“I’m Ready to Write – Hand Me My Decoder Ring!”

If you've ever wondered if your writing work habits are weird, the answer is probably yes. The good news is that you’re not alone.

I think it’s safe to say that most writers are particular about the environment in and conditions under which they write. Can't put a pen to paper until you're wearing your lucky Notre Dame sweat pants and have a glass of Orange Lavaburst Hi-C at your side? That's understandable. No words will come until you're playing The Mamas & the Papas at a volume that endangers your ear drums? I can see that. Work will only begin once you’re seated in front of your 1961 Underwood Quiet Tab Portable with a beret on your head, a parrot on your shoulder and a decoder ring on your pinky finger? Whatever it takes to get the job done, man.

Writers need these kinds of routines to be productive, says Stephen King, who – regardless of your opinion on his writing – is nothing if not productive.

In this post on the blog Daily Routines, which chronicles the work habits of writers and other interesting sorts, King explains his process: He sits down between 8 and 8:30 a.m. with a glass of water and a vitamin. His music must be playing, he must be in the same seat he always uses, and his papers are in the same places they were the day before. It’s a physical routine that gets his mind into writing mode. It’s the body’s way of telling the mind it’s almost time to get to work.

Whether you write professionally or you’re working on your own material after your day job, it’s not always easy to make the words come. Or make them make sense. Or make them something worth reading. So if a parrot or a fluorescent orange drink or “Monday, Monday” make that process easier, embrace it. It’s what any self-respecting writer would do.

By Abbie Kiefer.