I’m Hooked on a Ritual
In an effort to share more of myself with you guys I created Books for Life. I talk about my life outside of this sanctuary called the blogosphere. Hopefully you guys like getting to know the girl behind the blog a little bit more.
I’m a writer, which I’ve mentioned quite – a – few – times on the blog. And just for you (yes, you!), I’m going to give you the lowdown on my writer ritual.
I cannot, and I mean cannot, start writing a book if I do not have the following prepared beforehand:
A title
I need a goddamn title before I start writing a book. I just need it. I need to know the thing that wraps up my book in several words. In fact, one of the ideas that I have not yet written into a novel started with just a title, and that was it. Four words, and then a story idea came to me.
The names of the main characters
Oh boy do I need these. Mainly the protagonist’s. I need their name because of so many reasons. And choosing this name is no easy feat, my friend! The name can’t just be some random name I picked out of thin air. It needs to be perfect. It needs to suit the character, and their traits, and their feelings, and the circumstances. And a name can do all this. Trust me. It can.
The first line
Yep. The first line is always one of the first things that comes to me after thinking up an idea for a novel. They actually come to me really easily. And I usually keep them, as well. These first lines just generally really fit with my story, and they are one of my favourite things about writing a book.
A font
I cannot write all my books in the same font. My first was written in Garamond, my second in Calibri Light, and my current WIP is being written in Book Antiqua. It can actually take me quite some time to choose a font to write my novels in. Almost as long as choosing a name for my main character. The font, like the name, has to suit the character. Which means that if I have inspiration to write a scene in another character’s POV, just for funsies, I have to pick a new font. These fonts speak to me, okay? They have to be representative of who is saying the words that they are showing, otherwise the book just won’t happen. No way, no how.
Without these things, my book can’t be written. These are my requirements. The things I NEED before I can crack my wrists, procrastinate on Twitter, and write three words before giving up. I kid! I mean five words.
Do you have a writing ritual? Tell me about it!
I didn’t even think about changing my font! That is a fun way to start!
Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
it definitely helps me get in the mood to write a story :)
Oh my gosh, I am SO LIKE THIS!
Except for the font thing. I used to need a special font for the title, but I stopped doing that a while ago.
I actually find character names really easy…usually. They show up in my head, and I ask them what their name is, and they tell me.
Sometimes they’re jerks and don’t tell me, but I get the name in the end. Usually from a different character.
As for the title…I can function without it, but I prefer to have one. Even if it’s just a working title.
Haha! I used to try and have a nice, fancy font for the title but I stopped that ages ago XD
I think it really depends on the character – how easily their name comes to me. In my last book, the names of the three main characters were just THERE. But with my current WIP, it took longer to find the perfect ones!
I always like having a title, too. It makes the whole thing seem more legit!
I love your writing rituals! I think it’s so interesting how our writing rituals are not the same at ALL. For me, it all starts with a scene — something that is unchanging and eating at me completely. It’s a line or an action or a piece of clothing, but it’s something that makes it IMPOSSIBLE for me to let the story go.
Then I write that scene out, and if names don’t come I leave them out. I just get the words on the page and work with them, and see what comes of that scene in my head. Then I worry about names after I’ve fleshed out the character, and like you said: it HAS to be the PERFECT name, otherwise it won’t work for me. I 100% understand that!
I think it’s so adorable you have to change the font! I can write in any font. I generally prefer a pretty font, but most of the time I go with manuscript format — 12 pt Times New Roman, double-spaced with 0.5″ paragraph indents. XD For some reason I can never change it. I like the idea of changing it though, especially depending on which POV you’re writing in!
Sometimes a book starts off as he most BASIC of ideas, and the morphs into something completely different. That happened with FA, actually! It started out in a completely different setting! But I love that you write the scene down, even without names. it’s fab.
Times New Roman reminds me of uni! I wrote all my uni assignments in TNR, so I just cant do anything creative with it now, haha XD
I think this is a really nice ritual! :D I love picking out my characters’ names, like going through name lists and surname lists and trying to find something that fits them just right. :) As for titles, I tend to have a working title or a list of possible titles. My mind always changes about it, haha!
