I just realized something. I am not following any of my writing rituals that I had so minutely assembled in order to write. I'm sitting here, editing chapter four, and there are no candles...no snack...no nothing!
A year ago today, I was in the early days of starting to write my first novel. However, in order to actually sit down and write, I first needed to drink some water. Then see what I had to buy in order to restock the pantry. Then I had to make sure the kids were still asleep...maybe I'd give them one more peck on the cheek...hmmm...didn't wake them up...
Ok, so then I had to select a snack...a bowl of almonds? chips and dip? popcorn? Oh, yes, popcorn would do. Then I had to find a candle...
The ritual would take about twenty minutes to do...and then I'd finally sit down to write...maybe...
However, here I am, sitting with no candle, no snack, and I'm just writing...well, editing what I've already written (and converting a 3rd person POV to a first person, so yeah, I'm rewriting). And I'm able to do a whole lot more writing now without all the fancy preparation than I was a year ago...
So this leaves me with a question...
Have I reached some sort of writing plateau? is it confidence? It sort of feels like confidence... But why? I mean, here I have this 165K first draft that I have to edit to 100K, make it readable to others outside myself, and then edit it again...and again...and again.... Where is all this cockiness coming from? That I can just sit down without paying homage to the writing gods and just...write?
It's like mountain climbing, when you have the peak in sight and you know you'll be there in a few hours. You just get this feeling inside of you, like you've already done it, and that feeling helps to propel you to the finish - to the summit. It's almost like you can already see the view, you're so close.
I guess at this point in a writers career, they no longer need the talismans, rabbits foot, the candles, the snack, the offerings to the gods to get in writing mood and write... You're already there. You can see the finished draft in your mind, it being only a few edits away.
And it does give you a cockiness, and why not? In order to write you have to be cocky. If you don't have faith in your talent, no one else will.
