Time required for Step 1:
You decide – anything from a couple of minutes to half an hour.  I usually take ~5 minutes



Ask yourself: are you trying to woo your muse or force it?

OK. You have a blog post due, and you've decided now's the time to sit down and write it. The only thing is… you have no idea what you're going to write about.  What do you do?

Perhaps surprisingly, my answer isn't "force yourself to sit in front of the screen until your muse plays ball and inspiration strikes".  At least for me, the first step in the writing process is always getting myself into a writing mindstate. Sometimes that alone will bring me the inspiration I need.

What exactly is a writing mindstate?

So what do I mean by "a writing mindstate"?  Basically, I need to let my mind know that it’s time to stop thinking about all the non-writing stuff in my life.  It's not that my job, my relationships, my family or whatever aren't important. It's just that they distract my focus from writing (one of the key sources of "blogger's block").  So, at least for the duration of creating my post, I need to let them go. They'll still be there to pick up again once I'm done, after all.


Using writing rituals to change your mindstate

You can do several small things to ease yourself into a writing mindstate. They don't need to be crazy or complicated – just find elements that work for you and then combine them into your own personal “writing ritual”.

Now, don't freak out at the word “ritual”. I know it sounds a little woo-wo, but a ritual is just something you do repeatedly and consistently.  A writing ritual combines a few individual elements (see below for ideas) that seem like they’d appeal to your writing muse.  Each of those elements would probably help a little on their own, but if you combine them consistently, something magical happens.  Even if you don’t actually believe in magic.

You see, the power of associative conditioning means that, if you use the same combination of elements every time you write, and only when you write, your mind starts linking them with writing.  They become a subconscious boundary that separates “writing time” from “not-writing time”.  And eventually, just starting the ritual can be all it takes to coax your muse out of hiding, and move you into a writing mindstate.


How many senses can you bring in?

We humans are creatures of more than one sense. Most of us can see, hear, touch, taste and smell. Granted, some folks are physically unable to use one of their senses, and many of us identify more strongly with one sense than another. But almost all of us can use more than just one sense. That’s worth remembering, because rituals are often more powerful if they incorporate elements that stimulate several senses at once.

Here are a few ideas for possible muse-wooing sensory elements you might think of combining:

Sight:

• ­Tidy and visually declutter the writing environment around you.
• Take out a picture or a figurine of something you associate with creativity.
• ­ Light a candle, watch the flame for a few moments, and imagine it kindling your own creativity.

Sound:

• ­Create a music playlist that inspires your creativity. If you’re not sure what kind of music would work, try different genres and see what effect each one has.
• ­Sing, hum or chant. As you hear your own voice in your ears, imagine the sound being a key that unlocks your inner voice from deep inside you.
• ­Choose a key phrase and speak it out loud.  Something light-hearted like, “alrighty, brain, it’s time to get writing” appeals to me, but you can be as serious as you like.

Smell:

• ­Light some incense, or a scented candle.
• Dab on a specific writing-related scent.
  
• ­Create your own essential oil blend and put a few drops on your burner.  Popular combinations include basil, peppermint and lemon for focus; or sage, rosemary and lemongrass for creativity.

Taste:

• ­Find a tea blend you particularly like as your “writing tea”. Make a cup before you sit down, and sip it as you write.
• ­If you drink alcohol, try doing the same thing with a glass of wine or a shot of schnapps.
• ­Choose a particular food that you only eat when you write (I find dark, 85% cocoa chocolate works wonders).

Touch: 

• ­Add a few drops of your creativity/focus oil blend to a carrier to create a massage oil, then massage a little on your pulse points.
• ­Take a shower or bath, and use a special gel or other product you only use before writing.
• ­Use the power of movement to shake ideas loose. Dance around your writing space, then finish with a particular stretch, yoga asana or gesture immediately before you sit down to write.

My super simple writing ritual

It’s possible to get carried away with writing rituals… and hey, if complexity is your thing, don’t let me stop you. Personally, though, I like to keep mine as short and simple as humanly possible: 

• Firstly, I make a cup of tea, light some incense, and quickly declutter my work environment.  I need to declutter both physically (what’s on my desk) and virtually (what’s on my screen). The idea is to have as few distractions from whatever I’m writing about as possible for my gaze to land on.
• Next I put on some relaxing, inspiring music. I’ve learned that  lyrics distract me, so I listen to a lot of movie soundtracks and chillout mixes.
• Finally I take a couple of deep breaths to centre myself, and set my intention to write the best blog post that I possibly can.

That whole process usually takes me around 5 minutes from start to finish. And by the time I’m done, I’m ready to move to Step #2: deciding what exactly I’m going to write about today.

 
OK, now it's your turn!

Do you use any kind of pre-writing ritual?

• If so, what does it involve, and how long does it take you?
• If not (and you’d like to create one), what individual elements appeal to you?
• Are there any ideas you can think of that I didn’t mention?

Please to be sharing your thoughts in the comments below!


Want to read more of the “Write the Damn Blog Post” process?

This is the third post (wow!) in a 12-part in-depth series that details my “Write the Damn Blog Post!” process.  All going well, when the blog series finishes, I’ll expand it out into an eBook.

If you’d like to know when the eBook comes out, contact me and I’ll put you on the advance notice list.

Meanwhile, if you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my feed.