Prompt: This week, take a look at a photo essay by Jared A. Brock of one hundred well-known authors in their writing spaces and write a personal essay about a particular spot where you have written a significant amount of work. Perhaps the space is at a desk in the same corner you’ve retreated to for years, or a specific seat on a certain bus during a commute, or a summer cabin you visited a handful of times years ago. What was one writing project you worked on in that space that you remember particularly well? Describe your mindset in that space versus outside of it. Incorporate the sounds, smells, and other details needed to create a sensorial experience of the space.
Writers have this tendency to get distracted with the slightest of sensorial stimuli- it can be the initial drops of rain on your room window, or a streetlight turning off or the smell of coffee being served on the table across yours. Sometimes, we are swayed by sounds of keys on our typing machines or pen flowing like butter on paper. Ah! How much we strive to achieve this creative flow weaving our pens like swords, every single day. But I’m sure most writers, know that these “superb” days are selective, they are blessings in disguise and do not happen everyday, but only on handpicked ones. You might ask- since you’re a regular, it shouldn’t be such a hard nut to crack! Hahah, if only it were that easy to execute like our spoken tongue. There is a secret ingredient every writer will agree to, which is a challenge in itself: Write everyday, whether it’s good or bad. Don’t think. Just write.
There’s no two ways about it, that’s the way to go when you want to turn those words into a beacon of hope and storytelling. Writing everyday is not easy, it feels like doing a plank with all that excruciating pain and believing you are strong throughout. There are several places you feel the drive to write, every single day. There have been days where I’m stuck in an hour long drive home from work, and just frantically typed out on a note taking app on my phone, in the middle of evening traffic. It can feel adrenaline-driven with all the vehicles honking, drivers cursing and blinding tail lights. At a traffic signal, you can have a pinch of inspiration as you watch pedestrians go about their business, passengers running after the speeding bus that’s leaving the bus stop, or an old, weak-looking woman in a tattered sari asking for money, tugging your arm and triggering a long-lost memory. There is a tumultuous feel to the entire atmosphere and traffic signals playing the stopwatch game with my mind.
Halts like these can be productive and work like a writing exercise because your thoughts flow instinctively in a time-bound space, as you eliminate judgement and self-doubt out of the way.
A space I’ve always tried to write is coffee shops. Ah! How much I miss writing there… I realize their value now as I look back in these testing times. To be honest, they can be the least distractive writing spaces despite the constant hustle-bustle of customers and café employees. I have tried them on a variety basis- the popular Starbucks, local coffee shops, Irani chai shops (these are tough!), gourmet expensive ones, etc. On a psychological note, the sensory experiences at these places can stimulate tons of ideas which can really help add details to your writing. Even the little things can bring a whole new flavour to your material for example, like asking your server where your coffee beans come from, the history of the coffee shop and its continuing legacy, the differences in behaviour of a regular customer and a newcomer, etc. It can arouse some interesting ideas to set the scene in your story like two lovers meeting (cliché, I know), or the coffee shop hosting members of a secret society afterhours. There are moments I get lost in the bigger picture of it all but sometimes, the attention to detail can set you back on track.
Most often, the opportunities to write tend to favour me at a specific location or mood space. Probably, at my work desk or home where I tend to have different kinds of stationery around and gadgets that can make writing a distractive indulgence. It gets really difficult to focus on the task at hand with various trains of thoughts barging around in my brain. You have your work deadlines or the reminder to complete house chores which can interrupt the creative flow. But there’s an upside to this, the persistence to complete and go to the other side of the tunnel improves if you keep at it. It sounds tough, no doubt, and there have been many a times I have given up- atleast a 1001 times (no, it’s not exaggeration!) and each time it tests your mental ability. The capacity to wake up and get through to the finish line. The best part being the non-competitiveness of it all, like you don’t have to buy another cup of coffee to stay at your desk or get someplace else in your car.
A vivid memory of a writing project I worked on was on a train. An Indian Railway Train journey is like a giant wheel ride in a carnival or a daydreaming arena like a Mani Ratnam film. There’s the chaos of passengers, smell of the Samosa-Anna, the shout outs by the chai sellers, the negotiations between last minute passengers and the TTR (Ticket Examiner). There’s a calm amidst the storm, and inspiration strikes like the chugging wheels on track. I always carry a notebook and pen when I travel, and I remember I got a story for my first screenplay on one of my travels to Madras. Until then, I struggled to write and focused on my blog or shorter story formats for almost 2-3 years. Often, I kept my writing to myself and didn’t put it out for the world to see. As I sat by the window, with my sisters fighting for a packet of Lays’ chips and my Mother reading her Tamizh magazine, I took notes down like a maniac as farm fields and cement factories passed by on the outskirts of the city. The filmmaking bug in me took birth at that very moment, and every note I wrote was a vision dictating the descriptions. It was purely magical and for a college kid, it cemented my passion as a storyteller. I fell in love with the art of vision, sound and words. In retrospect, a routine train ride was all it took to find what I wanted to do. Lesson: Routines help. Period.
Experiencing a completely unique sensory experience can alter the way we think, so in the coming years, I look forward with hope to discover more writing spaces.
Comment your favourite writing spaces in the comments section below.
Do follow the blog if you like what you just read.
thanks. happy reading!
Filmy Kadhai 