The way our minds think depends largely on the circumstances and experiences we’re going through. Our moods fluctuate mercurially at times, and we tend to give in to them rather more when they’re at their worst. A peppy mood will probably pass by quicker and won’t leave a mark. A sullen mindset would usually linger longer and might even leave a bitter aftertaste.
We writers are not immune to moods either. We’ll fret and fume, pace about and meander, hum and haw. We might even pull our hair out. Writing is exacting as a profession, or even just as a pursuit. It can scour some layers off one’s insides, and it can scorch the coolness off even the most unflappable of writers. At times, searching for a word, a phrase or even a theme can be a demanding process. If a writer is not in a connected frame of mind, some topics will just not warm up to his mindset that day. On another day, ideas will fly off his brain cells, and he won’t be able to keep pace with his keyboard.
Noted author Ramachandra Guha is said to have earmarked four hours of each day for writing his next manuscript. And while such discipline is laudable, and even worthy of emulation, Mr Guha himself would admit that every day is not Sunday. In other words, some days bring out the best from one’s repertoire of writing skills. Other days find our minds clogged, clouded and even cobwebbed. The key, as in life itself, is to keep at it. And to bounce back at the earliest.
{{/usCountry}}Noted author Ramachandra Guha is said to have earmarked four hours of each day for writing his next manuscript. And while such discipline is laudable, and even worthy of emulation, Mr Guha himself would admit that every day is not Sunday. In other words, some days bring out the best from one’s repertoire of writing skills. Other days find our minds clogged, clouded and even cobwebbed. The key, as in life itself, is to keep at it. And to bounce back at the earliest.
{{/usCountry}}Editing one’s piece later, when one is more ‘with it’ and when ‘those little grey cells’ are working better, is a great idea. But in order to create a volume of writing and in order to author a book, a writer has to take the rough with the smooth. As Hemingway said, rather epochally, “sit down at a typewriter and bleed”. The AI era has, of course, obfuscated moods, as well as writers themselves, to an extent. Moods are only for humans. Predictability, efficacy and exactitude are for AI. But then, a writer who’s on song, one with a creative spark in his mind, or one who is head over heels in love, might conjure up prose or poetry that is beyond the purview of all Claudes and Geminis put together.
Authors like Pablo Neruda, Khaled Hosseini and Chitra Divakaruni are much about the heart and soul of writing. Their brains are clearly infused with heartfelt notions and emotions that add whiffs of sparkle and fizz to their words. The marvellous moodiness of writers can enhance, often quite unimaginably, the sheer levels of thought and expression that are essayed by them.
I myself like to write when the mood is upbeat and the mind is unfettered. Yet, the day is always dotted with unannounced goings-on. And to find mind space, even edgeways, is often an onerous task. Write, one must, though. And one usually writes better after having thought deeply about the subject at hand, maybe for several preceding days.
Influences, if not influencers, abound too. They impact one’s mind-train no end. And they often compel a writer to deviate from his original trajectory of thought. These worthies could be family members, friends, bosses, vegetable vendors, gol gappa wallahs or even maids at large. A writer does not live in isolation. That is the norm. Though some lucky authors do manage to get away to a getaway in the hills and write for months.
The rest of us must wind our way through daily trails and trials; and these are beset with sounds, smells, opinions and also gusts of inescapable social media winds. Or tornadoes. Magnificent is the result, but only at times, of all the pushes and pulls that life ensures for us. Lonesome writing might be a great idea at times. But every word heard, every sight seen, every fragrance imbibed and each feeling that has resulted from all these does actually help. A writer who is surrounded by the fracases of humanity might actually be on top of his game. Meanwhile, it’s best to trudge along, bleedingly, or otherwise.
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