Behind the Pages: My Rituals When Writing

Most of my writing happens in the afternoons or at night. Sometimes the shades are up and the city feels alive outside my window. Other times the shades are down and I’m wrapped in that soothing kind of darkness where everything slows down. I’ll either have music playing or thunderstorm sounds coming from my Alexa, who I renamed Ziggy.

I keep my snacks close because once I start writing, I don’t want to move. Yogurt, fruit bars, plantain chips, Doritos, Red Bull, water, sour punch bites, sour powers. It depends on the mood, but there’s always something within reach.

R&B is usually playing in the background. It keeps me centered. The music isn’t just noise; it keeps my emotions steady while I write through heavy or intimate scenes. I pause a lot to reread and tweak things, sometimes even after posting a sneak peek. I’ll pull it back down, fix what’s bothering me, and put it up again once it feels right.

What draws me most to dark romance are the emotional layers. The intimacy. The tension. The power dynamics. I like exploring what happens when love gets messy and complicated but still feels magnetic. I don’t rush those moments; I sit in them.

I know I’m done for the night when I start yawning too much or when the words start feeling forced. I’m usually calm when I write. I don’t need chaos or high emotion to get in the zone. I just need comfort, quiet, and time.

Sometimes I’ll reread scenes and start editing again even if they’re already good. Perfection is a habit I have to keep in check because if I let myself, I’ll keep editing forever. But once I finally stop, I just sit there for a while. I let the scene settle. I think about what my characters just went through and what it pulled out of me too.

That’s my process. No candles. No ceremony. Just me on my couch, snacks around me, Ziggy playing R&B or rain, and a story that always finds a way to pull me deeper than I planned.

Every writer has their rhythm. This is mine.