I used to.  I used to think I could not write unless I had hours and hours and hours alone...because that's how I'd written before.

Then we adopted a kid who turned out to be autistic, and needed minute to minute therapy, assistance, supervision, etc.  But the writing bug had me, and I HAD to write.  Getting up earlier--not an option (guess who was awake well before dawn!)  Staying up later--not an option (see previous sentence--I had to be able to leap from bed when I heard him stirring, and be alert and ready to handle whatever...)   What I learned was that I could write a novel a year in segments of time as short as 1-2 minutes.   (Later, was able to grab 15 minutes...and even half an hour...)  I homeschooled him (no good local spec ed) for 12 years, and write 12 novels in that time.  Amazed me.  Exhausted me.   I don't like having to build a paragraph word by word in the interstices of teaching, working on speech therapy, physical therapy, etc...and then dash in and type a sentence or two, and dash back out...but it turned out I could do that, at least for some kinds of books.  (Also...needing the money is a really good motivator.)   

As I discovered this, I told myself that my other superstitions (the right color socks, the stuffed unicorn on top of the bookcase) were just as disposable.  Now that I have the time again (well...some days)  I try not to let the superstitions recur. 

 But there's one.  Still.   Dark chocolate, in quantity, toward the end of a book, especially if it's been a difficult one.  Magic stuff, good dark chocolate.  Plot knots untangle.   Dull characters come alive and start doing interesting things.  That final whatsit that makes the ending right...that's dark chocolate. 

Elizabeth--so do you think if you swore off chocolate, no books would get written?

I'm surprised more people don't have writing superstitions. When I hear about them I always marvel. For example: Isabel Allende will only start a new book on January 8th, because that is the day back in the seventies when she started THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS. Now her agent calls her every year on January 8th and asks her what the book is gonna be this year. She won't even think about starting a book on another day.

I don't have any superstitions like that one, but I will say that I'm superstitious about telling people what I am writing about. I always feel like by divulging my thought process before the words are in print and "ready" to be seen, I will somehow jinx it. Even now I squirm when people ask, not because I am not enjoying the WIP but bc of this strange fear of I am not sure what!

I have to listen to the same songs on particular manuscripts while working on them.  It's part of keeping my mind following the same thought paths, but I refuse to listen to anything else while working because I think it'll jinx the entire project.

With you there Danielle ... I was struggling to find a character that had a spirit/dark/gothic/creepy feel ... then I stuck the headphones in and blasted evenescence and she came to life in my head.

I found that the music helped set the emotional tone for what I was doing ... If I'm after sad, I listen to 'Air, The Virgin Suicides' ... ACDC for fast paced action stuff... if I'm after angry, well that has to be "justin bieber"... man that shit just pissis me off.

I'm struggling at the moment with a dream/nightmare that my MC's ghost is having about her murder and how she became what she is... I'm thikin' that Pink Floyds 'The Wall" will get a go this afternoon.

Cheers

Al

@Danielle: I <3 Miranda Lambert!

My MC is a bit of music nerd--especially classic rock. To get inspiration I've been watching rock docs on Netflix streaming. I watched one about Levon Helm a couple weeks ago and then started listening to that song "Atlantic City" by The Band a bunch when I am writing. But I'm not superstitious about it, just can't get the song out of my head!

I started thinking about writing superstitions because it's going to be Friday the 13th at the end of this week. Doesn't sound like we as a group have many writing superstitions, which is probably a good thing!

I"m with you on music while writing, Danielle.   Although not "songs," per se (though one part of one book wanted the first act of "The Bartered Bride"), I do listen to the same music repetitively to set the mood.  Some characters seem to acquire leitmotifs.   I write primarily to classical music, mostly non-vocal (though opera sneaks in sometimes) because I sing in a choir and if I know the words I'm singing along and not writing (the lyrics will end up on the page, instead of story...not good.)  However, choral music I haven't sung may be OK.  I did the final rewrite of a big space battle to a combination of Bach's "Magnificat" and Verdi's "Gloria."  Some books take dozens of different works; some take only a few (Surrender None was powered largely by Brahms' German Requiem because it seemed to keep me on track about Gird's character, while Zamfir's works for panpie and orchestra expressed Luap.)  The music choices may not make sense to anyone else, but I use whatever works for a particular character or scene or division of a book.

I don't think music comes under the head of superstitions, though.  I've written without music, but it's such a part of my life that if I don't have  a player on, I'm probably hearing it my head anyway.  (Borodin's "Steppes of Central Asia" is now playing there, largely because a current character is a horse nomad in a culture similar to those in Central Asia centuries ago.)