at night.

For a while I did that "Marketing Monday" thing where you keep Mondays JUST for business. It worked really well and I should get back to it.

March 16, 2010 |

Alexandra Sokoloff

Buildings are quite expensive and not everyone is able to buy it. But, loan are created to help people in such kind of situations.

March 25, 2010 |

MitziGarrett

The shoe can help people to achieve better training results, with a variety of performance to meet people's requirements . Welcome to our website http://www.airjordans.cc, we will provide a more favorable price to you.

April 11, 2010 |

nike air Jordan

How wonderful article, I am very interested in your story!
By Air Jordan shoes
:)

April 12, 2010 |

Air Jordan shoes

I have buyed many products on line.Cool.I found some good sites,whose

pruducts have gained popularity among socialites and celebrities.From

these sites,several of my friends buyed products.The Website including.
<a href="http://www.sexpksex.com" title="weight loss">weight loss</a>
<a href="http://www.sexpksex.com" title="diet pills">diet pills</a>
<a href="http://www.sexpksex.com" title="how to lose weight fast">how to

lose weights fast</a>

<a href="http://www.bagsoulet.com" title="louis vuitton">louis vuitton</a>
<a href="http://www.bagsoulet.com" title="replica handbags">replica

handbags</a>
<a href="http://www.bagsoulet.com" title="lv">lv</a>
<a href="http://www.bagsoulet.com" title="louis vuitton bags">louis

vuitton bags</a>
<a href="http://www.bagsoulet.com" title="louis vuitton handbags">louis

vuitton handbags</a>
<a href="http://www.bagsoulet.com/specials.html" title="discount

handbags">discount handbags</a>
<a href="http://www.bagsoulet.com/products_all.html" title="lv">lv</a>
<a href="http://www.bagsoulet.com/specials.html" title="discount

handbags">discount handbags</a>
<a href="http://www.bagsoulet.com/products_new.html" title="louis vuitton

bags">louis vuitton bags</a>

<a href="http://www.louisvuittonbagss.com" title="louis vuitton">louis

vuitton</a>
<a href="http://www.louisvuittonbagss" title="replica handbags">replica

handbags</a>
<a href="http://www.louisvuittonbagss" title="lv">lv</a>
<a href="http://www.louisvuittonbagss" title="louis vuitton bags">louis

vuitton bags</a>
<a href="http://www.louisvuittonbagss" title="louis vuitton

handbags">louis vuitton handbags</a>
<a href="http://www.louisvuittonbagss/specials.html" title="discount

handbags">discount handbags</a>
<a href="http://www.louisvuittonbagss/products_all.html" title="lv">lv</a>
<a href="http://www.louisvuittonbagss/specials.html" title="discount

handbags">discount handbags</a>
<a href="http://www.louisvuittonbagss/products_new.html" title="louis

vuitton bags">louis vuitton bags</a>

<a href="http://www.we2shoes.com" title="christian louboutin">christian

louboutin</a>
<a href="http://www.we2shoes.com" title="louboutin">louboutin</a>
<a href="http://www.we2shoes.com" title="christian louboutin

shoes">christian louboutin shoes</a>
<a href="http://www.we2shoes.com" title="louboutin shoes">louboutin

shoes</a>
<a href="http://www.we2shoes.com" title="bridal shoes">bridal shoes</a>
<a href="http://www.we2shoes.com" title="sexy shoes">sexy shoes</a>
<a href="http://www.we2shoes.com" title="high heels shoes">high heels

shoes</a>

<a href="http://www.shoesloveshoes.com" title="christian

louboutin">christian louboutin</a>
<a href="http://www.shoesloveshoes.com" title="louboutin">louboutin</a>
<a href="http://www.shoesloveshoes.com" title="christian louboutin

shoes">christian louboutin shoes</a>
<a href="http://www.shoesloveshoes.com" title="louboutin shoes">louboutin

shoes</a>
<a href="http://www.shoesloveshoes.com" title="bridal shoes">bridal

shoes</a>
<a href="http://www.shoesloveshoes.com" title="sexy shoes">sexy shoes</a>
<a href="http://www.shoesloveshoes.com" title="high heels shoes">high

heels shoes</a>

<a href="http://www.guccishopping.com" title="ed hardy">ed hardy</a>
<a href="http://www.guccishopping.com" title="ed hardy clothing">ed hardy

clothing</a>
<a href="http://www.guccishopping.com" title="ed hardy shirts">ed hardy

clothing shirts</a>
<a href="http://www.guccishopping.com" title="ed hardy clothes">ed hardy

clothes</a>
<a href="http://www.guccishopping.com" title="ed hardy t shirts">ed hardy

t shirts</a>

<a href="http://www.charmboots.com" title="ed hardy">ed hardy</a>
<a href="http://www.charmboots.com" title="ed hardy clothing">ed hardy

clothing</a>
<a href="http://www.charmboots.com" title="ed hardy shirts">ed hardy

clothing shirts</a>
<a href="http://www.charmboots.com" title="ed hardy clothes">ed hardy

clothes</a>
<a href="http://www.charmboots.com" title="ed hardy t shirts">ed hardy t

