Writers on Writing

'We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect

-Anais Nin

The world has been observed differently by different writers. This article is an attempt to bring together the diverse shades of ideas around writing expressed by a few writers, on various levels: regional, national, international and universal.

According to Hemingway, the best early training for a writer is an unhappy childhood. Stephen King, in his memoir 'On writing' says that he doesn't believe that writers can be made either by circumstances or self will. 'The equipment comes with the original package. Yet it is by no means unusual equipment; I believe large numbers of people have at least some talent as writers and storytellers, and that those talents can be strengthened and sharpened.' 

I recently interviewed the Founder of Kaafiya, and poet called Yaseen Anwer and asked about his relationship with writing. He replied that 'For me, writing comes when nothing else is possible, when something strikes me deep within to an extent that it will tear me apart. It forces me into some state that can make me go mad till it comes out. Writing can never go out of me. When I am not writing I am still writing something and erasing, those not erased come out for others to see'. He laid a special emphasis on universality and timelessness of a work that  surpasses all boundaries and reaches out to a wider audience. He asserted that good writing is a proof of bad society. Indeed, in an ideal society, what would be left to write?

Sufyan bin Uzayr is the author of 'The Apocalypse'. For him, writing is a temporary refuge from reality. He says that there is a lot of negativity in the present life and writing history serves to provide better comprehension of today. Writing fiction helps him picturize a better world. I asked him about the difficulties faced by writers today. He replied that 'writing is just a part of the picture. The biggest challenge today is marketing and promotion; with so many writers out there of which many are below par, getting yourself noticed is really tough. Plus, publishing houses tend to favor money over literary skills.' For him, immortality is impossible via writing. At best, one can only prolong one's memories. Immortality would be an overstatement. He makes a valid point that one should write to express and not to please.

Ralph L. Wahlstrom in 'The Tao Of Writing' describes  Writing as natural, flow, creation, detachment, discovery, change, unified yet multiplied, clarity, simplicity, personal, universal and open ended. 'Tao' refers to the source and guiding principle of all reality according to Taoism (A Chinese philosophy based on the writings of Lao-tzu that stresses living simply and honestly and in harmony with nature). In the Preface, he mentions one of the most familiar Taoist phrase: 'The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step' and adds that the writer's journey begins with a word and, like the river and the wind, flows on. He states that 'writing allows us not only to explore and discover the world around us in its countless manifestations, but it can show us paths to our inner worlds as well.' The power of writing is used by therapists to help patients deal with trauma and emotional concerns. Psychics use a practice call 'automatic writing' (writing with a subconscious mind). These methods pave a way for self discovery. Writing has a healing power. It unburdens our minds and replenishes its surface with creativity.

The Wordsmiths, edited by Meenakshi Sharma includes the exciting conversations of finest Contemporary Indian writers, rooted to their various rich, regional languages.

UR Anantha Murthystates that 'Our analytical and conceptual articulation comes from the English Language. But only our mother tongue can provide us with metaphors that describe our emotional states. All these regional languages are now developing a kind of artificial prose. There is nothing wrong in this but the living language is the language that is spoken in the streets.

He talks about the vulgarity of articulation in our daily life and that all Indian writers who write in the regional languages have access to the deep springs of life for our language is well preserved there.

He proclaims that 'Reading and writing, is an asocial act-an act outside of our obligations and privileges within the shared assumptions of our communities. It is our deepest desire to belong authentically to our community, which prompts us both to read and write, for we want to renew ourselves in the naked truth of our experience and shed all falseness and dishonest agreement to the ideological imperatives of our communities.'  

Krishna Sobti (Sahitya Academy award winner) talks about her writing habits: 'Washing utensils is my favorite way of reducing thinking to a bare minimum. Or I read shikaar stories. I love them or even cook. Add all the right masalas. Make it perfect as if I won't be cooking again for the next ten years. The process of writing is such a cerebral one that you have to make it a little physical too, to balance it. Anyway,  writing is not my only priority. I want to live life. I want to have fun.'

She mentions that 'a blank paper gives her the most fantastic feeling possible, as if you are on a mountain peak, with all this clear space before you.  A good piece is not only the result of memory and imagination woven with words, it is invariably the outcome of a complex process of intellectual and emotional intimacy with the subject. A language is nothing if it doesn't convey a certain sensibility.'

She feels that men don't allow women to share the world they inhabit and region outside the house becomes male dominated. Her choice to live alone and inhabit both the worlds is commendable. She goes on to say that having a family of one's own may be a writer's handicap. Firstly the husband (a dominating force) may object to wife's writing. Secondly the 'noise' in a family situation. She calls a married existence in a family as 'anti-writing'.    

Mahashweta Devi firmly believes that every writer should have a social conscience and must take up the cause of the oppressed and the downtrodden otherwise history will not forgive her.

MT Vasudevan Nair, the most popular living writer in Kerala, talks about a writer's practice of developing an individual style and that it takes many years of experimentation. He advices young authors to be bold enough to reject quite a bit of what they write.  

Waqas Ahmad Khwajain his book titled 'Writers and Landscapes' records his experiences as a member of the International Writers Programme, with the mixed flavor of a memoir, travelogue, critical evaluation and storytelling. It's about the coming together of writers from different corners of the world and redefining the act of writing and unleashing of creative energies though debates, discussions, conversations, etc. It's of utmost necessity for a writer to stay social, meet and converse with people, go beyond one's small circle and contribute towards the betterment of society with ideas and their execution. He rightly asserts that 'writers must not be expected to collaborate with the military or the mullah, the politician or the entrepreneur. They have their own battles to fight--against illiteracy, superstition, prejudice against totalitarian attitudes, vanity, false pride.'

There's a question we often come across: is writing a way to attain immortality. He says 'it seems storytelling overcomes or replaces death. It is the passport to survival, this ability to recount tales, recover and recount them, to embroider and amplify them in order to delay the threatened annihilation.'

To conclude, it can be said that each person has a share in the fountain of life. Some choose to be spectators (the anti-action kind), some become water itself, erupting with the rhythm of their heartbeats (whom we call writers) and some are never able to spare a moment to gaze at the fountain, being severely engrossed in the vicissitudes of life, the marginalized ones. And a writer's duty is indeed to live as many lives as possible, hunt for as many realities as possible and become the mirror of society. Despite the regional and national borders, a writer's art knows no boundaries but timelessness and universality.   

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing

-Benjamin Franklin