Reading time: About 4 minutes
Taslim Jaffer says that using a process journal has been a game-changer for her writing. Read this interview to learn the other strategies she employs….
Taslim Jaffer is a writer, editor and writing instructor from Surrey, B.C. with an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from University of King’s College. Her bylines appear in Maclean’s, CBC, WestCoast Families, Peace Arch News and others. She is the winner of the 2022 Creative Nonfiction Collective/Humber Literary Review contest and recipient of a 2021 Silver Canadian Online Publishing Award.
Taslim has been teaching memoir and expressive writing in community and rehabilitative settings since 2015 and is a panelist, moderator, and instructor at literary arts festivals. She is co-editor of the forthcoming anthology, Back Where I Came From: On Culture, Identity and Home (Book*hug Press, Nov 19 2024) and the 2025 City of Richmond Writer-in-Residence. Her work-in-progress is an essay collection exploring the evolution of her family.
I was excited to talk to Taslim about how she approaches writing.
Roughly how much time do you spend writing every day?
Each day varies a lot because, like most people, I wear many hats and sometimes my other roles need more space on a given day. But on a day carved out for “writing” (which, depending on what I’m working on and what stage I’m in, can include research, process journalling, generating new words and revising) I like to set aside a good chunk of time. If it’s a writing day, then I set aside two to three hours to be immersed in the project.
What’s a simple activity or habit that makes you a better writer?
I’ve journalled regularly since I was about 10 years old. This habit has helped me not only document what is happening in my life, but more importantly helped me think about what is happening and process it. Through journalling, I gain clarity and perspective. Many years ago, I heard about the process journal – which is a way of mulling over your writing project on the page, whatever way that looks like for you – but I didn’t start using that technique until my current manuscript. It’s been a game-changer. Being able to write freely about what I want to write about, wonder how I should write about it, keep track of thoughts and questions that could enhance my work-in-progress, has been rewarding in many ways. [A process journal sounds similar to my research diary —ed.)
What interferes with your writing?
At different stages of my life, there have been different interferences. In the beginning, my writing time centred on the needs of my small children. I used to think once they were in school full-time I’d have ample time to write without interruption. Not necessarily true. Adulting means there’s a lot to keep track of and do (and clean!). The dog needs to be walked (although I’m told this is good for creativity, it’s a little annoying when I’m on a roll with my words). My brain will spit reminders at me at the oddest times – “Defrost the chicken! Book the car servicing! Call your aunt!” – and sometimes I do have to do the thing right away or, for example, I’ll have a frozen chicken come time to make dinner.
How do you persuade yourself to sit down to write on days when you really, really DON’T feel like doing it?
On days I don’t feel like working on my manuscript, I tell myself I only have to write a one-inch square. I learned this technique from Ann Lamott in her book, Bird by Bird. I zero in on one small detail and I write about that. For example, a travel essay about a journey heavy with meaning, events, and perspective is a beast to churn out. And on a day that I’m not motivated to write, that is the last thing I’d be able to tackle. But the description of the beach? Even tuning into my senses and making a list of things that filled that beach, I can do that. Point form. A photograph or two in front of me. Deep breaths. Off I go.
Is there a particular motto or saying that you’ve found helpful for writing?
When I consider an essay I’m drafting or about to draft, I ask myself two questions: What is this essay about? And what is it about about? Kind of like, what are the things I’m writing about and what do they mean? For example, in an essay called “Survival” I wrote about my mom’s terminal illness, about becoming a first-time mom, about grief in immigrant women, and examples of survival in nature. What the essay is about about is the things we survive and the things we don’t, and the things that survive us long after we are gone. Asking myself these two questions helps me keep my themes clear and also helps me talk about my writing.
Which stage of the writing process do you enjoy the most: researching, writing or editing/rewriting and why?
If I could only outline essays, I would never have to drag myself to my desk. Or if I could revise a fully-written draft, I’d be thrilled to do it. I love those two stages. Outlining is full of promise and making connections and going, “Oooh, what about this? What about that?” Revising means the hard work of making sentences is done, now I just get to play with them and make them stronger. Now I get to add the poetry.
What’s the best book you’ve read (either fiction or non) in the last five years?
I’m sure everyone tells you this is a hard one! But two that come to mind are both non-fiction. One is a collection of mico-memoirs called Heating and Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs by Beth Ann Fennelly. An excellent study in saying much in so few words. I also loved I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O’Farrell. Right off the bat, we are introduced to the power of having a strong theme in memoir. Her language is beautiful and she skillfully places what we need to know in just the right spots so that these are not a series of disjointed stories but rather a life artfully displayed.
What book are you reading right now?
I’m currently reading Sadiya Ansari’s In Excile: Rupture, Reunion and My Grandmother’s Secret Life which is every bit as enthralling as it sounds!
What do you think is the biggest misperception that new writers have about the act of writing?
I know that a misconception I had as a new writer, and so I’m assuming maybe some still do, is that conditions need to be perfect for writing. The writing space, the mood, the ambiance, the background, the weather… It’s important to be comfortable when you write. It’s quite a physical job, especially as time goes on. But writing happens on the fly more often than you’d think. Sometimes sitting in the car during your kid’s hockey practice is when it’s happening. So just roll the seat back all the way, slip off your shoes, fold your legs under you and write.
