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On keeping a write-as-you-think journal

I have been away from this blog for a while, due to stressing personal circumstances. Even now as I write, I write from a different computer and a different country…it feels funny to write this way, but I thought, what the heck, so here goes…..

 

I discovered a neat trick today and that is to keep writing what I think for a period of time at a stretch, basically to keep recording the associative flashes as they come.

 

The flashes of images as they occur, without any thought to grammar and punctuation, to keep writing about writing or not writing, to let the mind roam free, to explore the hinterlands of memory or the dreams for the future, without any rules or limitations.

 

 It is cathartic to let thoughts gambol about like playful young stallions: rambunctious, unruly, untamable. To let your imagination fly at will, between worlds known and unknown, to infuse reality with fantasy till the two merge and become as one. To reach after truth in a relaxed trance, to dive into the oceans of the subconscious and retrieve pearls of creative magic…..

 

When tried every day, this works very well in translating those ideas into action which would otherwise never see the light of day.

 

Keeping such a write-as-you-think journal could help unleash creative energies. It could become a springboard for brainstorming activities and an inspiration for creative work for years to come.

Damyanti Biswas

Damyanti Biswas is the author of You Beneath Your Skin and numerous short stories that have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US, the UK, and Asia. She has been shortlisted for Best Small Fictions and Bath Novel Awards and is co-editor of the Forge Literary Magazine. Her literary crime thriller series, the Blue Mumbai, is represented by Lucienne Diver from The Knight Agency. Both The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon were published in 2023.

I appreciate comments, and I always visit back. If you're having trouble commenting, let me know via the contact form, or tweet me up @damyantig !

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4 Comments

  • damyantig says:

    Thanks, Kirsten, for your wishes:). How about comparing notes and commenting on each other’s work on a regular basis? I am game if you are!

  • Kirsten Wright says:

    Good luck! I hope your journal will help you to manage your thoughts!! i am doing something similar trying to write a book…*we’ll see how well it goes…