Ritual:What kind of rituals do you use to get the words flowing?

Meet the Writer Challenge

There are so many things about life and this world that make my pen long to scrawl over blank pages. I can be out on walks, with animals, in my garden, reading a book, pondering things quietly to myself with a cup of tea, and it all sings to be captured in ink.

I love to write a few words when I am still sleepy, waiting for the kettle to boil for the first drink of the day, but often the dogs need my attention then and it doesn’t happen. I settle more easily at my desk when I know that they, and I, have all had a good long walk and some fresh air. The walk is part of my writing ritual though. Being out in nature, putting one foot in front of the other, seeing the dogs have a beautiful time and feeling the weather against my face, all of it feels an important part of my writing self, even if I don’t write about it explicitly. I love weather, I don’t mind at all being out in all weathers as long as I can get warm and cosy afterwards with a pot of tea and some writing.

Once the dogs are all walked, and this takes a few hours, I light a candle at my desk and take a deep breath. I have decorated with Zentangle swirls a huge ‘B’, which I have tacked next to my desk to remind me to breathe. This was a great piece of advice from a book I read over Christmas by Rohan Gunatillake, called 24-hour Mindfulness. With the candle lit, I then work my way through a few different writing tasks- first I pick up a random book for inspiration and write for a few minutes about whatever thoughts come to my mind, then I get out a journal and write for half an hour based on Beth Kempton’s prompts from The Way of the Fearless Writer. I am treating the book as a writing course, working on it each and every day. Then, it is time to write for any deadlines I have, either university or a little local magazine, or any projects and online courses I am taking to hone my craft and realise my dream. Then, I devote myself to a book I am writing about my late granny. By this point, I am warmed up and ready to delve deeply in to memories, ghosts and feelings. I stop to boil the kettle, pull up a few weeds, do some yoga and stretch out my back, but this is my ritual and the little breaks are not breaks from writing, they just allow me to move and my thoughts to wander where they need to go.

Before blowing out my candle and heading down to work with lovely pupils in my kitchen classroom, I take a deep breath and smile at all the familiar faces and memories smiling back at me from my photo wall. After my writing session, I feel alive, like another lost piece of me has been found.

With love,

Fran Waddington