My Writing Style and Creative Process

Welcome back to another blogger’s content post!

I’ve gotten a lot of requests to speak on how exactly I get ideas to include in my writing. I want to start out by saying I’m not a professional writer nor an educator in the English Language or Literature, but I sure as hell can tell a story on paper!

In high school, I wasn’t a fan of English Literature. I loved reading and writing, but I’ve always disliked being boxed in to a specific set of rules that governed particular types of writing and, the arguments of my teachers that my writing was not good enough because it missed this or had too much of that!

“What qualifies you to tell me my ideas are wrong or right?” I thought.

I hated word limits, I hated summary writing, I hated writing rules. And the truth is, you don’t need to be a master of these rules to know how to write. What you need to know firstly, is how to be a storyteller; how to be convincing. You need to be able to convey situations with the right details to engage an audience and either leave them in suspense or leave them satisfied that a particular ending was achieved – and even this depends on the story you’re telling (shoutout to movies that kill our favorite characters in the end! *sighs*). By mastering this art, you’ll realize manipulating the skill of storytelling isn’t difficult when writing an essay vs. a letter or a short story vs. poem. What storytelling teaches you is general writing structure: having an intro, main points or events and a conclusion, and you can see how this format may be applied across a range of writing types. Too much emphasis is often placed on “writing rules” but not much is spent encouraging the artist to express their creativity.

I recently read a piece by Dr. Writes (@wordpharm on Instagram) which said “Promise, a fool’s comfort. You said, ‘I Love you’. I felt safe”. Immediately that gave me an idea of what the characters may have looked like, the setting, the beginning, climax and the ending because it created an entire story in my mind. And the story that it painted is an everyday occurrence. I’m sure a lot of us have been manipulated by someone in some way who may have tricked us into believing our relationship was authentic, or maybe, you were the one doing the playing. Either way, it’s a situation we can relate to whether personally or from seeing a friend or relative going through it. That’s the power of poetry. That’s what I want aspiring poets and writers to encounter, appreciate and apply to their work. Poetry and other writing can capture an entire story or even a lifetime by sometimes saying so little it may be equivalent to saying nothing.

By practically being a blank page.

I remember reading a few comments under a YouTube performance by Rupi Kaur where people were dragging her for writing “fake” or “basic” poetry. “If you call this poetry, then I’m Shakespeare,” one commenter said. And keep in mind, Rupi Kaur is the author of poetry anthologies that have sold millions of copies internationally and have been on the New York Times Bestsellers list for 3 years.

The truth is, there are different styles of writing and rules that dictate how the structure of each should be written. But what is chiefly important to understand is that creativity can never be boxed into these rules, nor can the rules “teach” you how to be a writer. Developing your expression when communicating and nurturing your imagination is really most of the fuel you’ll need to win over the hearts of readers. The benefit of the arts is that there’s the flexibility of expression and style which makes every member unique. If a piece doesn’t interest you, it will be loved by others. This is also why I mentioned how important it is to read widely to find your niche in my last “Encouragement” blog post (Finding Strength Through Poetry). There are laws governing proper techniques that ought to be employed in different forms of art, but there are no right or wrong ideas or forms of expression. Being immature in your manipulation of these rules should never prevent a creative from being creative. Each artist is unique and deserves to be heard, whether rookie or pro.

“How do you know what to write about?” or “How do you get ideas?”

The response is simple – life presents them. Ideas exist all around us, literally. The idea to create this blog came from always reading my pieces to the walls in my room. Over time, I learnt to get inspiration from inanimate objects, from day–to–day experiences and from random thoughts that came to mind in the middle of my lectures. What you should do is write them down! Ideas are precious and some come to us for just a second which makes it imperative that we document them right away.

• Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist who developed the theory of relativity, one of two pillars of modern physics,
• Mark Twain, considered one of the greatest American writers of all time,
• Leonardo da Vinci, one of the greatest artists and intellectuals of the Italian Renaissance.

I’m sure you’re familiar with at least one of these names or their inventions. The point is, these internationally praised visionaries kept detailed journals of their work and ideas that after years, had changed the course of their fields and have embedded them as some of the greatest minds in history.

There’s power in your pen!

You’re never “not knowledgeable enough” to write how you feel, to absorb what your senses have detected in the space you’re occupying and record that on paper. Also, poetry does not have to sound technical to be “professional” or “great”. In fact, the simplest pieces may have the greatest impact because they may appeal to a wider audience. It is important to remember that great writing technique and persuasiveness, like any other skill, come with experience.

“The expert in anything was once a beginner.” – Helen Hayes.

Everyone has unique experiences worth sharing with the world, whether to inspire others to be better versions of themselves, or to start a movement. And the idea that males who write to express their feelings are weak and “not masculine enough” – well that’s for another blog post.

Cheers!