How do I write? A beginner's guide to get you started.

A lot of people around me ask me almost every time I bring up writing in conversation. And given that it takes a considerable amount of my time, apart from teaching, writing do comes up a lot. People ask me all the time,

How do you write?

How can you write?

How do you find the time?

What motivates you to write?

How do you stay even focused with children hammering doors and throwing toys around?

Don't you think you can do something better?

You are an engineer, why do you bother with writing reviews and bullshit like this?

To fully answer all the questions is a tad bit difficult because it is no small feat. The topic is too important, vast and extremely close to my heart. I really do not want to cram information into a single post that makes no sense. Instead, I planned to make it a series of posts that we can all relate to, and the first question in the series I decided to discuss is "How do I write?"

Writing is NOT easy

To be honest there is no recipe for writing. Now the first thing you need to accept fully, writing is not easy.

Anyone who says writing is easy isn't doing it right. Amy Joy

From the moment I start writing, till I am done with an article or review or some lyrics, I am grasping at straws. The hardest part is to get it all out. Sometimes I spend hours trying to get it right and still things come out jumbled. It is a place of constant frustration. Many times I am angry, but I try my best to keep it under control. Other times I tend to break stuff. My point is, writing is not easy. You need patience, and a lot of it too.

Persistence is a Virtue

Well, everything needs time, writing more so, and more importantly, a writer needs to keep writing. While I started I used to sit for hours and still come up with a few lines at a time. Sometimes I get appreciated and most of the time I had to hear something along the lines of, "That's awful dude."

The first thing you have to learn when you go into the arts is to learn to cope with rejection. If you can’t, you’re dead. Warren Adler

In every profession you take it step by step. You have to work for moving up. Write over and over again because practice makes us 'near perfect'.

You don't start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it's good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That's why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence. Octavia E. Butler

Pure emotions are the base

I started out with poetry in my native language. I discovered early in my journey that this relationship between pen and paper needs genuine emotion. I write as close to what I feel. I observe how others feel and how they react to certain things. While writing a situation, it doesn't need to be eloquent and all smooth, but it sure as hell needs to be pure. I always try not to mix it up too much. I think that writing is the best outlet to conceal emotions, at the same time revealing a part of it. Remember that the best things always come from following your heart.

Write straight into the emotional center of things. Write toward vulnerability. Risk being unliked. Anne Lamott

Read to hone imagination

I had a phase where I used to read 6-7 hundred pages a day, and that was along with my school work. The thing is, back then I didn't think much about the content, every book got my attention. With time I moved on to productive content. Autobiographies, history, philosophy are some topics I came to appreciate.

Can I be blunt on this subject? If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that. Stephen King

Reading is a habit that takes you a long way and hones imagination. A good writer really needs to put himself in situations he is writing, so the best way to write is to experience it. If it's out of your culture, society or circle you are writing about, reading about it is the best thing you can do. Make it a habit to read at least a few pages a day.

Be nice to your characters

I observe people around me. Everyone I know is a possible character of my story. I try my best to communicate and be in touch. If you really know them, if you know what makes them tick, you can develop your characters easily. Let's imagine it this way, be nice to your characters because soon you have to become them.

A writer is a dangerous friend. Everything you say, all of your life and experience, is fodder for our writing. Randy Murray

Write for yourself

Every writer needs to know that you should write for yourself. I write for myself because no matter how commercialized writing I can handle, I will not truly be happy. I used to think a lot on the subject, until I settled on "one for you, one for me." Keep a balance between commercialized content and what you like. 50/50 isn't a bad figure, after all, it is life. Cheers!

Dance above the surface of the world. Let your thoughts lift you into creativity that is not hampered by opinion. Red Haircrow

Conclusion

Every writer has his own process. I tried my best to give tell you what I do. Start writing today and do let me know, how it goes. I would love to know if it helps a single person out there.

Out of the Mist

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