10 Fun Questions About The Creative Process Behind My Blogs Answered

Fun challenge: A deep dive into my Medium writing

Recently, I came across an interesting post by my friend Pamela Oglesby where she talks about how the creative process works for her as a writer by answering 10 questions. This Deep Dive exercise was initially started by Subhi Najar as he explains in this article: “As we are on a writing platform and we share our pieces all the time, it is crucial to understand more about how this creative process works for you, my dear fellow writer.”

I thought it a fun idea to hop on the Deep Dive into Writing challenge. So without further ado, here are my answers to the questions!

10 questions and answers about my creative process

1. When did you start writing? Is there a specific story?

After my divorce, I was in bad shape. Fortunately, I found a support group that helped me get back on track. One of the group members thought I’d make a good writer because they thought I had an articulate manner of speech.

I had heard of Medium and thought why not.

My first post was about my struggle with depression told through the eyes of my houseplant, Cody. It came as a complete surprise when my audience discovered me shortly after I started my writing journey.

I am still not sure what exactly clicked but I am grateful for it and them.

2. Do you have rituals in writing? If yes, then please share them with us.

Writing is my main hobby.

It is currently 6 pm on a weekday evening and I am editing this post while sitting on my couch with my feet up on the coffee table — no sounds of jungle drums in the background nor a single aromatherapy candle in sight. There simply is no time ‘to zen into the writing mood’ or I will miss my PT appointment, dinner, and the pile of laundry that still needs to be washed and folded before I go to bed.

That’s life on any given day. Can you relate?

I’d like to say I am super organized, have an extremely neat work area, and keep a journal of ideas by my bedside along with all the cool apps/gadgets that supposedly help make you a lean mean productivity machine.

But then I’d be lying.

However, I’m good about waking up pretty early in order to write. Then I get to spend breaks during the day to read, clap, edit, and network with other writers.

No, I hardly ever have drafts in progress because even though the ideas may have seemed earth-shattering at the time I wrote them down, by the time I get to them again my thoughts are usually along the lines of “What the heck were you thinking!”

I also go through phases of feeling uninspired and having a ‘f*ck it’ attitude towards writing especially when I’m feeling overwhelmed with relationship or family issues.

However, I do manage to get back on the wagon with some self-talk and spending time reading my fav writers on Medium.

3. The ugliest monster that writers are afraid of is writer’s block. If you have a recipe to deal with it, kindly share it with us.

It is a very real monster and quite terrifying. But I have realized that mixing things up regularly can be helpful. Blogging about life and relationships is not the only thing I do. I also conduct interviews and write-ups for a number of nonprofits as part of my volunteer work. It not only provides variety but also keeps things interesting.

4. Describe the process of finding ideas for your stories. Please elaborate.

I find ideas mainly from my life, love, and writing experiences. I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about what I am going to write but just go with the flow, instead. If it involves research, I incorporate that only after I have gotten the main body of the post down.

Also, keeping my audience in mind, I give special attention to the title, the first sentence, and the first and last paragraphs of the post.

To be honest, I have very little time for a social life because of my writing hobby — by that, I don’t just mean the writing part but the learning aspect, research, and social media promotion take up a huge chunk of my time.

I also like to spend time my free time reading up on things.

5. As humans, we suffer without knowing it by choosing not to move outside our comfort zone. Do you have a “comfort zone” in writing ( i.e a topic that you always like to write about)? Have you tried to step outside your comfort zone and write something drastically different?

I write about life experiences. After receiving a tremendous response to a post I had written early on about what I learned as a newbie on Medium, I diversified into writing about writing. I also write about love and relationships.

Recently, I have begun exploring sensual writing with promising results. I was initially hesitant to explore this area mainly because I have a certain image on Medium and I wasn’t sure how this new, sensuous side of me would be received👇

But I love to experiment and don’t think it is fair for a writer to be constrained to a certain niche(s).

6. Besides Medium, do you use other writing platforms? Please share our experiences.

At the moment, I only write for one another platform and that is NewsBreak. It is a popular news app that highly favors local news stories which people can download to their devices. I am also in the process of revamping my Substack which I have named Yana’s World.

7. Have you published a book? If yes, how and where…etc. Plz, feel free to share your links with us.

Last year I participated in a book project, courtesy of the Dancing Elephant Press publication along with 21 other Medium writers. I am happy to say the book titled “Holistic Journey Toward Wellness” is out in print and available for purchase.

8. You write because writing provides you with something special. Could you share your experience?

Writing has completely changed my life. It not only helped me through a particularly difficult time in my life but continues to do so with regard to processing difficult emotions and events both past and what is currently occurring in my life.

I have made some wonderful friends on this platform whom I love interacting with so much that Medium is my fav social media platform.

9. Do you write a paragraph, a chapter, or a story with the end in mind or not? plz explain

When I have an idea, I sit down to write it and let it unfold on its own. Oftentimes I am surprised by the direction it takes and the discoveries I make along the way. But as I said, I never overthink what I write— I just go with the flow.

10. Every writer has an idol. Who is yours? And what do you find inspiring in her/his trajectory?

I have several. In fact, it would be hard to mention them all here but having said that, I am constantly amazed by what they bring to the table be it prose, poetry, opinion pieces, fiction, humor, and even photography.

11. Does being on a writing platform like Medium help your writing plans? Plz, elaborate.

I don’t have any long-term writing plans per se but would love to continue writing for Medium for as long as I can. It has given me so much, by that I mean in terms of confidence, friendship, readership, and visibility that I have no plans to leave it any time soon.

🌸Let’s connect!

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