My name is Defne Suman. Today we will have a little talk in the format of a masterclass. This is my cabinet; the room where I write. I would like to start with the description of my working routine, which I do hope will be useful, especially for the young writers who will be listening to me. My schedule is very important for me. Just the way the life has its rhythm, the text and the book have their own.
I would like to start with the description of my working routine, which I do hope will be useful, especially for the young writers who will be listening to me.
This is my yoga realm. After I wake up I start my day with yoga. In fact, it is not true. After I wake up I drink a cup of coffee first thing. I have my coffee here, sitting on this armchair, where I sit now and talk to you. While drinking my coffee I usually read a novel or a short story. I prefer fiction. If possible, keeping to the ideal day schedule, I don’t use phone or computer, that is I don’t let all the outside information fill my brains, or keep my eyes busy. Sitting here with my coffee cup in my hand I look through my library and take the book which attracts me most at that moment and re-read it for the second or third time. And in case I’m already absorbed in a new novel I read two-three chapters of it and afterwards here, on this side I start my yoga exercising. Yoga is very important for me. Yoga for me is an ideal tool to concentrate, release my mind from shallow and rough issues about which I will tell you a bit later, for better immersion and ability to differ truth from lie. That is why I love to start my day with yoga, hatha yoga exercising, followed by a short meditation. In a sense, they are interconnected. After that, I’m doing my housework, take care of my husband who has multiple sclerosis. I nurse him, do the house, as well as take care of my cats. After I finish all that I love to have a stroll for an hour. I have a walk in the garden or sit in the café, taking notes in my notepad. Now I will tell you about notes-taking in your notepad. In my opinion writing is the most important thing in being a writer. I say this because many people want to write, as they have a wonderful story in their mind. In fact, we don’t write because we have good stories to tell, we write because we can make sentences. And while sentence writing is partly an ability, for the most part it’s actually a hard work and an art that requires repetition.
Yoga for me is an ideal tool to concentrate, release my mind from shallow and rough issues about which I will tell you a bit later, for better immersion and ability to differ truth from lie.
My notepad is always within a reach. Here it is, as you can see. I have always had a notepad with me since I was a child, and of course a pen box with pens with it. And short writing every day, as all writers say, is something that develops creativity. I try to do so, especially when I’m constantly working from home. Moreover, this is not a temporary stay-at-home period. I, as a writer, always work from home. To go out, to sit in a cafe, to make short one or two pages notes in my notepad, not to write big things, maybe to write down how I feel that day, or maybe to solve some issue that is relevant at that moment on my mind. I’m a person who thinks better by writing. So, after communicating with my notepad in the cafe, I return home, have necessary preparations for lunch, sit down at my computer, which is here, on this side, and start writing.
