Ritual or A Routine, It works #mfrwauthor

Welcome to the 2019 MFRW 52-week challenge where authors reveal insights into their lives, their pasts, the writing life, and on other topics. Since I wrote about what passes for my writing rituals in the 2018 challenge post, Music, a Porch Swing, and a Pen, this one will concentrate on the second part of the prompt, the truth behind writing rituals.

You can’t just write when you’re inspired, you have to write consistently, regardless of if you in the groove or not. Finding success as a writer requires you to be intentional about your writing. To do things with purpose. Or to describe it in another way, to be disciplined.


A study by the National Writing Project revealed that rituals built around the elements of environment, time, and behavior seem to foster conditions that reduce writing anxiety, promote a sense of power and control, and enhance linguistic fluency. 

Image by Solarus from Pixabay

Starting off a project or a writing session with a specific series of actions seems to work for several reasons. The National Writing Project states the reasons rituals are effective are because rituals are familiar and automatic, and often productive of a hypnogogic—that is, a dreamlike—state. Rituals can create a muscle memory for the mind. Much as a tune or scent can trigger a memory, surrounding yourself with familiar items or being in a given place associated with writing can put the mind in the tenor to work.

As far as the dreamlike state mentioned? Daydreaming or staring out a window releases control and allows the writer to disengage from the everyday work so that the subconscious mind can emerge and creativity begin. Rituals can accomplish the same thing.

Do you need a complex ritual every time you sit down to write? Or a specific color of ink or a special pen? If so, you are not alone. Leave a comment on the ritual that gets you into the state of mind to write.

It's a hop. Be sure to read the other posts in the challenge. ~till next time, Helen