Walking and Writing

I have solid proof that walking helps writing. The two topics may seem completely unrelated, but they are not.

Whenever I am stuck while writing a scene or chapter, I just need to get out of the chair and walk about the house. Walking out in the open is even better. Just stand up and work your legs. Walk. Continue.

The results will show immediately. Ideas would flow and you'd have to go back to the table to jot them down, so you won't lose them. That's the way it works. When the blood travels away from the head to the feet, it works wonders.

These are nitty-gritties of the writing life that are so significant that they're not noticed until ideas stop flowing. Outdoor life, without losing focus, can be a great inspiration. A walk in the neighborhood park is beneficial. So is a little outing on your bicycle, when you let the breeze touch you as well as your inner self.

Writing is a constant balancing of energies and thoughts, and that can be achieved with a minute eye for one's body and mind.

God in Writing

Many of you are surprised to read the above headline. Am I talking about religious writing? One can interpret it in many ways. No, I'm not talking about theological pieces, or anything to do with religious philosophy.

What I mean here is about the underlying force in writing. One need not be a church or temple goer, or even believe in any religion. By 'God in Writing', I mean the presence of a power you believe in, during the entire process of writing, from conception of an idea or ideas, to planning and execution.
Which by themselves are often incomprehensible, or unwieldy, or confusing.

When you seek to do everything by yourself, then any work will assume gigantic proportions. Small things will appear big and difficult. But when we place our faith in someone, or something, it becomes easily manageable. It's like having a companion or friend in your time of need.

Writing is a time when you need strength. It may be physical strength to withstand long hours of work, or emotional strength to see you through times when you are slogging away alone at your desk, away from the society to finish that last few pages. However much you want to be partying or be somewhere else other than your desk, you need some kind of strength to carry you through these tough pockets of time. That is when 'God' helps you, and gives you the strength, to carry on, in spite of everything.

In times of 'Writer's Block', you need 'God' the most. a writer's block comes in the first place, I believe, when your ego takes over. While you are creating some good pieces and one very good days, your pride makes you think that it is you who has produced that work. That is a dangerous process. If you think you're too good, then the pride halts you in your steps.

Your expectation from yourself becomes so high that you want everything from you to be the highest in quality and quantity. The ego asks and you deliver. Then a time comes when you cannot produce anything. You don't have anything to show. That is the effect of ego on creativity and writing.

Minimizing you ego means believing in 'God' or the power that feeds your creativity. When we think that all our creations come from God, it means we're subjugating our ego an raisin our work higher than the ego.

Creating any piece of writing, or art, needs some amount of 'ego' so that the creator's signature is seen in the outcome But too much ego isn't good. It will block you and you will stagnate. Just ask the Universe, the Power, the God to be with you. Then you're not alone. And you'll be able to create you best work.

The Writer in Me: The Mind Body Connection

I grew up as a child spending lot of time with books. What outcome could you expect in such a scenario? Someone who wants to write. And hence my life is now long years of reading, writing, and more writing. And the best place to visit all time has been the library wherever I lived.

It isn't surprising, is it? My earliest clear memory is of going to the District Library in Jorhat, a small town in Assam, India, where I spent most of my school years. That was the formative period of my life.

For some reason, I wasn't much into games and sports. I wasn't a weak girl. Somehow, that aspect of life never interested me. Later, after passing out from school, I became a yoga enthusiast. and right now, I regularly go to the gym and walk in the park, also bike sometimes. Haven't reached the half-marathon level. But this isn't that bad. It isn't about all head and body care. I do try to live a holistic life, taking care of my physical as well mental well being.

One thing I've learnt over the years is that, one cannot live just the way one likes, especially when it comes to the body, mind and spirit. Eating and drinking anything, at any time, or inputting anything into the mind, sleeping at any hour, no control in life... One cannot abuse any part of it. There is a clear connection between all these aspects.

Life continues because of balance. It's so important to take care of the body if one wants to use the mind. Writing is nothing else but using the mind to produce words from ideas. Dynamic ideas are born in an active energetic body. Just like an oiled machine works efficiently, similarly, a well maintained body (not just aesthetically, it's about health) works better than when it hasn't been cared for.

Health is wealth. I don't know who said this or from where it has come. The older I am getting, I realize the significance of good health more seriously. Everything in life is connected to health. As long as one is alive, health affects that person. It could be good health or bad health. When we talk of bad health, it brings up the image of a sick person, who cannot walk straight and tall, or someone in a hospital bed with pipes everywhere, or coughing an eyes watering.

These are just a few images that I get when I talk about bad health. a person who is in bad health is not in normal condition, is unable to perform optimally, and is a drag to herself and others surrounding her. The opposite scenario applies to a healthy person. She is full of energy and can apply herself to the task at hand with full focus.

Not that good health guarantees the best writing. Many other attributes also go into making a great writer, like life experiences, perception and empathy, power of observation, ability to interpret incidents in a writerly way, etc. etc.

But a writer in good health, and with better than average abilities is a boon to everyone. A society needs writers who write well.

There's Something about Writing

I have been writing since a young age. A few years I spent in the newspaper and editing industry on day jobs. But all throughout, writing has never left me.

And the outcome is here in the form of a full-fledged novel titled Silk. There are also various other projects in different stages of completion. I have a lot of stories inside me, and the time is not not enough.

A day has only twenty-four hours, out of which eight hours are designated to sleep. Much goes into eating and cleaning and for the family too. How much time do I have, to write? Not much.

But there's something about writing that keeps me at it.

Dragon - my Experience with this Software

I have been looking for this kind of a software for a long. This will be quite a useful tool for me. I am very confident that this tool will be regularly utilized by me to write stories and novels. This is a long unfulfilled need, and I am very glad that I found it.

Mostly I want to focus on my novel. I have a feeling that by using Dragon, I would be able to accomplish more. The speed at which I would progress would be much faster. The volume of work output would be larger. It is the first day today, and I am moving very slowly. With more practice, I am sure that speed will become better. My vocabulary pronunciation will also get incorporated into the software.

There are so many things that I have wanted to write about, but have not done so. With the use of Dragon, I would be able to put down many thoughts into words. Many ideas would take concrete form. There are so many things that I want to talk about. Moreover, narration of this kind is so much like conventional storytelling. In storytelling of the past, the spoken word was the mainstay of entertainment. Much before the written word was discovered, much before the alphabets were used, it was either words or pictures.

In communication with words, at least one sense organ comes useful. In storytelling, the mouth and ears are the main organs. The mouth of the storyteller pronounces the story, the ears of the audience hears the story. While reading a manuscript or a book, the eyes are the primary organs. And while writing a book, the hand and the eyes are majorly involved.

The use of Dragon software in writing is an interactive and enjoyable activity. The process of writing a story or a novel has been made into a very serious and academic affair. But, in the real profession of a writer, when writing is conceived to be as serious as this, the enjoyment in the storytelling is thrown out of the window. Is there any reason to take writing so seriously and handle it with the extent of caution it is done?

As an artist and an author, all these years, when i compare the two now, I realize that I have enjoyed doing my paintings much more. I have lost track of time when I have worked in my art studio. I enjoy writing tremendously too. But, until now, it had been more about forcibly trying to enjoy it. It had not been innocent and spontaneous joy. With this voice recognition software, I can see immediately that I am enjoying this different way of narrating my stories. Instead of the ink pen or the computer keyboard, I am interacting with my voice and the screen. I can notice that this way, the quality of my input is better. I am also less bored or tired. Narrating a story has made it less intense, and therefore less strenuous.

I am so thankful to God that I discovered Dragon.