The other day I was stuck waiting for a long time for something to be done that was completely out of my control and I all I could do was wait. SO I decided to work on a poem. My process is usually IDEA --> WRITE FREELY --> LEAVE IT FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND NEVER READ IT. Well, in that moment I thought, I have pieces of a poem, let's see what I can make of it. I played around with the lines, changing, drafting them, and it turned out the final poem changed from what I even intended it to be once I started putting the lines together; I wrote it out and missed a line and ended up putting it at the end. You know what, it worked even better.
I never thought that I would adopt this, or any other form of writing and editing than the aforementioned three step process. And it was extremely rewarding. Not to say that I will ever abandon my way of writing. I love that this is the one thing that I can be spontaneous about without having to think about it too much. However, if the case warrants it, I will from time to time do this again. It was fun. Let a puzzle.
That same evening, I decided that I wanted to see if I could think up of possible other titles for my poems. Now the title that I currently have for my work is something that I like. It works because it can become a series, which is how I envisioned my poetry, a series of volumes - some thematic and some random. Titles can also lead to new ideas, and some I might even write poems about. My poetry usually comes from my own experiences and is never fictional. I think I have written one poem that was fictional when I was in a workshop and I have no idea where that has gotten to. However, this exercise also gave me the chance to broaden the scope of my work. And who knows where that will lead to.
This morning I woke up, grabbed my tablet, dropped it on my face (my hands sometimes take longer to wake up than the rest of me) and started to write. Another new happening, I never wake up with the urge to write. And this was different, this wasn't a poem. This could very well be my first short story or novel. I am not sure yet what is going to happen, however, I can see things unfolding and I have a different kind of urge to write. Nothing like when I want to write a blog post, a journal entry, or even a poem. I want to know what is going to happen to my main character, almost as if I am reading the story. For someone who doesn't write fiction, this is a whole new kind of experience in writing that I am completely enjoying. Unfortunately, I have a book to finish that is due tomorrow, so the novel will have to wait. I will write down whatever ideas pop into my head so that the fire stays alive.
Countless writers have videos and courses that you can watch that talk about the process of writing. Every artist is different, however, what I think is important is to be open to new possibilities. Just because your favourite artist or writer woke/wakes up every morning, has a cup of coffee, jumps of the computer and writes nonstop or paints in the studio five canvases before lunch. You might not be a morning person, have a studio or even like coffee. Find your own way of doing things. However, as artists, sometimes we get stuck in our same tried and true methods of creating. Breaking out of this might challenge you to make something unexpectedly beautiful.
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