shirts</a>
<a href="http://www.nbcth.com" title="rosetta stone">rosetta stone</a>
<a href="http://www.nbcth.com" title="rosetta stone">rosetta stone

software</a>
<a href="http://www.nbcth.com" title="rosetta stone">rosetta</a>

<a href="http://www.alibaba.com/product-

gs/334821493/ChaoJimengnan_Tablet_herbal_product_for_Male.html"

title="chaojimengnan supplier">chaojimengnan supplier</a>
<a href="http://www.alibaba.com/product-

gs/334821493/ChaoJimengnan_Tablet_herbal_product_for_Male.html"

title="chaojimengnan">chaojimengnan</a>

<a href="http://www.zlseals.com">pump seals</a>
<a href="http://www.zlseals.com">Mechanical Seals</a>
<a href="http://www.zlseals.com/english/pro-1.htm">Silicon Carbide</a>
<a href="http://www.zlseals.com/english/pro-3.htm">Alumina</a>
<a href="http://www.zlseals.com/english/pro-4.htm">Carbon Graphite</a>
<a href="http://www.zlseals.com/english/b1.htm">ZL1/1A Mechanical

Seals</a>
<a href="http://www.zlseals.com/english/b8.htm">ZL43 Mechanical Seals</a>
<a href="http://www1.cn-wwp.com/pro.asp?classid=1">Electric Pallet

Truck</a>
<a href="http://www1.cn-wwp.com/pro.asp?classid=2">Electric Pallet

Stacker</a>
<a href="http://www1.cn-wwp.com/pro.asp?classid=1">Pallet Truck</a>
<a href="http://www1.cn-wwp.com/pro.asp?classid=2">Pallet Stacker</a>

August 31, 2010 |

louis vuitton

August 31, 2010 |

louis vuitton

They have a similar organizational metaphor, though the subtle differences can make a huge difference in which you prefer.

September 21, 2010 |

north face fleece

September 27, 2010 |

mens watches

It is a impressive post.rituals.We hope everyone have .

http://shopatoutlet.com/
http://shopatoutlet.com/
http://shopatoutlet.com/
http://shopatoutlet.com/
http://shopatoutlet.com/
It sales christian louboutin products at very low price but with good quality.

October 28, 2010 |

shopatoutlet

thank you!
<a href=" http://www.emubootsmall.com" title="emu boots">emu boots</a>
<a href=" http://www.emubootsmall.com" title="discount emu boots">discount emu boots</a>
<a href=" http://www.mbtshop.us" title="cheap mbt shoes">cheap mbt shoes</a>
<a href=" http://www.mbtshop.us" title="mbt shoes">mbt shoes</a>

November 13, 2010 |

lisa

The above writing was great. I find it very interesting and II will surely forward this to my friends online. Anyway, thanks for sharing this.

http://www.colonhealthmagazine.com/colon-products-review/cleanse-smart.html

November 15, 2010 |

jennyally

i agree with you , good artcile here. we should paid more attention of this news
http://www.mbt-shoe.us http://www.emubootsonsale.com good for human healthy,up to 40% off

November 16, 2010 |

tina

Thanks for your sharing,it is so wonderful.

November 21, 2010 |

mbt boots for sale

Thank you very much for sharing such cool things. Really good~ I would like to share something with you as well.I promise that you can find your favourite with<a href="http://www.bagzer.com/fendi-belts.html">fendi mens belts</a>

December 23, 2010 |

murphy

December 24, 2010 |

coachswifeconfessional

http://www.silly-bandz-wholesale.com/
http://www.silly-bandz-wholesale.com/
http://www.silly-bandz-wholesale.com/animal-silly-bandz
http://www.silly-bandz-wholesale.com/automotive-silly-bandz
http://www.silly-bandz-wholesale.com/cartoon-silly-bandz
http://www.silly-bandz-wholesale.com/fluorescence-silly-bandz
http://www.silly-bandz-wholesale.com/glow-in-the-dark-silly-bandz
http://www.silly-bandz-wholesale.com/princess-silly-bandz

December 24, 2010 |

animal-silly-bandz

December 24, 2010 |

gold-cufflinks

http://www.coachswifeconfessional.com/coach-glasses
http://www.coachswifeconfessional.com/coach-sunglasses
http://www.coachswifeconfessional.com/coach-accessories
http://www.coachswifeconfessional.com/coach-bracelets
http://www.coachswifeconfessional.com/coach-necklaces
http://www.coachswifeconfessional.com/coach-earrings
http://www.coachswifeconfessional.com/coach-settings
http://www.coachswifeconfessional.com/coach-scarfs

December 25, 2010 |

COACH GLASSES

December 25, 2010 |

Coach Spotlight Bags

December 25, 2010 |

Coach Tote Bags

December 30, 2010 |

asd

Thanks for posting!very well post done by your side carry on

February 11, 2011 |

menoquil reviews

Post a New Comment

Enter your information below to add a new comment.

My response is on my own website »

Author:

Author Email (optional):

Author URL (optional):

Post:

↓ | ↑

All HTML will be escaped. Hyperlinks will be created for URLs automatically.