Awh, thank you Ana! I used to go through name lists ALL the time, but recently my name picking has been easier. Hopefully this stays because picking names can be very painful D:
Before I start writing, I brainstorm the heck out of my titles! And it can be really hard to pick one that I am 100% happy with, but it eventually comes to me :D
I think mine are JUST as bad if not worse. While I don’t care abou the font [Times New Roman pt 12], I have to write a word doc of EVERY chapter that happens before it happens.
And when I do this beforehand, I realize how easy writing become. It’s also fun because I’ve found myself changing things as I familiarize myself with the characters and what they would be likely to do
Oh, wow! So you’re an in-depth plotter? I am not quite the opposite (which is no plot), but I just have a few key dot points written down that I know I want to include!
I love it when the characters start to become that much more REAL to you. My favourite part of writing, by far.
I’m truly amazed with people who have mad skills at writing. I more on the idea kinda person but never have the guts to write ‘em down. I think I understand why you want a different font on each manuscript because it feels like you’re writing differently from your previous work.
Maybe one day you will write them down, Mitchii! <3
And yes, changing the font definitely makes me feel like the texts are separate from each other. But funnily enough I write all my fanfic in the same font, regardless of the character/media XD
I agree with so many of these! The names are really important and I probably spend a little bit too much time picking out character names. I have no idea how I’ll ever decide on a name for one of my children someday! :) Titles are really important to me too, they just give everything else a really good vibe going forward. Plus, it sounds more definitive than “untitled,” like I’m actually going to write something.
Sometimes character names come to me SO easily, and other times it’s like the character just doesn’t want a name it is so hard to pick one *wails*
Having a title for the work definitely does make it seem more official, and it can give an overall feel to the book, as well – which I love!
I’ve never before considered the impact of a font on my creative work….interesting! I’ve always written in Arial by default. But I’m with you on character names. They can change later, but they have to be solid before I start writing. I also always must have a hot beverage nearby, and instrumental music at the ready, which helps me focus.
It’s something that is really important to me as a writer! I simply can’t write more than one book in the same font.
Character names are possibly THE most important thing to me, because they have to represent the character perfectly.
Instrumental music can be such a good background for writing!
I’m not a writer (though I’m thinking about it) and I think I would definitely need the protagonist’s name first before I could start my novel because it would be too weird to write about someone with no name. I’m not sure about the title though. I think I’ll need to write the whole book first before I could think of a title.
Sometimes names can be SO hard, though. With my current WIP, two of the characters’ names were completely different when I was planning it! And then just before I started writing, I knew they had to change.
That’s interesting! But I suppose naming the book after it’s finished does make sense.
I think the only thing I need is Pinterest open and my ‘writing playlist’ open – which consists of all instrumental songs…that are epic. :D
I know a lot of people love Pinterest for things like writing, but it has never gelled with me! Maybe I’m doing it wrong XD
I do love my playlists, but I can make do without them. But I do like writing to music!
Yes I always have to get my characters’ names first! If I can’t THEN I REFUSE TO START lol
RIGHT! They are soooooo important, and sometimes they just won’t come, and that’s annoying to no end T.T
The others are pretty generic, but that font thing? Well, that certainly fits into a ritual that’s all your own. I do have to use a font that I like before writing, though. It’s either Cambria, Courier New, and Calibri, sometimes. I absolutely hate Arial.
When I tried writing before, though, it’s all just a mess. No plot, no first line . . . yeah, I was a terrible writer. And now, I’ve got no ideas for any books.
UGH ARIAL. *hisses* I think that may be my most hated font of all time.
Awh, no! I’m sure you weren’t terrible. And I think we all come into our writer-ness. I mean. I read back on things from a few years ago and DEAR LORD IT’S BAD.
Using a different font for every book, that’s a very interesting part of your writing rituals. I like that! It does make sense, because fonts can give a text a different feeling.
I’m glad you get it, Mel! Fonts do really give me different feelings, so I have to pick one that matches my character and the story they are telling!
Oh my gosh I can totally relate to all of those. (Except maybe the first one. For the most part Novel 1 was always Novel 1 until a good few chapters into the story). Choosing the font and the look (and for me also the page size) is VERY important in writing a story, without it I just can’t. It doesn’t feel right.
Yay! I’m glad I’m not the only one :D For some reason I just can’t work with my novel until I have a title! It makes it seem more real that way, I guess.
My page size is always at 100%, anything else is too small or too large, haha!