I’m sure everyone has their own weird little writing rituals. I have one friend that refuses to use anything but a particular pen. I have a million different little things I like to do to encourage myself to write, or to help get ~in the zone~.

One of my favourite things during the planning phase of writing something is to make a youtube playlist that I think suits the feel of what I’m trying to write. Especially when I have different POV characters; they get different OSTs that I’ve put together that I feel suit their personality.

I’m pretty weird about what music I use; it’s usually either classical music, or anime/video game soundtracks. I can’t listen to normal music like Taylor Swift when I’m working. It’s not…atmospheric, it doesn’t feel me with the vibes I need to hammer out words (that’s cleaning and walking music instead!).

This is part of the playlist I use for Emilia for my Daemon Revelation piece. It’s all anime; I used the Chrono Crusade OST and a bunch of Attack on Titan covers because it connects me to her sort of angry/moody teenage attitude.

This sounds a little silly and weird, but it is also one of the ways that zones me into getting ready to write. I use this system for writing, for doing my outlines, everything.

Another ritual of mine is handwriting. All my notes about a story have to be handwritten, in their own little special folder. I can’t type up character notes or plot arcs or anything, which is weird because I am perfectly fine with typing up the entire story.

I know everyone has their own little quirks; a special mug they absolutely must use to write, or a particular sweet, or even a special place that they write in! I personally feel establishing your own little ‘this is my writing zone’ patterns and habits helps a lot.

Happy writing,

Emma-Kate xoxo