Ritual is a part of human nature. Once something works, you probably did it again simply for the fact that it worked. Over time, it develops a supernatural aura, and lucky underwear is born.
Writing is the same way. One day when I had a writer’s block, I stared at an impulse buy from AliExpress, a glowing kitty LED lamp. An idea came to me. Writer’s block gone. Ever since then, whenever I write, I have to have the glowing kitty LED lamp next to me. I call it my writing buddy. The secrets of the universe lie in those black eyes…! I’ve even bought spares just in case my buddy passes away. Writing without that gentle pulsating light is difficult. I’ll even bring it with me to coffee shops!
I have to have my tea, hot, and a cup, preferably my current favorite teacup. It rotates with my mood. The act of sipping tea helps ease into mindfulness and relax my mind from all the other pesky life matters that interfere with writing. The only thing that matters is the novel. The only voices I need to hear are the characters.
Music, for certain, has intrinsically potent properties that aid in completing the spell. Those songs depend on the mood. But lately, I find myself being drawn to a simple thing — the Slytherin Common Room or other white noise sound mixes.
The last, of course, is a pen and notebook. Before I even start writing, I assign the novel a few ink colors. This helps me in that the moment I see that color on the page, I feel immersed in the world. Using a different color has the effect of feeling like something is off, like the novel isn’t flowing directly.
And that’s it! I like hearing about author’s rituals because we all share a few things (namely, writing the novel), perhaps a beverage or snack, and the rest is that mix of “it worked once, now it’s my lucky underwear”.