When I first started this website, it is with the intention that I provide for myself a spot to write. Whether it’s to write down my thoughts, some short stories, snippets of scenes that float in my head — the intention has always been to get into the habit, routine and practice of simply writing.
The truth is that my day-to-day work has sapped a lot of creativity. It has altered my writing style very significantly, or at least I believe it did. Once upon a time, I’d have endless stories and characters floating in my head. I’d be driven to write one story after another to explore large themes in life and I really miss that. I miss that a lot.
One of the intentions I set this year is to write a post every year for the year of 2025. I have not set any expectations on what these posts will be, nor how long each post needs to be. As long as I keep on writing. I believe, however, before I even move forward in 2025, it would be fitting and appropriate for me to reflect on 2024.
Around this time last year, I was approached by someone to participate in a book project — at the time, however, the proposal was as an editor, as she said the book had largely already been written. It was to be a book about a person that I look up to highly, and after working out the details, I agreed. I had one caveat, however — I asked to be given the trust to do my job as an editor, as I did not want to work within strict boundaries that may limit my creativity.
That caveat turned into both a blessing and a curse.
I obtained the first draft of the manuscript and upon reading the first sentence, I could tell that it had been directly translated from another language. Probably by Google Translate, even. The chapters were choppy. There was no real storyline, no transition from one to the next. I was honestly appalled, but at the same time, this gave me a sense of inner validation I didn’t know I needed — that I knew, at least as a reader, what makes a book good and what doesn’t. And so I proposed to have the book written to a large degree, and from the role of an editor, I assumed the role as one of the writers of the book. The project remains unfinished as of today, but I do hope we will get round to completing it soon.
Last year, my writing danced between my thesis and research papers. The book project was the sole project where I actually had the opportunity to exercise a sliver of creativity, because let’s be real — a book about someone respectable isn’t the best of places to practice one’s writing skills. It did give me a break from the voice of academia, however. I could turn my words to the dramatic. I could weave phrases to inspire and to convey urgency. I was given the liberty to do away with unflattering in-text citations. It was a step ahead of what I was used to doing for the past five years…but nowhere near the kind of writing I actually aspire to get to.
And so, I see this year as the year to revisit old friends. My stories, my books, and my paintings. There are images in my head that I want to draw out, both in words and using brush strokes. There are scenes I have rehearsed that are just waiting to be written out. And there are characters who have lived in my head that need to be introduced to the world. Not the big, global world of readers. No, just my little world here, in this small corner of the internet.
Let 2025 be the year of re-prioritizing passions and interests. Life is more than research papers, scrolls and paychecks. It’s so much more beautiful and interesting than that.
Leave a Reply