When we write an article, do we give a title based on the content? Or, do we weave the content to suit the title? This is the conundrum many a non-writer [or do writers also face the problem?] would have faced and will continue to face in the future. How much do we let our thoughts wander in creative freedom versus how much do we restrict our written matter to areas that would interest a particular theme and/or readership.
Sometimes, a theme that I want to write upon, is embedded in so many different and almost invisible nooks of my surprised mind, that I don’t know in what shape they will extricate themselves into my consciousness and hence into keyed in words. Most of the times, I have a clear picture of how much vague my article will not get and hence decide the title upfront to give me a boundary to focus on. However there are occasions, such as the one described earlier, when am very unsure [rather, surprised] about the content to be sure enough of my title. Even in such cases, I try to think of a title upfront and I take the risk of surprises as I try to weave something into my title. There is a different fun in trying to have the sub-conscious mind tumble into the conscious; and the conscious mind pl aying jig-saw-puzzle to fit the different ideas and words into a coherent whole.
Recently I read Hemingway write something similar, that when one is unsure what to write, the answer is to just start writing [Hemingway in his book The Moveable Feast …‘Write the truest sentence that you know’..]. One good something and then the sub-conscious will write the rest of the lines. That is what I am trying to do. In such sessions, the conscious mind is not focused on the outcome – not overly bothered if the piece doesn’t turn out readable. If the article seems abstruse then at least it can remain in the private jottings somewhere. And in some far away day, one can read to try and make some meaning out of it – as we try to stitch together snippets to make a story out of history. Writing often times after all, especially for non-writers like, is more an act of release and self-realization than an attempt to connect.
Bhubaneswar
June 21 and 26, 2011
Final edits – July 28, 2011
Sometimes, a theme that I want to write upon, is embedded in so many different and almost invisible nooks of my surprised mind, that I don’t know in what shape they will extricate themselves into my consciousness and hence into keyed in words. Most of the times, I have a clear picture of how much vague my article will not get and hence decide the title upfront to give me a boundary to focus on. However there are occasions, such as the one described earlier, when am very unsure [rather, surprised] about the content to be sure enough of my title. Even in such cases, I try to think of a title upfront and I take the risk of surprises as I try to weave something into my title. There is a different fun in trying to have the sub-conscious mind tumble into the conscious; and the conscious mind pl aying jig-saw-puzzle to fit the different ideas and words into a coherent whole.
Recently I read Hemingway write something similar, that when one is unsure what to write, the answer is to just start writing [Hemingway in his book The Moveable Feast …‘Write the truest sentence that you know’..]. One good something and then the sub-conscious will write the rest of the lines. That is what I am trying to do. In such sessions, the conscious mind is not focused on the outcome – not overly bothered if the piece doesn’t turn out readable. If the article seems abstruse then at least it can remain in the private jottings somewhere. And in some far away day, one can read to try and make some meaning out of it – as we try to stitch together snippets to make a story out of history. Writing often times after all, especially for non-writers like, is more an act of release and self-realization than an attempt to connect.
Bhubaneswar
June 21 and 26, 2011
Final edits – July 28, 2011
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