Many athletes have bizarre rituals they follow, because at one time they ate a certain breakfast or wore a particular T-shirt, and won their event. Not wanting to risk bad luck, they have to eat the same breakfast, wear the same outfit, grow a beard. Every. Single. Game. Or in the case of the beard, they refuse to shave during the playoffs (NHL, anyone?).
I have rituals. I always wear my yoga pants when I write. No, I don’t consider them lucky. Just comfortable. I’ve heard that writers should write (or at least read) poetry, because it helps them strength their writing by making it less flabby. So, that is now part of my writing ritual. Before I start writing, or after I’ve been writing for awhile, I read some pages out of one of Ellen Hopkins YA novels in verse. Why? Because I LOVE her edgy YA, she’s the master of emotion, and it has make a big difference with my writing. Wow, who knew?
Now I just need a ritual for querying and checking my inbox. Hmmm. Wonder what I was wearing the last time I landed a request.
Do you have any rituals you have to do before writing, querying, opening an email from an agent?