Deep Dive into Your Writing-Subhi
The writer in me talks:
After spending more than 10 months on Medium, reading many articles, and interacting with many fellow writers, I find it quite appealing to know even more about those who hide behind their words, sentences, and claps.
Every now and then, I will publish an article titled “Deep Dive into…” to focus on a topic and give those who would like to write a platform to share their thoughts, ideas, and heartbeats with others.
I shared the first deep dive several weeks ago. I was so happy that many of my fellow writers liked the idea, and some of them even sent their personal stories.
The deep dive this time focuses on writing.
Here is the list for today with my answers:
- When did you start writing? Is there a specific story?
I have always been crazy about good stories. I listened to the stories of my grandma, who was an excellent person to convey a story with the exact ingredients of emotions and words.
When I fled my country, Syria, as a result of a crazy civil war and moved to the Netherlands, I had a tough time dealing with trauma, post-trauma, and homesickness. A storytelling event appeared in my life, like the first blossom of an early spring. I went for it to distract myself. This beautiful distraction became a necessity to construct a different world with dynamics that I could control. In the world of storytelling, I discovered my ability to be Poseidon instead of moving continuously like a ship between the persistence of the wind and the stubbornness of the water.
I could be there, really an embodiment of WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY`s words:
“ I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.”
2. Do you have rituals in writing? If yes, then please share them with us.
I believe discipline is a great trait of good writers. In my opinion, the best writers are those who can marry great discipline with creativity, which is chaotic by definition. I try to force myself to write my Medium article in the morning. I prefer to listen to classical music while writing. I believed for a long time in a myth that listening to Mozart increased intelligence, but even when I figured out the fallacy of the myth, I had the habit of listening to classical music so well established that it was impossible to stop even if my IQ did not increase.
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.
I have an inventory of stories and events in my life, so I don't fear writing blockage that much. Also, I developed an interesting approach to keeping on coming up with new ideas for new articles.
4. Describe the process of finding ideas for your stories. Please elaborate.
The majority of ideas blossom in my head while walking. I don't know if there is a relationship between the art of making steps on the street and steps on pages. Sometimes I see a tree, a cloud, a person, etc that provokes a story, and sometimes a memory wakes up inside me like a flower in the early morning or like a tornado in the dark ocean.
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?
My favorite topics are books, love, memories, and homesickness. I cannot imagine myself writing a horror story. Maybe I need to pick a new topic and try it—something that belongs to the territory between the fields of love and the woods of horror.
6. Besides Medium, do you use other writing platforms? Please share our experiences.
I have an account on Vocal, but to be honest, I don't know how Vocal functions! I believe I need to give it some time and do some research. I would love to know if there are other writing platforms. I like Medium, but I meet more writers than readers.
7. Have you published a book? If yes, how and where…etc. Plz, feel free to share your links with us.
Not yet. I am considering soon using Amazon self-publishing.
8. You write because writing provides you with something special. Could you share your experience?
It provides me with aromas that I miss in real life or answers I do not have. It intensifies my emotions in a very special way.
9. Do you write a paragraph, a chapter, or a story with the end in mind or not? plz explain
Usually, I write the end of the story first, but many times the circumstances and the characters of the story take the initiative and change my plans.
10. Every writer has an idol. Who is yours? And what do you find inspiring in her or his trajectory?
I find the Catalan writer Carlos Zafon very inspiring. He wrote in different genres until he found his voice in his masterpiece, The Shadow of the Wind. I really believe that writing is not only the process of searching for the right word but also a subconscious process of finding yourself.
11. Does being on a writing platform like Medium help your writing plans? Plz, elaborate.
Surely. It gives me discipline and “ positive” jealousy to see other writers writing and creating their own pieces.
Subhi Najar is an Alchemist of words, Little Prince, Public Speaker, storyteller, content Creator, and war survivor
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