A Deep Dive Into My Writing Journey

Subhi Najar (Medium writer) has invited us into another Deep Dive questionaire and this one is diving deeper into our writing.

Subhi’s questions and original post can be found here. Feel free to deep dive into your own writing experience.

Here are my responses to Subhi’s questions :

1. When did you start writing? Is there a specific story?

When I was a teenager and found life extremely difficult, I also found myself alone with very little support and no way of processing my emotions, my struggles, my traumas. Until that was, my discovery of poetry.

A pen and piece of paper became my most precious possessions and my written words became my most trusted confidant.

I found poetry to be my biggest blessing because I could pour my heart out onto a piece of paper, knowing that if others read my words — and god forbid I hoped they didn’t — they’d have no idea of the meaning behind the words or the pain and emotions I was feeling as I processed my world.

Poetry can be obscure, especially when we start creating in metaphors that hold hidden meanings. I found this form gave me the security to write through my feelings and my pain.

2. Do you have rituals in writing? If yes, then please share them with us.

No I don’t have any rituals as such. In fact I’m the opposite. When I feel the need to write, I find my brain works far faster than my fingers and it’s a pure rush to get the words out and onto my writing medium (be that paper or a screen).

3. The ugliest monster that writers are afraid of is writer's block. If you have a recipe to deal with it, kindly share it with us.

I’ve never been able to understand what writers block actually means as it’s not something I’ve ever experienced.

If it does mean what I think it means, I feel it must be absolutely terrifying to lose that connection to the great beyond where I’m convinced all my words and writing comes from. That conduit that has my brain whirling with words.

No, I couldn’t think of anything worse than losing that lifeline.

4. Describe the process of finding ideas for your stories. Please elaborate

Ideas are constantly flagged from everyday life. Whether that be something I’ve experienced, some thing of beauty that’s caught my eye, something someone has said in conversation or in passing or even a place visited.

There’s a never ending number of possibilities in any given day, even if it was a day I spent quietly at home without hearing the voice of a single other soul.

5. As humans, we suffer without knowing it by choosing not to move outside our comfort zone. Do you have a “comfort zone” in writing ( i.e a topic that you always like to write about)? Have you tried to step outside your comfort zone and write something drastically different?

My comfort zone is my poetry. I can write a poem anywhere and anytime quite comfortably.

However, I have begun to step outside my comfort zone in the last few years by attempting to write about both fiction and non-fiction topics. I feel I have a long way to go, as a writer, in these genres but I’m determined to keep trying.

6. Besides Medium, do you use other writing platforms? Please share our experiences.

I used to write on the platform Simily but that was a nightmare and didn’t last all that long.

I do still write for Vocal but only so my friends and family can read my work. Due to Medium only allowing them to read a couple of stories a month I have to keep up my Vocal account.

I used to find Vocal a worthwhile platform although I don’t believe it will ever be comparable to Medium’s standards but Vocal has made a lot of changes over the last 6 to 9 months that I have found to be detrimental to the platform.

In fact it was these changes and the fact that their Top Story picks have become very one sided and biased since they stopped reviewing every story, that I recently cancelled my V+ membership. It’s more like they seem to have their favourite writers and if you’re not one you don’t have a hope in hell of being recognised, no matter how good your writing may be.

7. Have you published a book? If yes, how and where…etc. Plz, feel free to share your links with us.

I’ve recently published my first book of poetry on 8 March 2023, called Battle Angel : The Ultimate She Warrior, through a publishing company that helps writers self publish.

Here is a link to my book.

8. You write because writing provides you with something special. Could you share your experience?

Writing helps me make sense of the ever constant thoughts that rush around inside my mind. It helps clear and redefine those thoughts and allows me to process them in a healthy way.

9. Do you write a paragraph, a chapter, or a story with the end in mind or not? plz explain

No I never have an ending in mind. In fact as I write, the story unfolds and is as much a surprise to me as it can be to my readers. I love this side of the creative process because I never know where I’m going to end up.

10. Every writer has an idol. Who is yours? And what do you find inspiring in her/his trajectory?

Stephen King has always been my idol when it comes to writing. His sense of humour and anything goes attitude has always appealed to me.

11. Does being on a writing platform like Medium help your writing plans? Plz, elaborate.

Medium has been my stepping stone to the future of my writing plans. It has allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and get used to the unfamiliarity of sharing my inner most thoughts with the world, until I became confident enough to put my book together and put it out there for the whole world to see.

Medium has expanded my horizons and given me the confidence to realise the world really is my oyster.

Please click the link below my name to read more of my work. I would also like to thank you for taking the time to read this today and for all your support.

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Please visit my website if you'd like more information on my newly published book, Battle Angel : The Ultimate She Warrior.

Originally published on Medium