Something is always on when I do serious writing. It’s a burning candle. Sounds a little weird perhaps, but here’s why I do it. As most of you know, 99.9% of my writing pertains to history. I like having something that I can see which immediately goes back to a period in historical time, in this case, when people used candles for light. I can look into the light of the burning candle and see a form of the past, past events, past people, past places. In history a candle burned in cabins, churches, meeting houses, taverns, streets, and barns. And now for me, the candle still flickers. I’m pretty sure that my writing is made much better by the light of the candle.

Is there something that you think harkens up history, a sense of the past? It can be a sight, a sound, a smell.