Continued from READY TO WRITE - I
It so happened around
this time that people around me began gifting me beautiful notebooks. They came
in all shapes, sizes, colours and patterns. So I carry a small pouch of
different fountain pens (because I have an ink pen fetish) and pencils in my
handbag along with two different notebooks. I have a few notebooks to write on
my office table, on my bedside table, in my laptop bag, in my handbag, and a
few spare ones in my cupboards in my bedroom and my office. There was a time
when books and notebooks would tumble out of my almirahs at home!
Another practice that I
have found handy is recording my thoughts. I often travel by road to different
cities for work. I am usually alone during such sojourns, and this allows for a
lot of ruminating and enough of thinking. I receive many creative expressions
and ideas on these trips. So, I prefer to record them in my mobile phone as
audio clips with date and time. It is a little cumbersome to write in a moving
vehicle, especially the one on a bumpy ride. Before I end my day, I remember to
note it down in one of my notebooks.
Also, I try not to use
more than three notebooks at a time. It makes my work easier to locate a
particular phrase or expression. One can even write into a device directly, but
for me, it has posed two specific problems. Firstly, I cannot carry a decent
sized device around with me at all times and to all places. Secondly, I feel
that the cold blue screen saps me of all feelings and emotions. My thoughts
become sterile immediately and so the flow that has just commenced, comes to an
abrupt halt. This generates feelings of frustration, very much in opposition to
relief emerging out of writing.
So, my writer friends
carry a notebook and pen always with you. You never know when divine
inspiration visits you. Also remember that you are allowed to retract from the
trappings of an ordinary life to daydream and note your precious and elusive
words.
