So, someone told me that in a writer’s journal and that means that I’m supposed to talk about my writing process. Which I understand, but argued against initially because writing about that feels quite boring, and stretching it out across how many ever weeks feels like a bit of a waste. Not because the writing process is unimportant, but I think there is so much more to writing, than the process of writing. 

What I mean by that, is that as writers, we are documentors. We take information, we process it and we translate it in our own way. We take in ideas, we think about them and then we implement them. Some implementations are less attached to the original ideas than others, and we can take any amount of the idea in, and alter it in any way we see fit, up to our individual capabilities at the moment in consideration. What I was asked to do more of, based on how I understood it, was an elaboration of the translation of those ideas. 

That is an important part of writing, and is the product of the entire process. It’s the cake the baker makes, the sword the blacksmith forges. But, what makes a writer so special, is that our components are totally abstract and we can take them from anywhere. We just have to be able to put it in a way where we are understood, or at least, appreciated or engaging. 

In the coming weeks, I will certainly touch on my process when I sit down and decide 

Alright, no more loligagging. Let’s write something that’ll get me into grad school. 

But, I think it’s important, insightful and in other words lucrative, to talk about the entire process that affects me as a writer. And that includes much of what I’ve written about so far. My expressions, ideas, realizations and attempts at entertainment. And for most of the rest of this entry: inspiration.

As a concept, inspiration is anything that moves you to consideration. Consideration ranges from awe, to curiosity, all the way to disgust, empathy or hilarity. Music and beauty bring awe to me, friends make me curious, recent events have disgusted me and drawn out empathy in equal measure, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia evokes all 4 of these emotions, including hilarity. All of these ideas and happenings inspire, because they move you, the agent, to consideration or action. 

Explaining what inspiration is, is one thing. Explaining how to effectively use it, is a totally other thing. And one that’s much more difficult to explain. 

How I use my inspiration is likely very different than how someone else would use it. As each batter has a different batting stance in baseball, every writer has their own process and comforts that they use and rely on in order to try and write a hit. But, some constant’s in my “stance” that I imagine would be applicable to other people, include as follows: 

Keep a journal. I just make documents in my notepad on my phone, and write what’s important. Normally, just the bare or core of it, so I can move on and think about whatever I’m writing about more. Because if I try to write about it too much while I’m out, sometimes it will start to feel forced and inauthentic, and I lose what made it special. Sometimes, writing while everything is hot is the right call, but other times, you just have to live in the moment and try to remember the big parts. 

Keep it personal, yet universal. When I’m moved by something in my life, I always try and capture what it is that’s getting to me. However, when I translate it into something productive, I always try to cut out parts that won’t stick to people, but leave the core of it so that it’s relatable. Like, instead of saying 

I hate that sometimes my friend will only talk to me when he’s unhappy and takes it out on me, rather than being his normally friendly and sensitive self, 

I say 

I hate when the sharpest knife stabs me.

I take uncessary information out, and leave a core that is understandable on several levels. More context can be given through the rest of the words in the piecs. Just keep what matters in tact, and feel free to dispose of the rest. 

Last recommendation: Keep it different. Always try to experiment and do something different. It might feel weird for me to say “Every writer has their own ‘stance’” then later say “Always try to keep it different”, but hear me out. We all have our particular quirks and ways to keep things steady. It would also follow, since we (maybe)  know what makes us work (sometimes) we can take educated guesses as to how we can keep things right while trying to be different too. And it’s important to keep on being different, because you don’t want to have any crutches as a writer. The less crutches you rely on, the more expressive and dynamic your writing can be. It’s perfectly fine to perfect and master one way of writing, but the more you can do, the more options you have. 

We’ll leave this around here for now. Key takeaway: stay inspired and understand what works for you. Also, do what you want. You know you the best, as long as you look at yourself for longer than your mirror does.