Getting Ready to Write

So I have a ritual when I am getting ready to start or work on an assignment. First, I check my e-mail, respond and think of any friends I haven't written to in awhile. Then I head over to my Google Reader and see who has posted some new posts. I read them, comment, and then go through the list again to see if anyone has updated their blog since I first started reading. Then I check the message boards to see what everyone else is up to for the day. To get me in the writing mode, I will write here or just write on a subject I enjoy. After that, my juices are flowing…usually. If not, then I have to just make myself write.

Forcing Creativity in Writing

It really doesn't work that way. You can't force creativity. Creativity is something that you need to find within yourself and release it. If it's locked away somewhere and you are not mentally prepared to release it, you won't produce great pieces of writing. Forcing yourself causes you to put pressure on yourself and that stresses you out making you forget the reason why you started writing in the first place. You are not a machine spitting out words on a page. Writing is an art. There is a difference between wanting to write and having to write, and that difference will show in the quality of your writing.