EDITORIAL|ESSAY

Worth a Note

Overcoming the inertia of writing

Portrait of a Man Writing in His Study — Gustave Caillebotte — Public domain

It is not uncommon for creative writers to remain placid with their writing, all the while paddling torrents of inklings in their heads. Whirlpools of material keep moving about as you stay put. Keeping a straight face in the forefront of word tornadoes is one among the many superpowers of a writer. (Being the sweetheart of Superman himself is another!)

There’s always a sort of inertia we have to overcome with the creative process. The better your plot, the longer this inertia usually is.
You will find yourself haplessly dwindling in this “paused” phase, fully consumed by the greatness of your single brilliant idea. You would trot about heaving a spark mightier than the Big Bang itself, which is whirling on its way to change the course of the Universe. Except it hasn’t made it out of the confines of your mind — yet.

How then, do we metamorphose this wavering into fathomable words?

“The scariest moment is always just before you start.”
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

During the peak of December holidays, in the middle of the frigid cold winter, a friend texted me from Finland, “I was going to move…