The Writer’s Desk features the desks and writing practices of Gemini Ink faculty, visiting authors, teaching artists, volunteers, students, interns, staff, partners and more. Receive new posts in your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter at bit.ly/geminiinknewsletter.
Join Javier Ortega-Araiza on Saturday, September 21, 2024, 10am-2:30pm CST, via Zoom, for his workshop: Making AI Your Friend: Three Ways Writers Can Use Tech to Enhance Their Craft and Achieve Their Goals. In this one-day workshop, author Javier Ortega-Araiza will help participants adapt to AI’s impact on the writing industry and learn to collaborate with technology. Students will explore AI tools, such as ChatGPT, and become familiar with how writers can use them to bolster their creative practice. This class is open to writers of all skill levels 18+.
Hi Javier! We’re so excited to have you teach a class on writing and AI. Let’s dig into your writing practices. Do you have any habits or routines that you follow before writing?
Yes, here’s a hack that has helped me substantially. It may sound simple, but it works wonders. Before I write anything, I read two-three pieces (at least) related to the topic/goal that I need to write about. They can be previous pieces I’ve written, articles by authors I admire, or simply because they sparked my interest. That gets me in the zone to learn more about the topic at hand and gets my idea-generating machine going. It’s like a gradual immersion into the world I need to inhabit, at least while I complete the article or meet my word goal.
Describe your first writing desk. How is it different (or not) from your current writing desk?
My writing desk varies every day. Even though I have a desk at home, I seldom work from there, as I find inspiration in coffee shops, libraries, and other places. I usually go to WeWork (a co-working space), which is where one of the pictures is taken—it is my writing desk for the day. I love their spaces. At the same time, as you can see in the photos, sometimes my writing desk is a hot tub.
Here, I need to say that my writing process is quite old-fashioned. I find that I download ideas better when writing by hand. So, often—depending on what I need to write about—I’ve written from open spaces like parks, lakes, or at the beach. Then, I’ll go back to my computer and type what I wrote and edit and proofread accordingly. This works great for creative pieces. For non-creative, more technical work, I generally write down ideas on a pad at my desk and that gets my juices flowing to then start typing on the computer.
I’m not sure what I would consider my first writing desk. I’ve written since I was a kid, so maybe it is the one at my parents’ office at home. I think what I love about changing workspaces is that in a way they resemble a new story—if I am at a coffee shop or another public space, I’m sitting at a table that is clean and decluttered, open to embrace what’s about to come. In a way, that helps new ideas emerge.
Has your preferred place to write changed over the years?
It constantly keeps changing, it really depends on my mood. I consider myself both
an extrovert and an introvert, so if I have had many social events, meetings or else, then my preferred place is somewhere where no one can bother me. If I have had a quiet day, then I need to go out and get some external stimulation.
How important is it to you to have stability in your writing routine?
Just yesterday I read a fantastic essay written by Paul Graham, an entrepreneur and investor who founded the now-iconic Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator. In it, Graham talked about how there are “makers schedules” and “managers schedules.” Since I also run a business besides my writing practice, stability for me comes in the way of having enough “maker time,” which is a chunk of time I block to focus on creating without interruptions. We also need to consider that a freelance writing career, on its own, comes with time that needs to be allocated to managerial duties—invoicing, meeting with clients, selling, and so on. So I would say the number one component of stability, for someone like me, is to make sure that the “maker’s time” is respected, even if it is not always at the same time or place.
What’s a book or movie that you can watch over and over again and not get tired of?
Good Will Hunting. I resonate with that movie because I identify myself with some aspects of Will. Even though I grew up in a completely different situation, for some time I self-sabotaged and refused to own my gifts and my potential. It can happen so easily, and this was the case for me until the wake-up calls couldn’t get louder.
What are some misconceptions about being a writer that you can discredit?
Myth #1: That a writer cannot make good money. That’s something that I heard over and over, and it is false. I understand where people were coming from at the time, but now, with the amount of technological tools available, opportunities are boundless. Human-generated content is what can help build authentic connections. So not only is writing an opportunity by itself, but it opens doors to sell other types of products and services that we might be passionate about. I’m a strong believer in the creator economy and how it is democratizing access to information and enabling people to earn a good living from their work. Of course there are potential pitfalls, but aren’t there with everything?
Then, in a more novelesque kind of way, I think the media has created a stereotypical image of a writer—particularly with some famous novelists—linking them to alcohol and other substances. For a while, I acted that way. It was like, well, I’ll have another glass of whiskey, and then get to write—of course it didn’t happen. The writing life is not about that. It’s about digging deep and sharing what’s in our soul. While it’s perfectly fine to go out and have fun, it doesn’t make us better writers. In fact, I quit drinking for a while to be able to focus. Our needs change depending on what we are going through. Sometimes, we can relax more and go out, other times, we need to hunker down and do the work.
Does good writing result from best practices, magic, or a bit of both?
I would say both. Magic is important and can make the difference in some moments. It is sort of an ally I know I can trust. But best practices are as important, if not more.
If we do not have the discipline and perseverance to show up every day, no talent can compensate for that. What makes Cristiano Ronaldo one of the best soccer players in the world, possibly in history? His work ethic. There are many others who might have a higher dose of natural talent, but failed to materialize it. It is the same with writing. Show up every day and you can get as good as anyone. Procrastinate and some of the best stories you have to share with the world might keep lying dormant.
I remember reading a story about The Beat Generation, and how some of them,
particularly Jack Kerouac, considered Neal Cassady the best writer of them all. So how come we keep reading all these books by Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William Burroughs instead? Because they sat down and wrote.
What is your next project?
I have been brewing and polishing the idea for my newsletters, and I’m ready to launch them full-force this fall on Substack. I’ve already published some introductory articles, and they will cover various topics, among them personal finance, spirituality, and tennis.
If people want to learn more about your work, where should they go?
You can find me on Substack, where I’ll be publishing regularly, on Gumroad, where my poetry book is available, or if you’d like to learn more about my work beyond writing, here’s a link to my company, Infinite Expeditions. I don’t have a centralized hub for the work I do with various media outlets, but I plan on doing so in the near future. Last but not least, if you’d like to learn about the workshops and programs I offer for writers, please check out Write Your Freedom.
Javier Ortega-Araiza is the author of Three Years Later: Poems of Loss, Love, and Renewal (2024) and a co-author of Stories from Montréal (2019), an anthology featuring over 20 Hispanic-Canadian writers. He is passionate about storytelling’s power to heal and unite us. He believes technology can be a fantastic ally in helping writers enhance their careers and have a bigger impact. Javier is a lifelong traveler, entrepreneur, and storyteller whose thoughts on the impact of AI in the writing profession can be found here. Ortega-Araiza’s writings, spanning various genres, have been featured by leading outlets such as Business Insider, Forbes, the New York Post, FOX, the Toronto Star, and the Winnipeg Free Press. Through Mindset Consulting, a strategic communications firm, he has also worked with several tech startups and venture funds, gaining first-hand exposure to the impact of AI in several industries. He has also worked with leading brands such as MGM and Caesars.
