4: A light from the shadows shall spring; My Writing Process
“From the ashes, a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring…” — J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
Hi friends,
This has been a tough few days. Before, I wasn’t particularly concerned about coronavirus, but this week, things turned for the worst. Coronavirus being classified as a pandemic, countries locking down, major sports leagues suspending the season. It’s been complete pandemonium.
I’m fortunate that my day to day hasn’t really been affected as I’ve been working from home since the start of the year. Nonetheless, the coronavirus pandemic has shaken up my environment.
I recently wrote about how the bull ride is over. Growing up in the 2010s was a decade period of continuous growth and optimism. And coming of age during that time gave me rose-colored glasses.
But is life really this rosy? I asked.
I mentioned that climate change would be our next big challenge. But it seems like a new challenge has arrived. Coronavirus is unlike anything we’ve ever seen. And it seems like the bull ride is over.
Nonetheless, I’ll keep my rose-colored shades on, and stay optimistic.
Things will get worse before they get better.
Stay safe and stay indoors everyone.
Stuff I Enjoyed This Week
Focusmate
Productivity App
I’ve been working from home since the start of the year and Focusmate has been a game-changer for my productivity. Focusmate is virtual co-working, where you’re paired with an accountability partner for 50 minutes and work on whatever you need to get done. I use the product almost every day and I recommend you try it out if you’re working from home.
COVID-19 Daily Updates
John Hopkins Centre for Health Security | Email Newsletter
Right now, there’s a lot of noise out there when it comes to the coronavirus. This is my main source of information.
The Power of Time Off
Stefan Sagmeister | TED Talk (17min)
Every seven years, designer Stefan Sagmeister closes his New York studio for a yearlong sabbatical to rejuvenate and refresh their creative outlook. He explains the often overlooked value of time off and shows the innovative projects inspired by his time in Bali.
In Fall 2016, I took my first gap semester and I taught myself how to code and pivoted my career towards tech. That massively changed my trajectory. Nearly, 4 years later, I’ve taken another gap semester, to focus on the craft of writing. Time off gives me the opportunity to reflect, rejuvenate and explore. Similar to Stefan, this is something I want to keep up with.
Journey
Thatgamecompany | Mobile Video Game
Journey is an indie adventure game from 2012 for Android and IOS created by Thatgamecompany. In it, you control a robed figure traveling towards a distant mountain. Along the way, you interact with other players, communicating with them with musical chimes.
It’s been years since I last played a video game on my own, and boy was this game was a magical experience. It was captivating, and inspired a sense of awe and wonder. If you have an afternoon free—and one afternoon is all you need—check this game out.
The Pale Blue Dot
Carl Sagan | Video (3min)
30 years ago, 6 billion miles away, the Voyager One spacecraft, turned around and took a picture of earth. Can you see it? In the middle of the rightmost sunbeam, you can see a blue dot, that’s us, that’s earth. To us, that blue dot means everything, but in this picture, we are just a faint blue pixel. This inspired Carl Sagan’s bone-chilling speech, the Pale Blue Dot.
Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. -- Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot, 1994
Daily Blogs
For this week, I’ll include a featured piece from the past week and share the links for the other pieces here:
Featured: How I Write
I started writing every day at the start of this year. I’ve still got a lot to learn but I’ve improved a lot since. Part of my improvement is figuring out my writing process—what works and what doesn’t. Though I’m still a beginner, I think it’d be cool to share my writing process. Both as a way of sharing it with others but also to document my current process, and see how it changes over time.
How I Conduct Research
One lesson I’ve learned is that the writing process starts before I sit down and start typing words, it starts with research.
I find that my writing output is dependent on the quality of my inputs. Thus, it’s important for me to consume high-quality information whether that be from a book, essay or podcast.
I also take a lot of notes. As soon as an idea comes to mind I write it down. I find some of my best ideas come from the pockets of stillness in my life: when I’m out for a walk, in line at the coffee shop, or when I’m driving.
My Writing Process
My first draft is a brain dump. I write down everything I can think of on the topic with no judgment. I don’t care if a sentence is badly worded or an idea is silly, I write it down anyways.
Then I begin to rewrite. I rearrange ideas, rephrase sentences, and cut out anything that’s weak or unnecessary. I do this many times over.
Coupled with the rewriting stage is asking for feedback. After rewriting the piece a few times I’ll send it to a couple of friends to get their take on it. I’ll ask for specific prompts to look out for [1].
Afterward, I stop working on the piece. Stephen King would throw his manuscript in a drawer for six weeks before writing his final draft. When he re-opens it he sees it with fresh eyes. Often I find that taking that break gives you a new perspective on the piece. Usually, I’ll leave it on the side for a week.
After repeating the feedback and rewriting process eventually the piece will past the threshold of “good enough”, that’s when I ship. The feeling is an intuitive one for me. Yes, there will always be changes I want to make but I’m also cognizant of diminishing returns.
My Writing Stack
Evernote. I have the app on my phone and desktop. This is mainly used for brainstorming and keeping track of ideas.
Google Docs. I use this for essays to enable collaboration and feedback.
Sublime Text. I write my daily blog posts here. It has a nice distraction-free setting that I find helpful.
Other Questions
When do I write? Mainly in the morning but occasionally in the evenings.
Where do I write? The majority of the time, I write in my house. Though I also like to change things up and write in different places such as the library, coffee shop, hotel lobby, bus, etc.
What do I listen to when I write? Instrumentals. I’m a big fan of Spotify’s Deep Focus playlist, but I also listen to jazz, and classical music as well.
Notes
[1] Writing my past essay I realize there’s an art to asking for feedback, and that my current framework can be improved. I’ll be testing this out for my next essay.
Thanks for reading! I’d appreciate if you can comment on what you liked, what you didn’t like, and what you would like to see.
Until next week,
James