Getting in My Writing Groove

Writing Habits At Home

The photo above just about sums up my major writing rituals when I write at home. Before I begin writing each day, I brew a cup of coffee in my "Writer at Work" cup. It's my little way of telling my brain it's time to go to work. 

Next, I sit down with notebook and pen--and it's always a notebook of the size shown above, and even more importantly, it's ALWAYS a purple pen. I spend some time writing a quick outline of what I want to happen on the page that day. 

Then I get down to writing. 

Writing Habits Away 

Sometimes I'm at my most productive when I'm away from home. I like to find a quiet spot in a coffee shop, bookstore or library to get my writing done. 

But my writing rituals are pretty much the same no matter where I write: drink coffee and outline in a small notebook with my purple pen. The only thing that might change is the view. 

And maybe the logo on my coffee cup. 

The Ritual of Procrastination 

Oh, and I'm leaving out one of the other rituals that's become vitally important to my writing…procrastination. I'm a master of procrastination. Only I prefer to call it percolating (maybe all that coffee is getting to me). I used to get annoyed with myself for procrastinating. I could really beat myself up over it. 

It took me awhile to realize percolating on ideas was part of my process. That process might look like a lot of different things: doing a load of laundry, showering in the middle of the day, taking the dogs out for an extra long walk, or getting lost in a book I'm reading. 

Sometimes I play around with book teasers or create silly things with my book covers…

(Check out my covers on those Times Square billboards!) 

But no matter what it looks like, it really is part of my work day. Now I can appreciate that occupying myself with something other than writing very often frees up my mind to take my stories in totally new directions. I still have to pay attention so the procrast…um, I mean, the percolating…doesn't take more time than the writing. But I have to say, I've had many of my best ideas when I give myself permission to indulge in this habit. 

How about you? Do you have any rituals that help you get your creative juices flowing? Are you a procrastinator or someone who can get right down to your to-do list? 

Happy Reading! 

Amy Lamont 

P.S. I almsot forgot! Just sharing this with you guys right now, but Getting Lucky with the Rock Star (Holiday Encounters Book 3) will be on sale from March 22-27 on Amazon. If you haven't had a chance to read it yet, this is the perfect time to grab it for only 99¢!