We all have our own little tricks that we do to get ourselves in the "zone," so to speak. I listen to movie music and orchestra while I write. If I'm not particlularly in the mood, but know I need to pump out some pages, I watch a few choice adrenaline-stirring scenes from movies like The Matrix, Braveheart, Gladiator, etc... Occassionally I'll put in some music that I think would be the soundtrack for a particular scene. I try to imbue every sense with the mood of the scene. And reading always gets me primed for writing, so I usually read for a half hour to an hour before I start.
Well, in addition to all this, I have to be in a particular place in order to have the right state of mind. After much questing, my three writing places are, in order from most preferred to least: Perkins, Borders Book Store, Starbucks.
I can't explain why these places work. Maybe because in all three of these places creative people hang out a lot, so maybe there's just an energy that gathers around them. Anyhow, does anyone have a preferred spot they like to write?
I wonder where Mr. Butcher goes to create...