Where's Jimmy Fallon when you need him?

 

Since we just wrapped “spooky season,” do you subscribe to any writing superstitions? Any mythical or spiritual practices that help your process?

 This is a strangely difficult post to write. Mainly, because I’ve kind of lost my writing way and thinking about my writing routine is shing a megawatt light on the reason why.  I don’t know that I have any writing superstitions, necessarily, but definitely routines that I’ve followed, more or less, since writing my first book. Well, not everything has survived the journey. Somewhere along my writing path, I stopped listening to Jimmy Fallon in the background and replaced him with whatever music matches the mood of the piece I’m working on. Right now, Luther Vandross radio, is playing softly in the background. Always a dangerous choice, since I love so much of his music that there is a huge chance of being distracted.

But regardless of the artist or genre, music is always a thing. I also always write in the same place. I used to write at the same time too, but as I mentioned, I’ve strayed from the path of my old faithful routine, where I would show up at the appointed time, turn on the selected music, and write until my time is up. That’s it, that’s the routine. Sometimes, if I felt like I had an especially successful session, I’d even share a bit on my social media.

But I’m afraid, the stress of worrying about the state of our collective existence, including work, caring for my family, feeding my cats, and my job, had hindered all my creative efforts. Shame on me. So maybe it’s time for a new routine that looks a lot like my old routine. Show up. Turn on the music, or even Jimmy Fallon. Write something, anything. Rinse and repeat.