What are your rituals before writing?

A friend of mine who also loves to write and I were talking about how we couldn't just sit down and write. We each have our own routine that we go through to get our minds ready to write. I for one cant just sit down and write well. A professor once told me that it is akin to a marathoner. A runner cant wake up and run 10 miles. They have to warm up first. So it is with writing.

As for me I have to be properly caffeinated first. My brain simply wont work without obscene amounts of caffeine. I have tried giving up caffeine before but I would rather go through the seventh circle of hell then have to function without it, After all there is a reason it is called the nectar of the Gods. I prefer to think of caffeine in all of its varieties as a buffet table to pick and choose as a sort of a gift from the powers that be to help us through the more mundane things in life.

To get my brain in shape to write coherently I will often write in my journal first. I currently use Penzu. Once the words start flowing then I will switch to whatever writing project I am working on. That could be a poem or a short story that has popped in my head or anything in between.

If it’s a good writing day then I can write for hours. However if my brain for whatever reason is not cooperating that day then I tend to “rest’ and go read. It is funny how when you thinks the words have ran out then you start reading and another idea will come to you.

My friend said he goes through something similar. However he has no use for massive amounts of stimulants. I know I cant be the only one who needs caffeine to function.

I am now interested in what other people go through to get ready to pen that days masterpiece. I will have to go to the library and see if there are any books on what famous authors through the ages have engaged in.

I am now curious what do you my readers do to get ready for writing? Tell me in the comments below.

Armageddon In Retrospect

This is the last of Kurt Vonnegut’s work.This book was published after his death by his son.

For readers who have read Slaughter House Five, this book will strike a familiar chord.  The majority of this book is short stories takes place during world War Two. It provides detailed snapshots of various scenes. Sometimes the same scene will be repeated but with different viewpoints. He combines his  humor with dark subject matter skillfully.

There are some stories in there that makes me sad that there were only published after he died. There is one story. Wailing Shall be in All Streets” that in its short form is on par with his life’s masterpiece “Slaughter House Five”

This not to say the rest of the stories are not good, they are, but some are simply some of the best writing he has done. I felt that these stories should have received more praise than what they had.

One story was written in a fantasy mode and it blew my breath away after I read it. I am not sure why they did not publish these earlier but I for one am glad we got one last finial look at some of his best writings.

Booking Through Thursday

Today's question is suggested by Mae.

"I couldn't sleep a wink, so I just read and read, day and night ... it was there I began to divide books into day books and night books," she went on. "Really, there are books meant for daytime reading and books that can be read only at night."
- 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera, p. 103.

Do you divide your books into day and night reads? How do you decide?

I might be in the minority here but when I read that book and that passage my first thought was how strange. I am in the camp of where if I am reading a book I want to finish that book before going on to something else.

You’ve just dropped your favorite, out-of-print book into a bathtub, ruining it completely … What do you do now?

First I would say a few choice swear words. Then I would drag the book out and let it air dry. If it is too damaged then I would start looking anywhere I could think of to get another copy. If it comes to that beg the publisher to let me buy one more book.

I saw on a Sunday Salon post this past Sunday(I forgot who) about how one blogger was making her blog more personal because she wanted to expose “non-readers” to books. I whole heartily agree with this blogger. I have been pondering this for some time but was hesitant to implement anything that did not pertain strictly to books. So I am asking you for your opinion. Granted books and reading and writing are my passions so I doubt any posts would go far off the “”map” so to speak, from these topics. I will always label my posts so you can get to exactly what you want. So tell me in the poll below what you think.

 

The Sunday Salon

Did fall come early this year? Now the leaves are turning beautiful colors and it gets cooler faster when I go outside with my laptop to write.  Fall is good for having an excuse to stay in and curl up with a good book.

I am going back up north next Sunday so I will have to finish reading five more library books before then. I think I can do it. I will hunker down and do nothing but read this week.

At the moment I am reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I have to admit when I first saw the cover I thought it was a young adult book, but then I read the reviews and realized it was not. So much for my ability to judge a book by its cover.

Here is the link that I found that states that the novel Heart Of Darkness is going to be turned into a graphic novel. I am hesitant to pass judgment until I see the actual book but my first though was, how can such a substantial novel be turned into a glorified comic book? Can you tell I am not a big fan of graphic novels?

I have found that as I get older my body clock seems to be changing. I don't know why people didn't warn me about all the changes one encounters at 30. Used to be my best writing was at night. Now its early in the morning so I had to adjust my writing and reading schedule.

I have reviewed Push, A Purpose Driven Life and Pain killers this week.

Push

The first words that came to mind when I finished reading this was..wow.. I need some time to digest the whole story. And no, in keeping with my stubborn “don't see the movie till you read the book them”, I have yet to see the movie.

This heartbreaking tale, which is based on a true story, begins when Precious is 12 and has had a baby by her father. This alone is horrific but the abuse she suffered by her mother only adds to the horror. She is 16 and cant read or write and finally after being suspended from school because of her second pregnancy(also by her father) She finally finds a compassionate soul. Her teacher that teaches her to read and write encourages her to write her life story. And that is the premise for this book.

One of the interesting things we see in this book is it is written from Precious viewpoint, including her own words. We can see the progress that she makes with her writing. Although it is difficult at times to understand what she is trying to write it is a brilliant way to show her progress. She writes with a depth and a certain sort of poetry that makes the reader want to cheer her on.

This is at its heart a beautiful story of salvation. Salvation from the horrors of her old life to the promise of a new life. Readers can take away from this book that no matter how bad your life is at the moment, things can and will improve. That in itself is a valuable lesson.