Friday, 26 December 2014

A Mini Guide to Turning Imagination to Words



Writing is termed as an activity or occupation of composing text for publication. However, it is much more than that. Writing is a process. A process that is simple yet complicated, strenuous but fruitful, defining but intangible. It’s like choosing one flavour out of many flavours of ice-cream. You need to decide the type, the genre, the plot, the characters, the twists and the audience as well. This is why writers are respected amongst all professions, owing to their creative and multi-sided nature.

The main roadblock towards writing is getting published. Writers have very less financial stability and often have to maintain a side-job to support their ends. However, the payoff is huge and especially the feeling when your work is appreciated by someone else.

Gamers like first-person perspective games simply because they can feel the reality in them. This is why 4D films have gained popularity because of their ability to make the viewers feel the events. A similar albeit old-fashioned is writing. A writer implements his/her imagination onto paper. The interested readers capture the visual imagery within the writing and play it in their minds. Any book that succeeds in doing this automatically becomes a bestseller.

Now the main question is as to how one turns their imagination into words. It’s simple, really. You just need to feel your words. Imagine yourself as the character that you are writing about. Imagine what you would be thinking in that situation and simply pen it down. Do not care about the format or writing style initially. It can be improved upon. You just need to feel.

Read different books that appeal you the most. Understand how the character has developed over the course of the story. Also, do not give your work for criticism until you have completed it. Early criticism of your work will do more harm than good. The reason is because critics are viewing the book in their own aspects. Nobody considers what the author has felt or is feeling. This is why books have genres. And that even bestsellers get some negative reviews. People have different mind-sets. However, it should not interfere in your work. Therefore, wait until you have penned it all down. 

Then sit down to edit it. While editing, be judicious. Think before removing any part. The thing about imagination is that you should not delay or hurry, you need to take time. Take time on every sentence. Ponder on what you want versus what the readers want. You should not edit everything according to critiques and neither should you ignore them. Be judicious in every sense.

Lastly, give the book to someone (could be anyone – your family, friends, workplace etc.) and let them read. 

You have now turned your imagination into words.