IWSG, ROW80, and Isolation Music and Poetry

oday is Insecure Writer's Support Group Day!

This month's question is: Do you have any rituals that you use when you need help getting into the ZONE?
Care to share?

If given the space, I definitely do!

I need a latte in a bottomless mug, my favourite pen, a lovely notebook, some music...

However, I usually have very limited time to write. This is not a problem when working on the first draft, because then it's not work; the ideas simply flow and I'm eager to get writing. But for all the subsequent editing stages, I have to squeeze them into the daily round whenever I can.

The best thing for me is to have a goal or deadline, or both, usually in the form of a contest I'd like to enter or an open call from a publisher with a firm end date.

Which reminds me, WRiTE Club is starting soon!

As for ROW80, I've been caught up with work and distance learning and so on, and haven't really progressed on research for Captive of the Sea. But our printer is finally working, so I may print it all out and stay up late and reread it all, editing on paper. We shall see!

I thought I'd also share some of the fun stuff I've experienced in the last few weeks!

Some of the music I've been listening to:

One night a couple of weeks ago! Mark Morriss of the Bluetones
One night many weeks ago! Roddy Woomble of Idlewild
A few nights here and there! Yo Yo Ma
Every afternoon (LA time)! Neil Finn hosting Fangradio
Every night (Western Europe time)! Tim's Twitter Listening Party

Some of the poetry I've been reading:

Dawn of Darkness by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o
Pardon Me by Ron Wodaski
Fabrication by Kate Davies
A Great Wagon by Rumi
Sir Patrick Stewart reading Shakespeare's sonnets

Which artists and poets have you listened to and read recently?

Do you have writing rituals?