Rituals

I think I need a start-up ritual for time to write. I sit down in my recliner and flip open the laptop with the very best of intentions (revising intentions at the moment), and then end up caring for everything from the inevitable e-mail to renewing library books and doing the banking. Time's gone, no progress, and I feel like slime. It's soooooo frustrating. I should have more self-control than this. I let it happen over and over. What kind of lunacy is that?

I would love to have a regular schedule to write, but I've pretty much accepted the fact that at this point in time, that's not going to happen. My days vary too much one to the other to assure that the same block of time is going to be available every day. I just long for something that makes the act of writing automatic. Like a red traffic light makes you move your foot from the gas pedal to the brake. Do you stop to think about whether or not it's time to change lanes first, or if perhaps you need to back up instead. Or like a pile of dirty clothes makes me do laundry. I don't think much about whether I need to or want to or how to get started. I just jump in and sort, and get the process going. That's one area where I've learned that things always look worse than they really are. Trouble with writing is sometimes thing are just as horrible as they look. LOL!

Someone quick! Hand me a pile of wrinkled, worn and jumbled up words to sort into a story! We'll add some soap, swirl them around a bit, send -em on a spin in the dryer and voila! Tee hee. If only....

However, if I can't have the same time of day everyday to create a writing habit, I can establish some signals that it's time to write. I can't remember if it was 2004 or 2005 that I lit a candle and started some music every time I sat down for NaNo. I'm not sure that it had much significance other than the room sure smelled good and the music drowned out the pount of hands or feet against the football; my guys' "field" was right outside my window.

I like having something to drink at hand and something to nibble on, which at this time in my life has to be nutritious and low cal, especially if it's going to see me through 50,000 words. I'd rather buy a new wardrobe because I got a healthy advance on royalties, not because I ate myself crazy during NaNo.

Would a 10 minute freewrite lift some pressure and get things flowing? Or would that wind up being one more distraction that I'd edit to death before posting and then still not have anything accomplished as far as the "real" goal is concerned.

So what should my "it's-time-to-write-and-you'll-die-if-you-do-anything-else-now" ritual be?