I have been meaning to write this for over two months now, adding thoughts and words each day, yet never getting the push to pen these down. Procrastination has been and always will be a sin of writers, delaying day upon day, pondering in depth upon the writing, yet when it comes to writing it down, we waver and tend to shirk it away, coming up with various reasons in our mind. The problem of penning down is quite innate and part of it maybe lies in the fear of imperfection. As I am writing word after word, I’m still plagued with the fear that there might be some flaw, something which can sink this very work into utter depths. I scan, scrutinize, re-read, over and over again, yet that fear torments me, haunts me, and the idea of completion of the work keeps on dwindling with each moment.
The choice of article or subject is the first daunting task for any writer, but I will not delve upon it, as I believe A. G. Gardiner in his essay “On writing an article” does a better job than anyone I have ever read, with his cheeky humour and subtlety. Reading Gardiner’s essay had left a deep impact on me. Earlier “Essays” were something I presumed to be grave, but Gardiner’s way of dealing with an issue however serious it may be and yet lending that humourous touch was something which changed my perception. Another writer whose essays and writing style left a deep impact is Orhan Pamuk. Both of these writers changed my idea of the “Essay” through their works and their way of addressing, and here I am attaching word after word, writing an article about writing an article, and I cannot escape the irony in that.
It is quite hard to neglect the thought that ‘writing’ and ‘waiting’ both have the same letters arranged in the same way except for one. Waiting and procrastinations as I stated is that deep dark trench which a writer faces and many drown in this engulfing trench and the world is devoid of a great work which never saw the light of day. I look forward to a day when a thesaurus would assign ‘writing’ as a synonym for ‘procrastination’ for that is as close as it gets.
Next to the procrastination comes the ‘inspiration’, holding onto that leash of creativity combating to leap out. For Wordsworth “poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling” yet it is this “Spontaneous feeling” which is hard to muster. In my course of my daily life, battling with my work and assignments, I get deviated and even though a small spark comes about an idea, I let it wait and leave it for a later day. For me, to feel that “powerful feeling” I need to shut myself up from the world. An empty room or the open rooftop lending view to the endless stars always ignite that spark and find myself buried with newer thoughts. Solitude has always been my saviour and after a long hard day, nothing refreshes me like shutting myself away. Even now, it is 2am at night; the world is in deep slumber as I type every word of this article, for it is only in the dead of silence and solitude I seem to find myself and ideas resonate with exuberance.
I shall be ending this article here and continue more as time progresses, and if you find it quite abrupt, then I need only remind you what I always have said -- writing for me is discovering myself, and that discovery is a journey, a progress with each word, and it goes on into a never-ending voyage.
The choice of article or subject is the first daunting task for any writer, but I will not delve upon it, as I believe A. G. Gardiner in his essay “On writing an article” does a better job than anyone I have ever read, with his cheeky humour and subtlety. Reading Gardiner’s essay had left a deep impact on me. Earlier “Essays” were something I presumed to be grave, but Gardiner’s way of dealing with an issue however serious it may be and yet lending that humourous touch was something which changed my perception. Another writer whose essays and writing style left a deep impact is Orhan Pamuk. Both of these writers changed my idea of the “Essay” through their works and their way of addressing, and here I am attaching word after word, writing an article about writing an article, and I cannot escape the irony in that.
It is quite hard to neglect the thought that ‘writing’ and ‘waiting’ both have the same letters arranged in the same way except for one. Waiting and procrastinations as I stated is that deep dark trench which a writer faces and many drown in this engulfing trench and the world is devoid of a great work which never saw the light of day. I look forward to a day when a thesaurus would assign ‘writing’ as a synonym for ‘procrastination’ for that is as close as it gets.
Next to the procrastination comes the ‘inspiration’, holding onto that leash of creativity combating to leap out. For Wordsworth “poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling” yet it is this “Spontaneous feeling” which is hard to muster. In my course of my daily life, battling with my work and assignments, I get deviated and even though a small spark comes about an idea, I let it wait and leave it for a later day. For me, to feel that “powerful feeling” I need to shut myself up from the world. An empty room or the open rooftop lending view to the endless stars always ignite that spark and find myself buried with newer thoughts. Solitude has always been my saviour and after a long hard day, nothing refreshes me like shutting myself away. Even now, it is 2am at night; the world is in deep slumber as I type every word of this article, for it is only in the dead of silence and solitude I seem to find myself and ideas resonate with exuberance.
I shall be ending this article here and continue more as time progresses, and if you find it quite abrupt, then I need only remind you what I always have said -- writing for me is discovering myself, and that discovery is a journey, a progress with each word, and it goes on into a never-ending voyage.