Back then, I could only write in the evening. But there were also those days when inspiration came in the most ordinary places like that particular pizza parlor in the busy area of the city. While waiting for my order to be served, my gaze turned to the scene outside the glass window. Various vehicles passed by and the people were busy with their business. A few stood on the side, waiting for a cab. The others rushed to their destination ignoring the old bent lady approaching with her hand stretched out in a begging movement. Eventually, the images became blurred and the scene changed. I became one with the crowd in another place and time. But I could neither speak nor touch. It was as though I was a ghost, watching, listening, observing. I felt the characters' emotions and saw many places. The events were unfolded in front of my eyes.The moment seemed endless. Eventually, I found myself tapping until I heard clinking sound. A delicious aroma wafted into my nose. I looked up only to see the waiter's lips moving. My head shook in response and then I was left once again to my thoughts. The cursor kept blinking at me as though prompting me to do something. Typing the last character, I saved the draft. Then I started to eat the pizza while watching the scene outside the window once again.
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At present, due to the quarantine there is no specific time of writing for me.There were times when I wrote during the day from morning until evening. There were also days when I wrote from 6pm until the wee hours of the morning.
To me it comes more of about being in what I call the "
writer's headspace". Visions of the characters and events come to me in short bursts, sometimes in random times and random days. These are too short for me to write a chapter. Thus, most of the time I find myself gathering these random visions in my story
bank until I the moment comes when I could weave them into a coherent piece.
I take advantage of the days when I have no drive to write. This is the moment when I could safely read books without being distracted from my focus during the writing process. I call this the "
reader's subspace". In this subspace, I am able to fully immerse myself in the books I read, including my own. This is the time when I also do a self review of the chapters I've written. I do not have a proof reader so it is no surprise that there are mistakes here and there, mistakes that I only notice when I am using a different point of view. Here, I become a stranger, a bystander, a reader doing an evaluation to my own published chapter.
