The power of ritual - and how it can help you write a book
Why I'm turning myself into my own Pavlov's Dog
In this roundup…
🤔 Classical conditioning, stimuli, and their potential role in productivity
🗺️ Inside the UAE’s beautiful Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Library
✈️ A journey to Transylvania - the home of Dracula - before Halloween
🙂 Neha Vinod: Upcoming author and UAE-based communications professional
✍️ The intentional triggers I use to induce more of my writing flow state
🧠 Three-dimensional synthetic worms, sonic branding, and Yellowjackets
Keep reading (or scroll to each section) to learn more!
“My only writing ritual is to shave my head bald between writing the first and second drafts of a book. If I can throw away all my hair, then I have the freedom to trash any part of the book on the next rewrite.” - Chuck Palahniuk
In the 1890s, a Russian physiologist named Ivan Pavlov conducted a series of experiments on dogs to research their salivation in response to being fed. He noticed that sometimes, the dogs would start salivating even before the food was put in front of them. Curious about this early anticipatory reaction, when he investigated further, he discovered that he could train a hungry dog to start drooling already upon hearing a particular sound - in this case, a metronome or buzzer - by teaching it to associate that sound with the sight (and usually consumption) of food. This experiment became one of the most famous of all time, leading to one of the most notable discoveries in psychology: the classically conditioned reflex, or classical conditioning.
Nowadays, this is one of the most basic concepts taught to students of psychology. Even people who are not familiar with the term "Pavlovian", or the concept of "Pavlov's Dog", or the details of the experiment itself, understand what conditioning means and how it can affect humans. For better or worse, whether it’s done intentionally and with awareness, or intentionally without our knowledge, or accidentally, the bottom line remains: that with regular exposure, the human brain can respond to a specific stimulus in a predictable way.
So what is the connection with writing a book? Well, we can use this idea to create a writing ritual that helps us focus more, procrastinate less, and get those words out. Intrigued? Read on…
🤔 The Perspective: Thoughts that make me go “hmm”
When you pour that first cup of coffee in the morning, do you only perk up when you take your first sip, or does it already happen when that first waft of the roasted, rich aroma tickles your nostrils? For many of us, that first treasured sniff is the triggering mechanism in the classically conditioned ritual for starting our day.
Before I got ICL surgery on my eyes in 2018, I wore contact lenses for 17 years. One surprising side-effect was how much I struggled to fall asleep at night afterwards. I realised that, after so many years of a firm pre-bedtime ritual - where I’d take out my contacts or remove my glasses as a final step - my brain couldn’t compute that it was time to sleep. I was so conditioned to associate my clarity of vision with being awake that without the world going blurry, the rest of me couldn’t believe it was really time to sleep. It took a long time for me to get used to my new reality.
Triggers can come in many forms, including certain smells, tastes, sights, or even specific words - and sound is a powerful one, as evidenced by Pavlov's experiment. We are susceptible to triggers and conditioning whether we like it or not - so if we are trying to actively create a habit, a ritual, or a routine that sees our brains snap into "writing mode" more quickly and efficiently, then why not try and use this to condition ourselves in a positive way? Scroll down to “The Process” to find out how I’ve explored this idea in my own writing habits.
🗺️ The Scene
I enjoy writing from different cafés, hotels, libraries, and workspaces around the world - and rating them for their “writer-friendliness”. The Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Library is a place I hold sacred for my fiction writing pursuits only. From the outside, this architecturally-iconic library looks like a giant open book - it was designed to resemble a lectern. The desks and carrels available on its sixth and second floor are a great place to write - the latter is my go-to, with plugs, an adjustable seat, and an ideal balance of coverage to minimise distractions and encourage focused work. But if you want to snag one, it’s best to arrive early - they fill up fast, especially on weekends. The library hosts a number of visiting and permanent exhibitions, and on its back terrace, “The Languages Garden” contains 60 pillars displaying inspiring quotes. Mind the dress code if you visit: shoulders and knees must be covered, and you’ll want to bundle up, since the air conditioning there gets pretty cold!
📍Al Jaddaf, Dubai, UAE
⏰ Open from 9am to 9pm Mon-Sat, except Fridays, when it’s open from 9am-2pm only; closed on Sundays and public holidays🍴☕ There is a café downstairs with coffees, teas, sandwiches, microwaveable meals, pastries and cookies, water, and juices. You can only drink water in the rest of the library, but free Arabic coffee is also available in the lobby, behind the reception.💰 Free to enter and access books, magazines, and the e-catalog; paid memberships (which include the chance to borrow books and reserve rooms) start from AED 50⭐ Writer-friendliness: 5 out of 5 stars
✈️ The Setting: Destinations to help your mind (and body) wander
Fun fact: Transylvania’s Bran Castle may be famously known as Dracula’s castle, but the 15th century Romanian prince who Bram Stoker loosely modelled his famous vampiric character on - Vlad Tepes (also known as Vlad the Impaler) - never actually lived there. And Stoker had never visited Romania, either - apparently, he had only seen a photo or illustration of the castle, using it to inspire the location of the imaginary one in his fictional tale… much in the way his Count Dracula was inspired by the former Wallachian ruler.
