Journaling Rituals

I journal everyday or nearly so. This is writing I do outside of my novels or flash fiction. I am able to stay clear headed and focused to be able to write everything else through this writing.

Mornings come early for me, 5:00 am. If I can get up without hitting snooze I count that as a win but it doesn’t happen often. After a few snoozes and taking care of basic needs I head to the kitchen for coffee. This is part of my morning ritual as making coffee is a bit involved and takes 10 to 15 minutes. It is also during this time that I do a few morning chores, just to keep up.

Once my coffee is made and perfectly sweetened, I head to my desk to begin the writing ritual.

I light a candle. This, for me, lets me know its time to focus. I then read a section of whatever book I am currently working on. Right now its this one found on [amazon text=Amazon&asin=0062502638].  Once my reading is done, then I begin with my journaling.

I’ve told you about free writing in this previous post but that is basically what I do. For this writing I use inexpensive composition books and fountain pens with purple ink. I am pretty sure I have stacks of these books in storage.

When I’ve completed my pages and I aim for about three each day, I blow out my candle.

Writing this way doesn’t produce stories or work toward my novels. This creates for me a space where I can clear the junk out, making the way clear for the words to flow for whatever I am working on at the moment.

Just a warning, it doesn’t always work to get the flow going but more often than not, it does.

What do you do when you want to get your creative juices going?