We humans can be some very ritualistic beings. I, for example, engage in a myriad of rituals that to others may seem pointless or completely nonsensical, but damn they feel good, and without them, I may feel more lost or misguided. There is something comforting and methodical about rituals. Carrying them out tends to add more weight or significance to the task they surround, and at times, we lean on these for strength or simply use them to distract ourselves from the daily bullshit with which we are constantly bombarded.

To be clear, I’m not talking about religious or societal rituals, but rather the daily seemingly mundane acts we arbitrarily impose upon ourselves. Sure, a lot of them may be absolutely ridiculous and have no true impact or influence on ourselves or our actions, but there’s something human about organizing and planning out every detail when it comes to doing something as simple as brushing your teeth or enjoying your morning coffee.

Morning rituals, afternoon rituals, drinking and socializing rituals- everyone has them and I’m sure everyone can understand why they have them. But I am especially interested in people’s rituals involving the way they create art. Whether it is painting, sculpting, writing music, or any other form of art, artists are especially inclined to the whole obsessive ritual thing.

I am in no way an exception to this. I am extremely ritualistic when it comes to lyric writing. Case in point:

*When writing lyrics, I ONLY use a black Moleskine notebook

*I write exclusively with a mechanical pencil and I NEVER erase anything I write

*Each and every entry is dated in the same format in the upper right corner

*I must always drink one of two beverages when writing: either black coffee or red wine

*MUSIC is a must! Although the artist changes depending on the content I am writing, Marilyn Manson and
Modest Mouse have spent by far the most time as soundtracks to my writing, though never within the same session.

( …I’m sure there are more, but you get the point.)

These aren’t just preferences, these are needs. If I sit down to write without each of these in place, it just doesn’t work. Nothing but shit comes out of my brain and onto paper. Writing in ink, or drinking a beer rather than with pencil or drinking wine absolutely destroys the entire process.

Sometimes I really have to ask myself, why in the hell would I impose such restrictions on the way I can create art? What were my initial intentions or expectations when I first set these rules and practices into place? Are they even necessary? Are they beneficial? I’m sure there’s some reason and logic in there somewhere, but in case you aren’t aware, my brain is an ever-changing maze of metaphors and fractured philosophy. Rather than truly digging down deep and trying to figure out whether or not these rituals help or hinder my writing process, I just go right on engaging in them. I have been doing so for so long, it just doesn’t seem right to do otherwise.

I could go back almost ten years, tracing the roots of each of the aspects of my writing rituals. It’s no wonder I’ve learned not to actually question them. I do wonder though, what kind of lyrics would I write and how much of an actual change would be noticeable in my lyrics if I didn’t engage in these long standing rituals? Is my writing truly reliant on environmental factors, or are these simply for my own comfort and need for some sort of consistency? What kind of writer would I be if I abandoned these practices? Does any of this even fucking matter?