Why Do My Words Glisten with Cosmic Dust? If They Really Do…
I am a writer and I write.
This is in response to my dear friend Subhi’s prompt titling, “Deep Dive into your writing process.” It essentially is a list of questions prepared by Subhi Najar, we need to provide our answers. The questions will be about the process involved in writing. If someone’s up for it please join the spree. I think everybody has a process no matter how big and small of a writer they are. Anyone’s insight will be deemed irreplaceable because of the nature of what we will discuss. You can check out his prompt guidelines here.
- When did you start writing? Is there a specific story?
I have been fond of writing for a long time now. I thought I could write properly or enjoy it in 12th standard. At that time I was going through a mental health crisis called Pure O OCD. I started taking risks and started to write things differently. One of my teachers said that If you write like this, the top grade is yours. I left 12 marks because of bad time management that’s different, but that’s when I found out I can write. Before that I liked writing. In our English exams back then, we had a writing section, along with comprehension and literature. I enjoyed the writing section as it was all fly-in-the-wall, spur-in-a-moment thing.
2. Do you have rituals in writing? If yes, then please share them with us.
I wouldn’t say it's a ritual, but moreso a practice or approach. I take out a blank sheet of Google Docs and start scribbling whatever I feel, in some sense or form my dots connect. When that happens I edit and integrate pieces together. My planning is not there at first, I have to start writing something before I feel I will publish/submit this and this is not just for medium, in any creative writing work I have done.
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.
My issues are more with obsessive thinking than writer's block. I can sense thought patterns that spike my fear and nervousness levels. In that times, I used to write and see if whatever I am writing makes any sense, if not then I take a long break and only write when I can do it in peace. If I have something in my mind I often scribble it somewhere. So, even if ideas run out for that day I always have another set of ideas to back on. The problem starts with obsessively writing through phones.
4. Describe the process of finding ideas for your stories. Please elaborate.
I do not seek comfort as a writer, I want to draw and visualize lines for what they are. I try to not play by the crowd and be a caricature of the crowd. I use my vision and insight to find issues in society and write ugly truths about them. My academic background is very left-ideologue-oriented, and our professors made the distinction always there is an oppressor and there is an oppressed. Depends on who you want to side with. If you write things that satisfy the whimsies of society, you are already supporting the elite. So, the inverse is better. I am not asking for people to be class-conscious. I am asking them to know that they are doing an action that is influencing the lower margins, one way or the other.
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 think writing humor and rootless, flaky, and edgy writeup will be hard for me. Humor is something so natural you cannot fictionalize it. Articles that give you a clear worldview come easily to me. My comfort zone shall be writing poetry/spiritual pieces because of my interest and knowing stuff about my religion which is Hinduism. It advocates or for that matter lends concepts and ideas to today's spiritual movement and growth. I have certain times, had mixed results doing that.
6. Besides Medium, do you use other writing platforms? Please share our experiences.
I used to earlier post on Facebook. I was also writing poetry posts and stories on Instagram. I made a Substack account recently but hasn’t been regular so thinking of expanding there too.
7. Have you published a book? If yes, how and where…etc. Plz, feel free to share your links with us.
Not yet, but I am thinking to publish an anthology before publishing fiction. The anthology shall comprise poems on themes divided into three different parts.
8. You write because writing provides you with something special. Could you share your experience?
It helps me to be free. Writing is somewhere I feel I have strength, substance, and valor. Other mediums of communication are not that productive for me.
9. Do you write a paragraph, a chapter, or a story with the end in mind or not? plz explain
In hindsight no, I want a theme to be projected. The ending still has to be different but I know what the confining elements are.
10. Every writer has an idol. Who is yours? And what do you find inspiring in her or his trajectory?
I see media as one. It does not matter whether you write, view, shoot, snap, or ideate; depends on how beautifully you project on themes. Anand Gandhi a filmmaker who is part of two movies under his titular guideship, An Insignificant Man is a gripping storytelling of a common men’s political party in the urban jungles of Delhi. It navigates life around various people, perceptions, and politics, it decodes the wisdom of a person who showed red eyes to some of the most powerful people in the region. He had to pay the price with blood, abuse, and many things but the final cut was just epic.
Ship of Theseus another movie/work I like is based on the paradox of, if a ship has to be broken and cojoined together and remade, will the ship and its characterization remain the same? If not then why.
Among Writers, Paulo Coelho’s, Alchemist, and The Zahir are some of the most beautiful works I have personally read. I also loved “By the Side of River Piedra I sat down and Wept.” The imagery of exploring each other’s bodies was gripping and deeply ornate.
Among Photographers, Raghu Rai and his work on Bhopal Gas Tragedy has influenced my personal photography a lot. It was a tragedy that happened after an American Pesticide Firm because of negligence let off highly contagious methyl isocyanate, killing thousands, equivalent to a mass killing or genocide.
11. Does being on a writing platform like Medium help your writing plans? Plz, elaborate.
I think writers do require an audience and need a lot of support and a base to grow. Putting that logic into perspective, I would say that doing this is probably for the better. Medium helps you to do errors and rectify them. It's not a be-all and end-all. But it's definitely for starters to see the kind of writing coming from the community and How different and unique they are.
Tagging some of my friends here if they feel like taking the challenge they can. Anyone can take part in the prompt reading this, just give Subhi a tag in your pieces. Mustapha El Hajj, Jason Edmunds, William J Spirdione, wordsmith writer, CDTPPWT, Miriam Rachel, Patricia Timmermans, Bill Abbate, Andrew & Christine - DesignACE, Oludascribe, LGWare, The Black Lens, Sorin Dumitrascu, Zenith Star, Carolyn Hastings, Peter Sassi, K. Joseph, Gideon 6ix✍️, John Haslam, Michelange Jean
I would like to convey Thanks to Subhi Najar for letting me ponder on my own thoughts here is his piece on the prompt:
Thanks a lot for taking some precious time out of your schedule to read my work. If you like it, you can read some of the other poems I have linked below. I hope you have a great day! Thanks for stopping by!!!