Blog 2: On The Writing Process

I spent last half of 2011 and the first half of 2012 studying abroad at Kings College London in England. While there, I took a creative writing course designed by the professor in part to help students in composition. One of the pieces of advice he gave us was to make a habit out of carrying a notebook and a pen with us everywhere we went. He encouraged us to free-write whenever we had a spare moment. When the pages were full, he recommended we quickly flip back through the pages and reflect on the writing. If it felt wrong for us to read our journals and reflect, it was crucial to keep the journal regardless. In time, we would find the courage to go back and do the reflecting. Or, we would go back, read, and find inspiration for some composition we wanted to complete. In any case, I took his advice and for years I've been maintaining journals. At first, I wrote in notebooks. There is something special about actually using a pen and paper. However, in the interest of making life a little easier and my backpack lighter, I resorted to writing journal entries on my laptop. Currently, I have entries from 2011 to present. I've also taken his advice and done some reflecting on the writing. It's been an interesting experience. Over the years, I have progressively let my guard down while journaling so I certainly feel the writing is extremely raw. I can definitely see how my voice and style has grown at certain points. At other moments, it feels like I went through some sort of academic atrophy. Overall, my experience with journaling and free-writing has led me to recommend it in turn; it's a worthwhile endeavor.