You have to trust the process. Or, they would say, trust the process . I confirm the principle.

Writing is one of the most difficult things I set out to do. Every time I try to translate my thoughts into words and see them materialized on paper, I witness the miracle . And next to him, I see the loss. The loss of what has not allowed itself to be translated.

No wonder, it arouses so much interest to know the writing method of writers, or as they say, to know the creative process of each one. We are curious to know what time the writer wakes up, whether she writes daily, whether she drinks coffee or tea while writing, how many hours she writes, etc. Writing is a laborious exercise, surrounded by mystery. What leads each one to write? When did writing arrive, to use the title of Cixous?

One of the aspects of writing that is perhaps universal is that it is not possible to write without reading. Writers are readers. It goes for fictional writing, it goes for academic writing.

We read, we read a lot, until we are able to risk a few lines. Sometimes it takes entire books to write a few paragraphs. Along with what we read in books and articles, in times of profusion of information, there is what we read in a more informal way, on news sites, social networks. In addition, it is necessary to take into account what we hear, whether in conversations, classes, or in Podcasts . We are immersed in an ocean of information, which leads us to thoughts, ideas, associations. How to turn all this into text?

Frightened by the possibility of seeing ideas lost due to the volume of information or of losing precious quotes, I told myself that it was necessary to read by writing, that is, to read and at the same time take notes. Let it be clear, notes already typed. Book open, text editor screen open. You can't waste time, after all.

Trap of our times.

Turning writing into something utilitarian proved to me to be a way to kill it. I had to remind myself of my own workflow.

I like Write in the margins . To the despair of many, I write in books, I highlight them with colored highlighters, I stick post-its on the edges. This process consists of a kind of chewing of the text, it is my way of mapping it, of talking to it, of seeking the answers to the questions with which I entered it.

This process, in which I immerse myself in a series of books, texts, in which the head works at full speed, has a bit of chaos and involves precisely being away from the computer, often away from home. To write, I need to see the horizon. It is also necessary to take notes By hand , draw the letters the old-fashioned way, with graphite and paper. Only-after , after embracing chaos and navigating it, it is The arrival of writing . Sweaty, painful, so often accompanied by back and neck pain, because after all you write with the whole body.

You pay a price, but that's where the world seems to make some sense. You have to trust the process. Written, singular.