Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Charged by the Goddess

Home
Pagan
The Ritual of Writing Books (or Trying to Write Books)

The Ritual of Writing Books (or Trying to Write Books)

Last updated on: September 27, 2021 at 2:26 pm by Irisanya Moon

The Ritual of Writing Books (or Trying to Write Books) 2021-09-27T14:26:48-07:00 Irisanya Moon

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I haven’t been writing here lately.

It’s nothing personal, it’s just that…I have nothing to say. Well, I have a lot to say, but this is not the forum. Or maybe it will be once I wrap my head around all of the swirling.

Back to here.

Hey. One of the things I could have said was that I was busy writing the two books I’m contracted to write right now. I could have.

But that would be a lie. I have been THINKING of writing these books.

I just haven’t.

After writing 4 books in the last few years, my brain didn’t break, but it definitely could not imagine doing it again for a minute.

Like the time I ran a marathon and then followed it up with a 10K a few weeks later. The distance was so much shorter than it would have been easy for my body, but my brain was broken from the strain of the previous effort.

To get myself back into the swing of writing, and maybe to support anyone here who might be feeling themselves dragging, I share my ritual of writing.

(Books, that is. Poems are an entirely different beast.)

Free for Commercial Use va Pixabay

The Sacred Container for Words

Like any good spell, I begin with a container to hold the magick. This container can sometimes be super fancy, like a full ritual might be. Or it might be as simple as finding a quiet place to write where I won’t be interrupted by anyone but my cats.

Best places to write? A coffee shop or library.

In a pandemic? Anywhere but where I write for work stuff.

The place is what I consider first.

Then, it’s about time. No, really, it’s about choosing the time. What time is best for me? Well, if I had full control over things, I would only write between 8am and 12pm. Sometimes between 2pm and 4pm.

As you can see, that’s hard with a traditional work schedule. So, I often write my books on weekends so I can clear the decks and crank things out.

Or, I shuffle my work schedule to make space for the book to hurtle into its deadline.

And I turn off the internet. And my phone. And notifications.

Those are treats when I hit certain word counts. Or when my eyes start to dry out and I need a break.

Without a container, I get nothing done. Without a container, it isn’t sacred, this act of writing. It’s not held.

Words need to be held and know they will be held before they will emerge.

For me, anyway.

Intention Setting for Writing

This part might happen with deliberate attention or it might be that I have certain goals for a particular day.

What is my intention for this writing session? Is it to write 2000 words? Is it to research that one thing I think I know, but better double check?

Or is it to wrap up loose ends and notes I’ve left in the manuscript?

And each time I start to get off track, I can bring myself back to the intention.

And if I complete the goal or meet the intention, I can stop.

I often keep going with a new intention.

Other Fun and Yet Oh So Mundane Tips

As I write this, I don’t think of it as being all that difficult. But when I think back to how I learned to write, I get that this is much different. I *had* do those papers in school.

I *get* to do this writing now. I signed up for it. I did the research, wrote the proposal, and signed the contact.

It’s on me now. So how can and will I support me?

Instrumental music in large headphones that cancel out background noise
Post it note over the time so I don’t keep checking
Caffeine, but no sugar unless I’m toward the end of my writing session (I’ll crash too quickly)
Water
Protein
A place to capture related thoughts to come back to later
Comfy clothes
Pulled back hair
Charger for all the things

Sometimes, I’ll create an altar to the book, e.g., I had an altar to Iris during that book and one for Aphrodite during that writing journey.

I have a few books coming up that will require an altar too.

Nothing fancy.

And at the end of when I’ve done what I can do in a day, I give thanks.

I give thanks to whomever was helping and I give thanks to myself for showing up.

After all, I did.

And even after long pauses, I will return.

***

About Irisanya Moon

I’m a Witch. I’m a writer. I’m a priestess, teacher, feminist, and initiate in the Reclaiming tradition, as well as death doula. I serve the godds, my community, and the Earth. I’ve called myself a Witch for nearly 20 years, and my life has been infused with magick. I am interested in shifting stories – the ones we tell ourselves and the ones that are told about us. I’m continuously inspired to engage as the storyteller and the story, the words and the spaces between. I am a devotee of Aphrodite, Hecate, the Norns, and Iris. I seek to find love and to inspire love by reminding us we are not alone, while also meeting myself at the crossroads, holding the threads of life, and bringing down messages from the godds. (I've also published some books. You can get them at my website.) You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

August 27, 2021

Dreaming Something Bigger: The Magick of Why

Next Post

October 4, 2021 I'll Be Home for Samhain, You Can Plan on Me

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Activism ADHD Allies Altars Ancestors Aphrodite Artemis Beloved Dead Beltane Book Reviews Books Brigid Classes Community Daily Magick Daily Practice Deathwork Deity Desire Devotion Divination Dreams Eclipse Everyday Magick Fall Equinox Feri Full Moon Gaia Godds grief Grounding Heart Magick Hope Integration Iris Joy Love Spell Magick Mercury Retrograde Mighty Dead Moon Myth New Moon Norns Pandemic Poetry Practical Magick Priestess Reclaiming Relationships Resilience Resistance Resourcing review Rite of Passage ritual Samhain Self Care Self Devotion Service Shadow Spell Spiral Dance Spring Equinox Summer Solstice Teaching Trance Uncategorized Water Winter Solstice Witchcamp Witchcraft Writing

Select a Month April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz