Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category
Writing by Hand
I came across these words from Julia Cameron’s The Vein of Gold: A journey to Your Creative Heart (Penguin, 1997):
Writing by hand is like walking somewhere, instead of whizzing there in the car. We notice landmarks. We retain a sense of direction… Speed is not always desirable. We are after a process that will allow for depth and distance, not just speed… writing by hand allows us to examine more closely the journey we are taking… We see how we feel. We see our life by the way we finger it.
I began to think about how I ventured into the world of writing, and realized that I began with scraps of paper where I would scribble jumbled thoughts in between my classes in high school. Writing like that – without definite form or specific direction – was both a way for me to relax and a personal forum for exploring my views on life. I began to discover a new ‘me’ that was more passionate and opinionated than I had ever known. Later on, the scraps of paper evolved into a notebook that eventually carried the first poems I ever wrote.
If you are a beginner, start with simple exercises. Don’t overstrain yourself with difficult subjects or complex ideas. For instance, write a paragraph of your thoughts every morning. Don’t worry about whether it makes sense or not. The idea is to keep the flame going till you can develop something more interesting. Build on this and work your way towards a whole page then two pages and so on. This exercise helps to develop your ability to communicate honestly from your heart. Write whatever comes to mind and don’t despise it; it could be good material for future use. Focus more on the process rather than the product, at least until you gain more confidence.