I Write With My Heart And I Edit With My Brain

My process behind the madness

My passion for writing

I believe every writer has her / his / their own way of expressing themselves and processing their thoughts into words. I would love to know what goes through the minds and hearts of the various writers as they navigate through this complex metamorphose we call writing…

Personally, I have always loved writing, ever since I was a kid. Perhaps it’s because we were always moving countries as a family since I was 5 and I needed to find familiarity somewhere. I remember the alienating feeling of walking into an empty house, looking around a space that looked and smelled foreign and calling it “home”.

My words, unlike my girly bedroom decorated in pink could travel with me anywhere.

“Home is where the heart is.”

That has never been more true, and for me, my heart is in my writing, therefore my writing is my home.

Is there a process behind the madness?

When I first start writing, often at dawn before my girls are up, there isn’t. I sit behind my computer inspired by the Australian sunrise and I let the writing flow and fill the screen like a spontaneous concert on the street filled by words.

I always try to find one feeling in me, grab it, translate it and turn it into words so that my reader can feel that very same emotion, whether it’s passion, grief or something else. I am like an interpreter of hearts trying to translate a language only I understand.

Translating feelings and thoughts is hard because there is not a dictionary available on the shelves, so I have to create my own as I write, hoping to be understood in a world of missunderstoods.

Once my first translation is finished, I switch gears. My heart has done its job and it’s now the turn of my editor’s brain to take the lead in this madness. I am not a neuroscientist but I believe I am using a different part of my brain here: I step away from my creative self and jump straight into your shoes, my reader’s shoes. I assess the logic, analyse the wording, the cohesion…

Is there a better way to reach you, to embark you on my journey?

Brain and heart sync at times to make sure the translation of feelings and thoughts is loyal and stays true to the essence. Every comma, every space, every word is scanned by a very meticulous inspector that won’t settle until the madness fades away, opening the curtains for the final act.

The final act

The last read is my favourite: my heart and my brain are now hand in hand smiling, ensuring that this humble writer is simply… understood.

Now it’s time to publish and reach you. I hope I did.

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