Preparing to Write

Whenever I sit down to write I perform a small ritual.  This is so natural to me I hardly notice it anymore. The first thing
I do, even before picking up my pen, is to pause.  I take a few deep breaths and consciously let go of anything I may be
clinging to from the ‘real world.’  I (temporarily) let go of worries, my ‘to do’ list, etc.  Then I become aware of my surroundings.  I look at the sky if I can see it, I listen, smell, feel.  I root down so I am steady in what I am about to do.

Then I shift my attention to my fictional world and use my senses in the exact same way to become aware of that world.  I see where my story is located, I listen for it sounds, smell its scents, feel what is happening there.  When it is real enough I pick up my pen and begin to write.


        

Anyone watching me would assume I had paused, searching for words.

They would be right. But they would also be wrong.

I am searching for words, but I am doing much more than that.  I am preparing to walk the tightrope into my imagination.  I am building a bridge between my real world and my fictional one.  I am shape-shifting into my characters.  
 
There is magic to writing and this is how I cast my spell.  How about you?  How do you
prepare to write?