I haven’t written anything yesterday. I hope to make up for the missing work today. I spoke to Visu about my journal writing which I have read about two years ago and found it to be useful. This suggestion was given in a book titled “Write For Life” and the name given to this practice was “morning pages”. It urges the aspiring writer to start with writing anything that comes to mind first thing in the morning. One can write anything, because this will not be shared with the world. The benefits of this exercise are manyfold.
I have been practicing this exercise for the past two years now. Some months I was able to write only 3000-4000 words, but a few months I was able to, to my amazement, I could cross well over 30000 words. Although I won’t be able to share all of what I have written in those journal pages, looking back, I see I can siphon a few flash fiction pieces, notes for my novel which could be developed into meaningful scenes, and some motivational speeches which I had made only for myself. I haven’t learned typing formally but in the last two years my typing speed has increased. I am able to type with both my hands, all ten fingers without looking at the keyboard - that is the physical benefit of this practice. Also, the stress one used to feel when it comes to writing - What should I write? Is what I am writing sensible enough? Am I writing the masterful work that can be compared with the literary giants of our time? - all gone. I am simply writing, as if I am speaking to myself, albeit in an orderly manner, with good vocabulary and without repeating myself. As I continue to write for a long time, I noticed that my internal editor has become sharper and more accurate, and he is guiding me through my writing process without me paying too much attention to him.
What am I writing in these journal pages? I wouldn’t know before I begin to write. The fact that I am writing is a good enough reason for me to keep going. I am dedicating a certain amount of time every day for writing and that gives me satisfaction. I simply create a document for each month and write the date as a heading and begin to write. The condition is I should keep on writing whatever comes to mind. I write about the books I read, the novels I want to write, what kind of a writer I want to be, how I should write a journal everyday, and things like that. I mostly write in English and only in Tamil when I want to respond to friends' comments on stories and such. Even to plan, design, and brainstorm my Tamil stories I do it in English. Sometimes my brainstorming passages are longer than my actual Tamil story but I feel this practice gives me clarity about the story I am writing. So, write anything you want. The only condition here that You Should Write.
I write the above message as part of my journal writing, more than 500 words (none of them AI created) in about 15 minutes, meaning I can claim in this group that I wrote today, although none of what I wrote could be used in a fiction, which is what we all want to write.
When it comes to fiction writing I still struggle to write passages. I want to write novels in English (without the use of AI) (have been trying to write one for the past few months) and it is a struggle to write the next sentence or the next paragraph. But still I see that this journal writing is definitely helping me in my fiction writing as well.
I recommend friends from this group to try out this strategy. You do not have to produce classic literature every day. You can write anything. As long as you are able to dedicate one hour (perhaps in three or four short bursts), mission accomplished, at least at the beginning of our writing journey. These days, I make it a point to write in the journal even though I write fiction.
I apologize for sharing this long message in this group. I thought this could be useful and a motivator to all of us.
Please share if you have any strategies that could be helpful for us fiction writers.
Have fun writing!
