I’m sure we’ve all wished we could just sit down to write, immediately get into a groove, and knock out a bunch of words like it’s nothing. Most of the time, it’s not like that. My brain wants to get the mood right. And if we’re being honest, I can waste a lot of time doing that. But I found a shortcut to that creative flow mood when I was in college and wanted to do some fun writing between class projects. That shortcut was sound.

Specifically music. I would listen to my general writing playlist while thinking how I wanted the next scene to play out. There would always be one song where suddenly the scene started to come together in my mind—and that song became my way in.

I’d listen to just that song on repeat while I imagined the scene over and over and start writing. Of course, I never got the whole scene done in one sitting. But whenever I wanted to get back to work on it, I just needed to play that one song and bam! Back into writing mode with all my ideas at the forefront of my mind.

I had intuitively stumbled upon a productivity technique that’s become part of my creative ritual. (If you’re looking for other ways to stay productive, you should see my post about How to Create a Reward System to Stay Productive.)

The Power of Ritual in Creative Practice

Stripped of any woo-woo energy you might associate with the word, a ritual is simply a sequence of deliberate actions meant to create focus, intention, and transformation. It’s not any different from the little routines of your day.

Grounded in consistency and psychological cues, a ritual serves as a structured path to prime the mind and body for a specific mode of work, like starting the day, deepening concentration, or diving into a particular task.

From a mindfulness perspective, a ritual is a focused practice to align with energy, honor intention, and cultivate presence. It might include symbolic tools or gestures—things that may be effective to the individual for switching modes, but might not work for everyone.

The way to make it actually work is through repetition.

This is called neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to rewire its neural pathways through repeated behavior. Over time, you build the association between your psychological cues and the state of mind you want to be in until it actually feels as simple as flipping a switch in your brain.

For creatives, we can use this to set a signal and train our brains to enter creative mode more easily over time. No more waiting around for the right mood or inspiration to decide when it’s time to create.

Probably the most ubiquitous example of this is classic Pavlovian conditioning, but there are many contemporary studies and practices that incorporate this method. A few years ago, I went through the Positive Intelligence coaching program with some other creative writers and used the science of neuroplasticity to alter our neural pathways to be more resilient to negative emotions like stress and self-doubt.

As a side note for my fellow creatives, Jessica Conoley is the coach I’ve worked with several times who is trained in the Positive Intelligence methodology. I can’t recommend her highly enough and she specializes in working with creative types to reconnect with their creativity and purpose.

My Writing Sound Ritual

I still use music as I described earlier. It’s become even more useful now that I have a tiny human to care for and don’t have time to wait around for the “write mood” if I want to ever get any writing done. But it only works for me on smaller pieces of writing, like a specific scene or short story.

To get my brain into writer mode—whether it’s to write a blog post, short story, or work on my novel manuscript—I use a little brass bell I found on Etsy.

The sound is sharp enough to completely snap my brain out of any other distracting thoughts I have at the moment and bring my attention to the work in front of me. It also feels like it brings some energy to my workspace, as if it’s waking up my work as well as my brain.

Some days, I only need to shake it gently for a little tinkling of sound. But there are days when I ring it loud and persistently, like I’m summoning my creative energy. Either way, it’s what works for me.

Crafting Your Own Writing Sound Ritual, Step By Step

1. Choose your sound. It can be a specific song, an audio clip, a type of ambient background noise, a single chime, a bell, a particular rhythm you tap with your fingers, a tune you hum, or a mantra you say or whisper to yourself.
2. Set your intention. The purpose of your ritual is to redirect all your focus to engaging with your creative mind. Speak that purpose aloud or in your mind.
3. Pair it with something physical. This could be a place, like where you typically do your creative work, or a tool you use. The sound signals your brain it’s time to create, but a physical signal helps your body get into creative mode, too.
4. Repeat with a sense of peace and fun. This shouldn’t feel like an obligation or an annoying step you have to take before you can start creating. Let it be part of the creative process and get you excited for what you’re about to do.
5. Be consistent and let it evolve. Your ritual might shift into something simpler or with more steps according to what feels right for you. Let it be whatever helps you create.

Feel free to add whatever you like to enhance the vibe. For a while, my writing ritual had a lot of components: music, scented candles, my favorite tea, and thunderstorm white noise. I’d even stare at a quote hanging in my workspace for a few minutes to help gather my confidence. This is deeply personal and unique to you.

Troubleshooting When the Ritual Fizzles Instead of Sparks

You might hit some hiccup along the way, like distraction, burnout, or some unidentifiable resistance in your body to create when you want to. That’s okay. It happens. You might just need some gentle recalibration:

• Take a break and try again another time.
• Clean/tidy/organize your space.
• Change your sound signal.
• Add another sensory signal, like scent or taste.
• Journal about your blocked feeling.
• Talk through your blocked feeling with a friend.

Final Thoughts on Writing Sound Rituals

I invite you to play with sounds and find one to become a gentle anchor for your creativity. If you’ve already found your perfect signal to activate writer mode (or whatever other kinds of creative modes you work in), I’d love to hear about it. Share your sound ritual in the comments. Who knows? It might inspire someone else just starting to experiment.

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