Since the pandemic, we have spent a lot of time indoors, now more than ever. While it has provided a lot of time to think and write, it has also restricted our movement and experiences with the outside world. Writers have a tendency to become narcissistic which inturn affects our writing and the urge to stay within our heads has increased. While alone time helps in introspection and focus, it can also limit your imagination and reach.
While studying literature and doing writing courses can help you technically, being exposed to different experiences outside the literary and writing worlds broadens your scope and gives you new material to write about. I recently heard the podcast episode ‘The Adventurer Writer’, and I found it interesting because the host urges writers to go out and meet people as it gives us new ways of looking at things.
Ofcourse, safety first, masks, vaccination, above everything.
A trip could just include a day out at the mall where you maybe connect with a staff or two or at the local bazaar where you get to know a couple of vegetable hawkers. To be an adventurer, I don’t mean living a reckless, self-destructive and eccentric life that might cause distress and harm to those who are close to you but taking space away from your screen helps you gain new perspectives. A short trip to a garden, or the beach or a busy market can be fodder for your work.
Small breaks
Taking small breaks helps me return to my desk feeling refreshed. I get up from my writing desk to stretch. I look out of the window, go into the kitchen or the living room. While this allows my body to take a break, it also gives my mind a breather.
This could also be a small walk outside my house, within the boundaries of my compound where I get to see four puppies who have grown in just a few weeks, diwali lights that are still hung up on window grills of neighbouring buildings or vehicles rushing past the gate.
Taking short trips within the city (Mumbai, for me)
I click photos wherever I go which then prove to be prompts for my work at times.
Gorai creek
I recently went to Gorai for a change. The ways in which the trip impacted my senses made me think of how helpful it is for writers to witness ‘scenes’ in real life vs in books/films.
Smell
Just before you enter the gateway to the creek, the strong smell of seafood hits your nose, there’s a fish market right outside. It isn’t surprising because of the proximity to the fertile waters. Writers often skip this important sense when they create scenes. It brings a scene alive and tells you so much about the people who reside in that area and its ecosystem.
Sight
The commute to the creek was via bus and then an auto rickshaw. The route a bus takes is different from an auto rickshaw. Each mode of commute has its own delights. Once you reach your destination, you already feel closer to nature. You will notice a few women seated on their chairs, with dryfish displayed on their tables for sale. You then notice the sea, objects held within its embrace (like in the picture below) or waves flowing freely. You also notice the people around, what they look like, what they’re wearing, how they’re walking, their body language etc.
Hearing
There was a long queue for the boat ride to the pagoda. Mostly couples on two wheelers. What are they discussing? What are they actually saying? What are they not saying? Listening to people’s conversations makes you write better dialogue. This is way more effective than craft books on writing as you can interpret this in anyway you want and it will be authentic, your own experience.
Touch and taste
I drank tea at a nearby cafe. The essence of holding a Kulhad tea cup and drinking from it was a refreshing change from my routine.
IKEA, Navi Mumbai
While everyone is talking about the new IKEA outlet which will open up in Worli, I visited the old one recently. It’s far from my place but I enjoyed the long trip as I like long drives. The view from the cab window, the Hindi music playing on the radio (picked by the Uber driver) was a pleasant change to my routine.
I was looking for bookshelves as I wanted to see them in person, what I didn’t expect to find were books in Swedish. All the books on the shelves were in Swedish. It made me google the work of Marie Hermanson after spotting one of her books.
On returning home, I started reading her book The Devil’s Sanctuary which is quite an intriguing read that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It is likely that I could have discovered her work through some other medium as I fancy translations, however, finding out about her work in this particular way was intriguing. Encountering text in Swedish was a pleasant surprise. It also reminded me of how restricted our experiences can be as we consume most of literature in English.
Apart from the bookshelves, the dining experience in the food court was interesting and different too as you have to pick a trolley and place trays on it. Then you can pick whatever you want to consume and place them on the trays. It had an airport feeling to it.
I ended up buying two bookshelves. Here they are!
We had to assemble them after they were delivered at home. Building the shelves was an entirely new experience for me. I watched videos on how to decorate bookshelves and while all the videos showed various kinds of accessories, no one really spoke about the dust that gathers! Mumbai is quite dusty and I can only dread the dust that’s in store for me, that’s why I prefer to keep more books and less decorations. Growing up in Bahrain, I had dreamt of collecting books and having my own bookshelf in India someday. These books are from Bahrain, Bangalore, Mangalore and Bombay. I’m so happy that they are within my reach, in my own room.
You can watch something that’s not trending
If you can’t (or don’t want to) move out of your house for some reason or another, being engaged in something other than reading or writing might also help. Focusing on expression of creativity outside of writing helps. I wanted to watch something no one is talking about right now. I randomly thought of the word ‘picnics’ and that I’d like to watch a film which has a picnic at its core. When I googled it, I came across a list of films whose plots had picnics in them. I went for the film Archipelago because it promised a family drama and a quarter life crisis. Two themes I love to explore in my own work too. I wasn’t disappointed. I especially enjoyed the interactions involving the hired cook character as we get to know more about her life, the way things are cooked in that place and her equation with the male protagonist who is going through the quarter life crisis (played by Tom Hiddleston). I learnt the meaning of ‘tableau’ shots after noticing several shots of the scenery that were calming or tumultuous, nevertheless picturesque.
All these experiences might not translate to your writing immediately. It will stay in your subconscious and come out in unexpected ways but being open to experiences outside writing and reading helps. It’s something I have struggled with myself as I often feel guilty for not being able to write as much as I like to.
Hope this has helped. Stay safe! Be open to new experiences (feel less guilty for not writing) that will enrich your writing! Do let me know about your own excursions!
Thank you for sharing this! I needed the advice, and certainly a reminder of how creativity isn't only writing's right.