Hello, friends!
Stuff. It’s one of those words, right? George Carlin had a whole bit on it. My stuff. I like using that word because it’s so…I don’t know…weak. It’s funny to me. When I want to be fancy, I’ll use accoutrements. That’s also a word I always misspell without Spellcheck. But stuff, I can spell easily. It’s fun to say, too.
I’m calling this update “Rituals & Other Stuff” because as I sit here ready to write this week’s update, I don’t entirely know what I’m going to write about. I’ve got a lot of ideas. Ideas aren’t the problem. It’s just deciding on what idea I want to use.
I haven’t been feeling great this week. I’m not sure whether I’m fighting something off, or if the new medications for high blood pressure and depression are having an effect, or if I’m just missing the ability to write during the day when I’m feeling fresher now that I’m back in school. Maybe it’s all of it. Maybe it’s none of it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.
Yeah, I did that.
Anyway, last week a friend wrote about writing rituals in their newsletter and it’s kinda got me thinking about mine a bit, so I think that’s where I’m going to go. I might also go to some other places, maybe some quickie stuff. We’ll see.
I also got an influx of new free Patreon subscribers over the last few days. Weird. Anyway, welcome!
So, let’s get into this update and see where we end up.
Welcome to the 104th installment of Gauthic Times, the newsletter about my writing, my life, and writing rituals.
Know what would make a great 2025? If you became a paid-Patron on my Patreon, where I write about things in more detail than I do in the newsletter or on my website and include the actual names of my works-in-progress and not just codenames. The lowest tier for Patreon is $1 but at $5/month, we’re looking at some serious help.
If every subscriber or reader of this newsletter, or every social media follower I have became a Patron at even just the $1 tier, I could write more and pay my bills better. The same would happen if they bought copies of my books.
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Anyway, let’s go!
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I’m on page 492 of Project: Amusement Park as I write this on Saturday afternoon. That’s 190 pages left to edit. I’m in the section of the book where there’s going to be a prison riot. It’s an important happening for two of the characters and impacts nearly everything else in the book even though it’s not a huge focus. I don’t know if I’m explaining that well. Anyway, it’s going along. There’ve been spots that have surprised me and spots that needed some real work. You know how it is. I think?
Unfortunately, with school back on and my not feeling great, I haven’t done any more research on agents or sent out any other queries.
During basketball practice today, I worked a little bit more on the play project I’ve mentioned. I think I’ll call it Project: Moon for now.
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Last Sunday, my friend Kristy Acevedo, author of The Warning and The Fallout, wrote about writing rituals in her newsletter Sowing Words. I responded to it and have been thinking about it on and off this past week.
What are my writing rituals? Do I even have any? Many creative people have rituals before they do their creative thing but I can’t say that I have anything really clear that I do. At least, that’s what I was thinking as I read Kristy’s essay. The more I thought of it, though, the more I began to see at least a little bit of one.
At night, I make tea. It’s my thing and I’ve done it off and on since I was a teenager. Mostly on. That has definitely become part of my process or ritual. Make a cup of tea before I sit down to do the work. If it’s during the day, it may be (or is likely to be) coffee that I make. Nothing fancy. Instant stuff that suits my needs. If there’s a pot of real coffee that’s been made, then I get a good cup. I keep forgetting about the French presses we have. I supposed I could make coffee that way. Either way, a warm drink has become part of my ritual.
As I’ve been editing Project: Amusement Park, I’ve been sitting at the kitchen table. The workspace is nice and roomy, but it’s in the kitchen that is open to the living room, so it’s not very quiet. I could wait until everyone is in bed like I used to, but they go to bed later now because my daughter is older now. I don’t really have another comfortable place in the apartment to go. Sitting on the bed would kill my back. The kitchen chair better. Not by much but I’ll take it. I grab my pen from my desk and go over to the table and begin the process of editing with my cup of tea nearby.
When I’m working at my desk, I’ll turn on the desk lamp if it’s nighttime. There’s something about placing my mug down and turning on the lamp that signals the start of the creative time. If I’m writing a first draft, I reread what I wrote the previous session, editing as I read, and then begin the new composition. If I’m revising an edited manuscript, then I just start.
Because I placed Project: Amusement Park in a binder–something I first did with Project: Monster–I can’t really bring the whole binder to the desk. I just don’t have the surface space for that. What I’ll do it bring the laptop over to the kitchen table. It’s not ideal but it’ll work for as long as I need it to. The set-up will be part of the ritual. Placing the binger in a good spot, placing the laptop on a stand and getting the mouse and keyboard.
I tend not to write to music anymore. I have trouble revising and editing to music, especially if there’s words. The apartment’s background noise is almost better because I can ignore it easier. Unless Pamela and G are watching something I’m mildly interested in, in which case very little gets done.
When I’m done, it’s making sure everything is saved for a final time (I save throughout; Command+S is my best friend) and put the computer to sleep or move the minder with the manuscript to wherever I’m keeping it, either an unused place at the table or my desk chair.
Is anything that I just mentioned a ritual? I don’t know. I don’t feel like I do anything too big because I see writing as work. I sit down and do it. The things on my desk are really more important to me than getting ramped up. That said, I do think that ritual plays a part psychologically. Making that hot drink, getting the tools set up, getting the Mise en place together, is all a part of it. Being able to study the toys and action figures on my desk when I get stuck is a part of it.
So, yeah, I have a ritual. It’s not big but it’s there and it’s a part of the process.
And if you haven’t subscribed to Kristy’s newsletter yet, do so. I find her essays calming and thoughtful.
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Currently reading
The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wending. Thanks, NetGalley! I’m still very early in the book but I’m enjoying it.
Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison. This is the 2024 re-release with introductions by Patton Oswalt and J. Michael Straczynski. I originally read this seminal anthology in 2002 when it was rereleased for the 35th anniversary. It blew my mind then. Now I intend to reread this and then read (finally) Again, Dangerous Visions and the brand new, long-awaited The Last Dangerous Visions.
The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King, read by Frank Muller. In December I listened to The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (read by George Guidall) and I’m intending to listen to them all again. I almost wish I was rereading it in book form instead of audiobook, but that may still happen. I love these stories.
Various comic books and articles.
Currently watching
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. What a fun series!
Creature Commandoes. I really enjoyed this. James Gunn gave a fucked-up, heartfelt story and I enjoyed it.
What If…? I’m behind a bit on this. I’m maybe halfway through season 3, but I’m enjoying it. I’m easy.
Love Lies Bleeding. Strange movie with excellent performances. I keep thinking about it.
Whatever YouTube stuff G watches, primarily Moriah Elizabeth, Froggycrossing, or Peachybbies. I like Moriah Elizabeth and am happy for her success. The rest, well, it’s on in the background and I think about life choices.
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I think that’s it for today. Thank you so much for subscribing, reading, and for your support!
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Gautham: Bill Gauthier.com 
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