The Art of Writing

Writing is dealing with elusive things: human nature, your own psyche as part of it, intentions, desires, and dreams. Each time you sit down at your desk you feel helpless to one extent or another. You always have that fear of the blank page before you. But at some point, you learn how to talk to your fear so it doesn’t block you but instead becomes fuel for your writing.

What does it take to be a writer? I’m still looking for an answer but I know there’s one essential thing. It all begins with curiosity and genuine, childlike interest in people and the world around us. With countless “whys” and “what ifs”. With a dream about the impossible you want to make come true. With your ability to be someone else. In this sense, writing is similar to acting. You try to imagine a different life and mindset for yourself, how you would act in the given circumstances, and you go from there.

Once you get into this state, everything becomes easy. From this point on, you know what to do: which facts to research and which people to interview to get necessary details to build the narrative. And here begins another challenging part of the journey as you realize that the story is taking control of itself. Now your task as an author is to strike a balance between the initial idea and its development, listening attentively to both your intuition and logic and weighing carefully what each has to say to you.

This metaphysics is present in every text, be it fiction, journalism, copywriting, or academic writing, and this flow state is what makes writing, as hard and exhausting it can be, so addictive and rewarding. Seeing your story and your message gaining momentum fills you with the joy of the adventurer reaching the South Pole after an arduous journey and planting a flag in the permafrost. You never thought you could achieve this horizon but here you are under the blinding Arctic sun, at the end of the world, looking at the vast plain in front of you. It’s time to move on.