Q&A with Tahir Shah discussion

This is the place to ask me all about my own process for writing, as well as tips I have for writers.

Yes, I have a routine in that I plan a book very well, and work on a certain amount every day. I usually try and write 3000 or 4000 words a day, every day... then, before I know it, the book's all done. What's important is to keep writing, and it doesn't matter how much you write, AND to think of writing as a muscle... without exercise it wastes away. Blogs are brilliant for exercising the writing muscle.


TS

Shah,how did you, in Timbuctoo, come by all the cultural or historical details, as in, color of wallpaper, foods served, description of furniture, etc, that were included in the book? And also, during the actual writing process, did you have a list or collection of these many 'color/descriptive' details set out in advance of writing, that you intended to include somewhere in the text, or even in particular
parts of the book?

In Trail of Feathers, which is one of my favourites – I simply like Indian stories – you explore the possibility that Indians of Peru may have mastered the technology of flying long ago. The trail of this framework story shifts magically at the end, when we discover that they indeed knew how to do it – except that their flying was visionary – induced by a the halucinogenic plant called ayahuasca. Now, the question is: Did you know that before setting on this expedition and planned the journey accordingly – to corroborate this ‘research thesis’? Or did the basic plot of the book with its rather surprising finale come from your actual ayahuasca experience? The goal has been reached. One of your ‘happy end’ stories, so to say!?:)

And the question of your fist book – one of my favourite ‘topics’!?:) Is it The Middle East Bedside Book? And if so, could you say some more about it? Your recent collection, Travels with Myself, does seem to resemble it a bit, at least formally, both being kaleidoscopic – written in a shattered sort of way?

More and more I'm coming to see that writing in colorful metaphoric language is highly appropriate for not only the age we live in, but also reaches a part of the human psyche that other styles of writing cannot touch. Frankly, I grew up with a pseudo-scientific mindset so my present style is inconsistent with that. I'd love to write in a similar style to yours, so where do I start? Would it be appropriate for me to try out a different style?

I read Joseph Campbell's 'Hero with a Thousand Faces' and a couple of other related books that give some understanding of the requirements, but not the 'feel'. You also outlined that you determine to sit down and produce a certain amount every day. I guess that these factors just come together with practice?

I know your training as a journalist helped you tremendously as an excellent wordsmith, but was there a stage where you ever thought that what you wrote was just not fit for publication? How did you work through that?

Hi Tahir, thank you for your time answering these questions. I've read most of your blog entries and several interviews where you've commented on your writing process. One of my favorite interviews is Morocco: Hunt for Jinns and Sorcerer's at:

http://www.moroccoboard.com/news/5592...

In that interview you mention you make a detailed plan that you may not even touch, but sits there like a scaffold or framework that is there for you when you need it. One of the things that interests me about functional and instrumental literature is how it seems like it's partially designed to provide a nutrient or seed for a readers mind along with the entertainment value. It seems like classical sufi writers do something similar in how they focus on a beautiful word, name, or quality that their literature is designed around like an arabesque exploring its different facets. Would you comment on how you discover what will be the radix of your design or framework. In your travel literature it seems possible that your design comes from examining your own zig zag path and discovering the core, essence, or connecting link of your experiences. It seems like in your Morocco books you're utilizing more of an initial blueprint or sieve that you present the reader with that are like pieces of a mosaic they may finally perceive when they can hold all the pieces in their mind. It seems like the title and number of pages in the book are even carefully chosen. How would you recommend a person discover their own radix or focus for their writing.

is it still possible to comment here at this late date.
i would like to thank you for the videos on how to get started on the process of writing.
a) the hard graft, the seat on the chair, the routine of writing.
b) the advice about not dissipating energy by 'telling' people you are engaged in writing a book, the book. :-)
c) the counsel to do the best you can re polish and editing before showing it to anyone
d) the further advice to find an editor.
e) pertinent words about an over elaborate prose style.

there was a cartoon about editing i saw somewhere on the internet.
'please doctor i have a problem. i can't stop editing my own work???
by editing i mean re-writing and that before there is a first draft.
i wonder if you could possibly say something about how to distinguish valid re-writes from playing about arranging words with a diminishing sense of whether improvements are being made?
have a feeling that question might be foolish ie unanswerable..if that is the case could you say how you tackle polishing and re-writes. thank you very much.

Thanks for the question, Toni. What's important is to finish a work so that you can hold the manuscript in your hand... It sounds obvious but I get a zillion emails from people -- and meet a zillion more -- people who tell me that they want to write a book, or that they are writing a book. That's all well and good but most of the never finish the book. My rules to finishing a book are:

1. Buy a good comfortable chair.
2. Make a plan.
3. Make a routine... even if it's only 1000 words a day, or half that.
4. Write every day. No excuses, until it's done.
5. Don't rework dramatically until you have the full manuscript.
6. Don't bother anyone else about your project until it's finished and edited by you, and preferably by a pro editor as well.
7. Believe in yourself.
8. Write for yourself and not for anyone else.
9. Follow your gut instinct.
10. Write about what you are interested in.

Dear Tahir,
Thank you very much for answering my question.
I shall endeavour to show my gratitude by following the rules listed.
To have rules set out in this way and addressed to one by name should (I very much hope) not allow of any further excuses.

