The Writer's Habitus

Our writing is not separate from our environment and the life we live. These things have a way of channeling in to our writing, sometimes creating the mold to write in, sometimes just trickling through. 

Not everything that washes over us penetrates our skin. Some things may hit our skin and slip off and we never give it a thought again. But most of the time our life and what we consume and take to heart seeps in unknowingly; and only after we bear the fruits of our creation, we can identify the seed that was originally planted deep into us.

My habitus, as a writer is inevitably made up of everything that has influenced how I see the world, how I understand and how I act and live: everything that makes up who I am. I am constantly evolving as I learn more,  meet different people, and life and its lessons feed into my writing.

As a writer I usually write to understand: to understand myself, the world, other people, and encourage people to understand each other or themselves. In this way I often write coming of age stories or stories that look closely at a character’s development. I also believe it is important to create understanding around topics or groups of people where there is a lack of understanding and a deeper level of empathy is needed. These values have developed slowly through the material I read and my experiences over the years. 

When I was a child I was eager to write and read Australian stories, I read dreamtime stories, Australian novelists and often wrote adventures involving native animals. But I got older and I was saturated by American and British media, so for a long time I didn't really understood the value and need to tell Australian stories. I can't deny that my surroundings had a way of seeping through my writing, but my writing was usually heavily influenced by American novels and movies. 

It was only during the last few years of high school when I developed an appreciation for Australian cinema and literature and began to feel an urgency towards capturing the ideas and culture I see and am connected to. And this was further strengthened after entering university, my eyes were opened to a world of Australian literature I was ignorant about. 

Growing up and living in multi-cultural Australia, in this globalized era, I believe requires a willingness and eagerness to be open and understanding about difference. I think that is why I am so attracted to the notion that writing is a way to create understanding and unify people. Although my experience is next to nothing in drawing on my own cultural background to write, or writing about cultural differences, it is something I would like to explore. 

In this cultural collaborations course, I hope the readings and classes can broaden my habitus by expanding the way I think about the world and giving me deeper insight into the lives of people around me as well as those physically far from me. If writing can bring a reader's mind and an author's words together, then there is hope it can bridge differences and bring people to understanding each other. 

As long as I keep learning, my habitus will not remain stagnant. There is so much I haven't learnt about writing as well as the world itself. 

I am leaving a place for possibilities, for new seeds to be planted.

Image Credits: https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/24066179228255592/