so who are you???

[A]

hello all!
who are you?
what do you write?
what genre do you read most?
do you have any writing ritual? special music? special clothing? anything?

:) welcome!

[A]

heh. i could have done this in the original post, buuuuut.
i'm anyonita ((ann-yo-nita)) and i most enjoy writing poetry, freeverse. and the genres that i read more than others tend to be poetry, essays and autobiographies of primarily, writers. i don't know how much of a "ritual" it is, but i tend to either write in the early early moments before dawn, 3 and 4 a.m. or anytime, if i have some jazz playing in the background.

[Mark]

I mostly write science fiction and fantasy, and of that, mostly fantasy, though occasionally I produce stuff that I prefer to think of as magical realism.

I write whenever I can grab the time for it, on whatever is at hand. I have a journal, but it doesn't do much good; I still leave little slips of paper with character notes, scenes, and strange diagrams on them everywhere I go. Another of my quirks is that my stories tend to spend a long time (years) germinating before they ever see the light of day. And also, anything I start on a computer is doomed. It's only real if I at least begin it by hand.

[Mo]

I am an attorney which means all of my creative energy was zapped in law school. In law school, I was taught that the way I'd learned to write as an English major in my undergraduate studies was all wrong! I had to learn to conform to the BORING style of legal writing. Therefore, I am still trying to recover - still trying to get my creative energy back.

I have writer's block right now and have had this for some time. I have an online journal that I write in sometimes. My new goal is to write something - anything - everyday to get back into the swing of writing. I would like to write children's fantasy fiction. I also like short stories and non-fiction essays. As I begin exploring more, who knows what else I may find to like.

I read fiction the most.

I'm still trying to develop a writing ritual.

I like Mark's note about writing ideas on slips of paper. It's also interesting that he writes things by hand. This could perhaps be my problem. I try to type everything by computer. This group is inspiring me already . . .

[Mark]

Wow, Mo - I'm sorry to hear about that. Not to discourage you too much, but I have heard that lawyer is one of the world's most common former profession. Anyway, I hope lawyering serves you well for as long as you choose it.

Anyway, unless anyone minds the discussion veering off in another direction, we could brainstorm writing rituals. I agree that writing rituals have the potential to be very powerful.

The first thing to think about is how mystical you want to be. Are you really into your writing ritual being more or less a kind of personal agic, or are you just looking for a way to clear your head and get yourself into a writing place, or something that is both?

[A]

good questions mark, i think for me my ritual tends to be just a way to clear my head and step into my writing place. because there are definitely times where i don't bother with writing before dawn or with listening to anything. ...
i too, found it interesting that you write things by hand ((been on vacay, hence the delay)). seems to be a shock, since so much of everything is computer related nowadays!