3 Techniques to Learn the Art of Starting to Write

I have always wanted to write. Having said that, I must admit that I haven't really written the amount which I'd have liked to. I don't say that the quantity is more important than the quality of a piece of writing, but I say I've so many times shirked from doing one of my most favourite pastimes - writing - lazyness being the most vital factor. Due to my failure to convert my thoughts into writings, I had had a sense of guilt until I read a poem written by Charles Pukowski.

The essence of the poem is that you should not write something merely for the sake of writing. Unless you would become lunatic, commit suicide or kill someone, if you don't write something, you should never touch your pen. He says in the poem that if a thought deserves to be written, it will write itself, i.e. it will give the writer the push enough to make her write it down. So, I found consolation here. I told myself, "Never take any effort to write anything." And, I believe that is right too.

All the pieces of writing in this blog have written themselves using me as a tool. I didn't dragoon them out of my pen. There was no other purpose in writing these articles than pouring out my thoughts which otherwise would have kept disturbing my mind.

I started this particular piece of writing to be an introduction to my other articles. Now, I'm afraid it will turn out to be an article itself. Anyway, I can't end this without sharing my experience in the art of starting to write. (Title found!)

1. Make Hay While the Sun Shines
So many times, I have experienced an inner voice describing the incidents happening around me, especially when I don't have company. (Almost like the situation in the movie Stranger than Fiction). I think this happens because of the impact of the Tamil monthly novels written by the likes of Rajesh Kumar, Suba, Pattukottai Prabhakar and Arnika Nasser which I used to read in my childhood. These thoughts keep coming in a flow that I sometimes happen to whisper them to myself, without my complete awareness of doing so. (For instance, a bus stops near me. My mind says, with a cacophonic screech gifted by the meticulous care of the corporation, a bus which should have been kept in a museum actually, slowed down near me.

But later, when I sat and made all the so-called preparations to write it down, I didn't still have that natural flow, though I remembered some of the sentences. There had always been a writer's block. If you have had the same experience, I'd suggest you to always keep a pen and a notepad at your reach. If you type it in your mobile phone, you must send it to your own mail id or save it in cloud. The moment a spark strikes your mind, you start writing. I don't believe in the theory that one needs a perfect atmosphere to write something. When you have the spirit, the urge to write it down and show it to your readers, well, even an adverse atmosphere doesn't matter. There is one golden rule in the art of starting to write. Never procrastinate!

2. One Ball at a Time
Another easy technique to motivate yourself to write is to write sentences. I re-gained my interest to write after I wrote a single sentence to be posted in my WhatsApp status. The thing is you have to open your pen and write the first sentence. Remember the golden saying, "A journey of thousand miles begins with a small step". Deceive your mind that you're going to write only one sentence so that it doesn't feel lazy. Your mind feels lazy only when it thinks that something is a herculean task. When it knows that it is actually a piece of cake, it doesn't feel lazy. Well, writing one sentence is simple and easy. The magic in writing is that when you start enjoying the flow of your words, you will not stop. Now, writing is no more a task, it has become a pastime.

3. Don't Underestimate Your Thoughts
Imagine that you're not well. You have stomach pain and so you can't sleep. The next day you've been cured and you enjoy your sleep. Now, you wish to write about the greatest pleasure in sleeping. But, you hesitate a while and you reject your own thought considering it to be a trivial one. You shirk from writing it giving yourself some pretexts. Let me tell you one thing! Don't ignore any thought because you think it's trivial. Nothing is too trivial to be avoided. Emerson once told that if you reject your own idea and later see the same idea being written by an already renowned person, you'll feel the utmost frustration. So, whatever comes to your mind, if you feel like writing it down, for the heaven's sake, do write.

So far, I had been worrying that I didn't write. Now, I have started to advise others. See? What magic and confidence writing can bring to your mind! Start writing. You'll change. Your change will change the world. Cheers!