Few years ago, I thought that I could become a writer if not anything else. Few years elapsed, I read few more books and postponed the date when I was scheduled to begin writing. Then came a point, when I felt that I can be anything but a writer. That point came because I have had read more and more. Finally came the realization – one needs to pass through Shitopia to reach Utopia.
There is indeed a process, and that process is quite simple – write, write, write as much as you can write. How can one write endlessly? Honestly, the answer has eluded me so far. My guess is that for mortals, writing endlessly can come only if you read voraciously. Reading is the second most critical thing if one desires to write anything. I think this applies to all forms and mediums of writing. If one intends to write tweets, by write I mean worthy tweets, then one should read tweets. If one desires to write research papers, then one should read those. I havent reached that point, but it seems there is that point where both reading and writing becomes part of muscle memory. The understandable lag between fingers and brain as well as the unfathomable lag between eyes and brain starts reducing. I think the master writers are able to write at the speed of thought.
Ira Glass, in the video above summarized my emotions quite appropriately. There will be shit, and the matter of fact is that there should be some shit. The crap that artist produces is part of the process. Process of self effacing, self pity and self reflection are all part of it. One should be ready to embrace them all.
Thats about the process of writing, and truth be told, others have written about it in much better terms. I will suggest to any aspiring writer (of any genre and type and for any medium) to visit BrainPickings and search for “writing”. Maria Popova at that site has curated beautiful content on art of writing.
As there are good suggestions for writing, there are few that are not. As much as it is important to absorb and practice good practices, it is equally important to stay away from deleterious habits. An interview of Pankaj Dubey carried in Tehelka, illustrates the case of bad suggestions. The best selling author Pankaj Dubey in this interview states that he has does not read, because he wants to remain uninfluenced. I reckon that by reading he means, not reading other novels. His first novel has done well, and hence he deserved an interview in a national magazine. Let that be so. But if that is the case, not reading – remaining uninfluenced, then why do literary greats keep harping about other greats as their source of inspiration? To put it plainly, my only advice for those who are on same boat as mine, to those who aspire to write something meaningful is that please read as much as you can. There can be no better teacher for you than authors who have put free lessons in form of their work. If you write in Hindi, then what could be better than getting inspired by Premchand; if English is your preferred language then how about James Joyce as your teacher?
Thinking Pea 