Summary

An introverted writer reflects on their journey, influenced by other authors, and shares their process, rituals, and challenges, while also critiquing the current state of writing platforms.

Abstract

The author of the article expresses a personal aversion to writing prompts, preferring to share authentic aspects of their personality through their writing. They reveal a history of hiding behind their words due to anxiety over authorship, akin to many women writers of the past. The article is a response to a prompt by another Medium writer, Subhi, who the author admires and whose work has enriched their literary experiences. The author discusses their early start in writing, inspired by Kahil Gibran's "The Prophet," and their writing rituals influenced by Jack London. They offer insights into overcoming writer's block, the process of finding story ideas, and the discomfort of stepping outside one's comfort zone in writing. The author also touches on their academic writing career, their contributions to various publications, and the lengthy process of academic publishing. They share their experiences with different writing platforms, their upcoming book contribution, and the cathartic nature of writing. The article concludes with the author's eclectic mix of literary influences and a critique of the commercialization of writing platforms like Medium, while also acknowledging genuine writers who continue to inspire them.

Opinions

The author has a strong dislike for writing prompts, viewing them as an intrusion on personal creativity.
Writing is a means for the author to reveal their true self, despite initial anxieties about authorship and a preference for privacy.
The author holds Subhi in high regard, crediting them for introducing new literature and music through their writing.
The author values discipline in writing, drawing inspiration from Jack London's structured writing routine.
Writer's block is seen as a challenge to be overcome by simply writing, reflecting a belief in the power of consistent practice.
The author finds story ideas in the richness of life experiences and introspection, including confronting past traumas.
While the author writes on uncomfortable topics, they have learned to navigate these waters and find growth in the process.
The author's academic writing is rigorous and structured, involving extensive editing and citation of reputable sources.
The commercial aspects of writing platforms, including the prevalence of content focused on making money and AI-generated articles, are criticized by the author.
The author draws inspiration from a wide array of literary figures, appreciating their diverse perspectives on humanity.
Medium is seen as both a platform that supports the author's writing plans and a space overshadowed by less genuine writers and content.

Community | Writing

Diving with Subhi

Reflections of an Introvert

Let me start by saying I HATE PROMPTS. I’m an elitist snob when it comes to directed writing scaffolding. For me, someone else’s writing idea is an intrusive species, an invasion of the body snatchers, a form of mimicry along the lines of Emerson’s thoughts on imitation being suicide.

Do I dare stab myself with Subhi’s pen and bleed across the screen?

Unlike Subhi, I like to hide behind my words which is why my face isn’t plastered across my profile. I suffer from the anxiety of authorship like many women of my time who chose pen names or used initials to not reveal their gender or identity. It took a while, but I do use my name now. It is real. It’s not an AI-generated pseudonym. Yes, AI can do that as well.

I find it quite appealing to know even more about those who hide behind their words, sentences, and claps. Subhi

I’m not hiding behind my prose or poetry. Every word, sentence, and thought is an aspect of my eccentric overeducated, underemployed personality. Sometimes, people take me too seriously when many of my observations on life are dark and satiric in nature. (FYI: The intro to this essay is satire.)

Back to Subhi… he is one of my favorite writers here on Medium. I look forward to reading his work as it has introduced me to new books and music I never would have known about. (Subhi, I’m reading Last Train to Lisbon.)

This is my 300th post and my first prompt-response article.

Begrudgingly, for you, Subi:

When did you start writing? Is there a specific story? I started writing around 12 or 13 as I spent most of my time in the Library to avoid my father when my mother or brother wasn’t home. My first memorable book is Lebanese-American poet and writer, Kahil Gibran’s The Prophet, which offers fatherly wisdom on how to live a meaningful life. His observation that “Your children are not your children” allowed me to free myself from some of my childhood trauma, releasing my soul to “dwell in the house of tomorrow.”

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

In my twenties, I spent the weekend at Jack London’s Glen Ellen estate in Sonoma, California. I was inspired by how he arranged his writing day. He woke up at 5 a.m. and wrote, sometimes up to eight hours at a time. It was his ritual, his disciplined schedule. I do this as well, albeit not as early. I write first thing in the morning with a large cup of coffee while the CBS Morning News runs in the background. I like the background noise and look up occasionally when I get stuck on a thought like now. “The U.S. evacuates embassy personnel in Sudan.”

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.

Responding to other people’s prompts gives me writer's block. My recipe for dealing with it is: Sit down and write. I like this approach. It’s something I learned from Jack London’s thoughts on writing: “Work! Don’t wait for some good Samaritan to tell you, but dig it out yourself.” Writer's block comes from a lazy mind stuck in itself.

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

Living a full life of family, friends, music, literature, philosophy, travel, theater, film, food, and culture gives me all the ideas I need. Then there is the crappy childhood — a cornucopia of latent ideas waiting to bleed out.

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 what I write. Most of it is uncomfortable in some form or another, but yes. When I was younger, going deep inside myself and writing about it was difficult. Rather than writing being a catharsis of sorts, I was still stuck in the muck of my memory. Over time, I’ve learned how to go down deep and come out on the other side.

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

Well, I’m an academic writer primarily and have published everywhere, from Sage Publications, Routledge, Taylor and Francis, Huffington Post, Parenting Magazine, LA Weekly Reader, and a few others. It takes about 16 months to get an academic article published in a reputable publication. Then there are the back-and-forth editorial revisions. Here’s one of them.

Standing With Standing Rock: Affective Alignment and Artful Resistance at the Native Nations Rise March

Medium has been a delightful diversion from this more serious writing. Like Subhi, I also have an account on Vocal and am mystified as Subhi as to how it functions.

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

I have contributed chapters to academic books nobody but nerds read :) I have one coming out shortly. It costs way too much, and I’m hoping the publishers give me a complimentary copy. Here it is:

Mahasweta Devi: Writer, Activist, Visionary

Mahasweta Devi occupies a singular position in the history of modern Indian literature and world literature. This book…

www.routledge.com

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

Writing is a way to save me from myself.

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

Good question. I teach academic writing as well. Now, mostly film analysis. Honestly, for creative writing, which is what I mostly do here on Medium, I personally channel an inner voice. For paid writing, I practice what I preach. I adhere to a strict structure, which involves constant editing and rewriting. I make sure that everything said is substantiated and cited from reputable sources. I can have six revisions before an article is sent to publication.

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

Hmm. I have so many. This is hard to choose just one. I take bits and pieces from William Somerset Maugham, Edith Wharton, Anton Chekhov, Jane Austin, Leo Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf, The Bronte Sisters, Alice Walker… Tim O’Brien… Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus . . .

I can go on and on. To me, what is inspiring is the myriad of ideas about our humanity.

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

I don’t know. I’m still figuring this out here. All the pretend writers trying to earn a buck and publishing story after story on how to make money in some form or another chill my soul. Now there are the AI-generated articles on top of this other crap. Real Writers like you, Subhi Najar, and a few others like Antonio Segovia, Kallol Mazumdar, Walter Bowne, Michael Cappelli, Nevena Pascaleva, and Michelle Renee Kidwell inspire me.