I visited Transylvania around 8 years ago, on a whim. Somehow, I didn’t realise that I’d be going in late October - right before Halloween. I visited Bran Castle, and giggled at the signs for the vampire-themed campgrounds outside of it, along with the posters for the club-like Halloween party that would take place there - complete with a DJ and cheesy horror music. I learned about the strigoi - the country’s folkloric, mythical undead. Vampire folklore is deeply tied to ritual. Legends have inspired ritualistic burial practices, for instance - and nowadays, you can even book a tour package that includes the “ritual killing of a living dead”. I didn’t try it, but presumably, it involves a gimmicky performance showcasing old Transylvanian traditions for protecting or ridding oneself from a strigoi.
My week in Transylvania - which I travelled to alone - remains one of the most memorable I’ve ever taken. I yearn to return to this beautiful place someday: to the incredible Peleș Castle (just 1.5 hours away from Bran Castle, and still the most magical castle I’ve ever visited, anywhere); to the cobblestoned streets of Sighisoara lined with its colorful houses, and the enchanting forests of the Persani Mountains. The name “Transylvania” literally translates to “The land beyond the forest”, and of the 60+ countries I’ve been to (so far!), few others places have been this evocative…
🙂 The Character: Inspiring people with a story worth telling
Neha Vinod is an upcoming author and communications professional, who won a place in the prestigious ELF Seddiqi First Chapter Fellowship’s second cohort. She is also a toddler mum and lives in the UAE, where she is currently working on her women’s fiction novel, The Faded Blue Sari. As a working mother, Neha has a jam-packed schedule - and like many time-strapped authors who have to fit their writing in around their other work and the rest of their life, she has uncovered a ritual of her own that helps her progress.
“It’s so hard to write for yourself when you write for a living. Which is why rituals are SO important,” Neha says. “I feel like the only time I get to myself to get something done is after my son’s bedtime routine - bath, brush, and read three books. I step in for a nice warm shower and then sit to write - with a specific shower gel I use only for these writing nights. The sense of smell is so powerful - my body immediately understands I need focus followed by sleep,” she explains, adding: “It’s also a mini reset - washing away the stresses of the day and life in general.”
You can find Neha on Instagram at @nehalovestowrite
✍️ The Process: Insights on the craft of writing and editing
Like Neha, I’ve found several ways to transform my writing routine into a sacred ritual; one that can help to condition me into more creativity, through a state of flow.
For one, I only work on my fiction from specific places. Even when I was freelancing or working a remote job, I’d have specific venues I’d only go to when writing my books or short stories - and I strictly never sullied them with my other kinds of work.
I also use sound and meditation. I experienced my first-ever meditation session when I was 14 years old, and fell in love instantly. After meditating regularly for decades - and being so inspired that I became a certified meditation and mindfulness teacher and sound healing practitioner along the way - I still do it regularly to prepare me for a writing session (among other things). Whether it’s through a body scan meditation or a soundscape (I’ve made many of these of my own) - or specific music playlists that I only listen to while working on my novels - it’s all part of the rituals that help send me into my flow state, and take me out of my reality and into a fictional realm.

Another writer friend of mine, Mustafa Alrawi, wrote a beautiful MG fantasy novel called Muchafraid, set in a unique version of 13th century Baghdad. When I saw a candle called Baghdad Nights, made by a Dubai-based fragrance house called Dastaangoi, I had to get it for him immediately. I pictured him lighting the candle just before he’d write, the glow of the flickering flame and the vivid blend of tobacco leaf, patchouli, and oud acting like a portal to his fictional world. To me, it was a real-life version of the Babylon Candle in Stardust - a magical artifact that, when lit, can teleport a person instantly from one place to another. And isn’t that what a great story is meant to do? To transport us to another world…
🧠 The Idea-Sparkers, Thought-Stirrers, and Conversation-Starters
Venom, is that you? Researchers at the University of Bristol have created three-dimensional “synthetic worms” - made of synthetic material - that can move on their own. This growing field of research on “active matter” could lead to big things in formerly inanimate objects being able to mimic biological movement, with applications like artificial muscles, self-repairing items, and more.
Ever heard of sonic branding? It’s a modern version of a jingle - a sound that can act as a trademark, instantly making people think of and feel a certain way about your brand. Riyadh Air, a new airline from Saudi Arabia set to launch this year, has gone all-out with their new sonic branding, recording it at Abbey Road Studios with thirteen musicians from the Saudi National Orchestra.
Fellowjackets, assemble. Yellowjackets, the Showtime thriller series about a girls’ soccer team in the 90s that crash on their way to Nationals - then end up stranded in the wilderness, struggling to hold onto their sanity along with their survival - is back! Its teen vs adult dual timeline is a fascinating exploration of trauma - and in many ways, the show is an ode to the exquisite unfolding of wild female rage.
Thanks for reading!
Until next time,
Yi-Hwa
Also, would love to pick your brain on sound healing! I want to learn more myself
Love this! Also so fascinating you couldn't sleep after your eye surgery! Hope you can now at least 😅