We all got em'. So let's share em'.

You know that thing you do when you're writing to help you along the way and to make it generally more enjoyable.

Mines:

Everyone is British no matter what. I pace around in a circle talking to myself as my characters. And I always envision various actors in each part. I think it helps lol

What's yours?

Hmmm, I think the only quirk I can think of is that I tend to put a movie on in the background of the genre I'm writing in,

I have a quirk before I start writing. I usually start reading a pro script to get "in the zone". Anywhere from like 5-30 pages worth, then I immediately fire up Final Draft and get to work. It's almost always the same one's over and over again too. Not necessarily all amazing scripts, but these are usually what I go with for some reason...

If writing comedy:
Groundhog Day
Old School

If writing anything else:
Aliens
The Lookout
The Last Samurai
Brick
The Breakfast Club
Constantine
Basic Instinct
The Matrix
Blade Runner
Avatar
Serenity

Quoted from MarkItZero I have a quirk before I start writing. I usually start reading a pro script to get "in the zone". ...

I often use this same trick.

I'm fairly normal. Before writing I put on a pot of coffee, fire up the laptop, pop on some awesome inspiring soundtrack music, remove my pants and cover myself in tuna brine. I then say a quick prayer to JHBJKBJHBJbkjbhkjbh, the god of typos, and sacrifice a turnip.  

No quirks really.

I just started doing something every day to get better at it but I really can't say it as I'll definitely jinx it. And I can't jinx it! Not a joke and not a big thing, I just don't want to scream it out. I don't even want to scream out that I don't want to scream it out so before I delete this post I

I Google to find an image of my main characters (famous or otherwise)  and paste those images on a Word file and look at them before I write any character descriptions or dialogue. I do one image for what they look like and one image for what they sound like.

For example:

For The Beginning of The End and The End.

Emily looked like a young Elizabeth Banks - She sounded like Tina Fey.

Don't know if that makes sense or not - but having those images helps me stay consistent with descriptions and dialogue.

Coffee - definitely coffee.  And soundtrack music (nothing with lyrics) - something that fits the mood of the story/scene (highly recommend the Taboo TV show soundtrack).

Then at least 15-20 minutes of procrastinating before actually writing anything...

My best days are when I start writing first thing in the morning, in my shorts, skipping breakfast, and downing a full pot of Joe.

All of a sudden it's afternoon, 20-30 pages down, and my legs are asleep. Good times.

Always listen to music with no lyrics.  Coffee on weekends.  Maybe watch something random for inspiration.

I'm also one of the ones who likes to listen to sountrack/epica music while writing. It actually helps me to block out voices if some of the songs in the mix have vocalizations or lyrics in a language I don't understand.

Fortunately, I'm American, so there are lots of languages I don't understand

I try to just write stuff to get it out of my head, then go back and fix the formatting or OTNedness when I get a bit stuck.

I haven't written in a while, but here's a few things I've done:

I usually envision actors (leading men/women or character actors), whether it's likely they'll ever get cast, even if I'm the one directing.

I like to watch movies in the same genre I'm writing in, or listen to scores, etc. in that genre. If I'm writing a slasher, I go straight to the Halloween and Friday the 13th movies. I've been writing a 90s nostalgia coming-of-age kinda thing and watched American Graffiti and Dazed and Confused to get a feel for the genre. On a similar note, I've listened to songs I intend to include on the soundtrack.

I've envisioned the movie or specific scenes in my head, sometimes complete with actors, shots, lighting, aspect ratio, music, etc.

I haven't written in quite some time, but last I did, I was listening to a lot of rain/wind/thunderstorm sounds and general ambient soundtracks. They don't put me in a mood, per se, but they definitely keep me relaxed and focused. I can't for the life of me write in silence, but I can't really listen to music whilst writing the way I used to either. If I do, I prefer doomy/atmospheric stuff. Music is still a major creative driver for me, but the past few years, its role has played out largely outside the actual physical writing for me.

I'll also brew a large pot of coffee for myself and keep it by my side while I write. Essential. Sometimes I'll have a glass of beer, especially if I'm not in the mood to write, which is increasingly more and more often. Nice way to establish a natural allotted time for the task.

Anything to make the experience comfy for myself and create an atmosphere of calm and focus. Beyond that, I don't know about quirks. I read lines back to myself out loud and probably a lot of other shit, but generally if I'm doing anything weird while I'm actually writing, I either don't notice or would prefer not to notice.

I need to write in complete silence. No music or TV noise. The tiniest distraction will shift my focus or cause me to procrastinate.

I also don’t drink coffee, or take any stimulant alternatives, so a good night sleep always helps.