Hi, Tahir. Not sure if this is the right thread in which to ask marketing questions, but how do you feel about the response of mainstream / old school reviewers and periodicals to self-published works? Do you rely on mentions about your books in mainstream articles you've written? Or do you have anything else you'd like to say about marketing self-published works?

Many thanks.

Hi Tahir,
As a well published author it might be possible to make some sort of income out of writing, but what about most people? Should we really write more for the love of it? What are your own motives for writing?

The introduction to an early edition of World Tales says that true art is 'commissioned,' not just the expression of the artist's ego. Can you comment on how you keep any inappropriate 'egoic' intrusion to a minimum while writing, choosing projects, etc.?

I was thinking about the time taken to do something before seeing kevan's question above..
is time, the time taken, the time when a book or a project is done (carried out) very important?
Is it possible to say more about the time factor and is the commissioned aspect related to this?
the question may have come to mind because i seem to be constantly behind with my tasks. there is a feeling that the 'time' is missed or has slipped by. Carpe Diem not seized.
eg ..Julius Caesar
...There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.
thank you.

Hi,

Yes, I do research, and I plan... and would rate planning as critical, even if you don't use the plan when you sit down and write the book.

That's important tis to know what you are writing, and not do wordage for the sake of wordage. And, so important is to keep going and not to judge yourself. I think it's better to get the manuscript out with a few uneven patches than to dwell on every inconsistency as you go.

Another thing I swear by is not to show it to anyone until it's done and dusted. When it comes to writing most people (however well-meaning) don't know what it means to write the book. Only you can appreciate that.

Lastly, believe in yourself and write for yourself, and for no one else.

Before writing TIMBUCTOO I spent two years researching the period. I made about 2500 pages of handwritten notes. And I bought about a hundred books on London at the time, the Regency, the Regent, Africa, Timbuctoo, Exploration etc. And what fun I had!

Yes, I like cheap BLACK AND RED NOTEBOOKS. I also have a very very good memory for detail.

Hi Borut,

I set off on the journey of TRAIL OF FEATHERS without knowing very much at all, and was constantly surprised by what I found. I never expected to find that the tribes were taking ayahuasca, but was so very very fascinated to learn of its importance in their world. Purposefully, i did very little research before embarking to Peru because i didn't want to be channelled in one direction. I wanted to be ready for anything.

Journalism was so useful to me -- and it still is -- because it enabled me to experiment with creating up specific situations, or building up layers. I really recommend writing blogs as well, because you can get material out easily. The important thing is to write a lot. Do that, and the muscle becomes stronger.

I think what interests me is assembling a story that will channel a reader's attention in a particular way, rather like the way an artist will control a viewer's sight and experience. The better the artist, or the better the writer, the more skilled they are at this technique. And, importunely, a writer can disguise material so that its value only becomes apparent after some time.

When my work is ready I get a warm sensation down my spine. It's the moment when the dots all join up and I know that the effect has been created. I usually write a day's work, correct it in the evening, then again the next morning before writing the next block -- and then during my editing process I'll go through it many more times, making tweaks and changes that telescope in scale. Reading work through many many times tells you whether it's good -- ie if you are still amused by your own work after reading it 25 times, it's right.

I was never a fan of having my work reviewed in newspapers. It's very hit and miss and I am thrilled that newspaper reviewing is dwindling. There is only one reason to try and get such reviews -- to get a quote to slap ion the back of the paperback.

Re Marketing: i think blogs, Goodreads, Reddit, social media, all play a part. And getting good work out there, because good work -- work that you wanted to write and not what a publisher wanted you to write -- rises to the surface.

I write material that interests me. It's that simple. It has taken me a long time to stop pleasing editors and to start pleasing myself... and I find that the more i please myself, the more books I sell.

Not sure if this answers your question -- but, I think it's important to be following your gut, and not a path that's conjured from what you imagine will provide celebrity, success, or whether. I watched my father working when I was a child. I never hardly once heard his typewriter stop clacketing downstairs in his study. All the while he wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote... and I understand now that he knew what he had to do and that if he kept going for long enough a full picture would emerge. Much better to not look at the full picture often, but keep focussed on the near horizon.

I am a slave of time. I think I wrote my thoughts on this in a blog once... but my feeling is that time is ticking and if I don't keep my eye on the ball I'll lose time, which i can never get back. I am obsessed about wasting time, an obsession that is linked to guilt. It's manic at times... but it's the engine that drives me. I get myself impossible tasks and so even if I manage half of them I still would have been more productive than most other people I know. Another thing that has helped me is to stop listening to what other people are telling me to do. This has freed me up to follow the route I know it right for me.

Tahir wrote: "Hi Borut,

I set off on the journey of TRAIL OF FEATHERS without knowing very much at all, and was constantly surprised by what I found. I never expected to find that the tribes were taking ayahuas..."

Hi Tahir!:) Thank you! That was a great trip, that book I mean!:) Keep writing! I tried to follow your example in 2010, in a way, and started translating 4 books at the same time - 2 by your father, one by your grandfather, and your Sorcerer's Apprentice. Needless to say, it was all far beyond my capacity - and I'm still suffering from it, in the form of a prolonged period of reader's block. I hope to return down to earth, and to translating those books and to your current production as soon as possible! My best wishes and good luck! :)

Hi Tahir,

Many thanks for the good advice here. There is lots to go on.

Thank you for the many counsels.