Coffee Mate is my new best friend. They’ve made their peppermint mocha flavor a year-round thing instead of a seasonal thing. Which really doesn’t have anything to do with writing except the ritual of it all.

When I worked in an office (way back when a month and a half ago – it seems so very long ago now, and I still miss the old job, because honestly I’ve had few better, except for the whole layoff thing, but that’s neither here nor there), instead of at home, part of my morning ritual was a cup of coffee.

Odd thing is, when I work at home I don’t do the same thing. It’s a habit I think is important, even if its some other hot drink. Because it’s not about the caffeine, it’s about the ritual. When I work at home (like I am now, got my first paycheck in a month and a half today and WOOT! ^_^), I have this odd tendency to roll out of bed, turn on work email, and the plug in and wait for the emails to start rolling in.

But working outside of the house means I have to shower, dress, eat, drive to the office…all sorts of things. It requires me to shift my focus before I dive right in. I actually have time to put myself in a work frame of mind.

During all of this, I’ve realized I write the same way. I can just roll out of bed and start typing words, literally or figuratively. But there’s something about the ritual of preparing myself that helps me focus my mind on the task at hand. The ritual of it all. It helps me get inside my characters heads and see and feel what’s going on.

I think it’s probably a bit Pavlovian. My creativity says “this is how we work. Conform or go back to the sludge with those conformist bastards who make you have a day job.” My creativity is screwed up. But it works. I turn on the music. I drink my coffee. I close my eyes and sink into my story world before I start writing it.

What kind of writing rituals do you have? Or am I completely off my rocker on this one?