Although writing is often seen as a solitary act, I don't think I've truly ever written alone. Even when I sit at my desk, the words and sentences forming on the screen are never just mine; they are shaped by the works I've read and the languages I navigate when translating thoughts into text. I see writing as having a conversation with both the readers and myself. In addition to considering the audience, composing the text itself feels like a dialogue between my first and second language; each one bringing its meaning-making lens to make sense of the world. In this sense, every text I write is collaborative whether I'm co-authoring with others or through the negotiation of thoughts and languages that give ideas form.

Thoughts & Language

Before words take form, my thoughts float somewhere

beyond language. I don't think my thoughts are in Arabic

or in English, at least not at first. Their abstract nature

transforms into language when I attempt to give them

a linguistic form. Even then, meaning is not something

I dictate when writing, rather it independently emerges

when readers interpret the text. 

Collaborative Writing

When writing with others, our ideas merge and meaning is co-created. The text in such collaboration no longer belongs to any one of us; it takes its own form beyond us through the combination of our voices. This act of collaboration makes us explore rather than take ownership of the text. 

Digital Tools

This exploration can also be tangible with digital tools. At times, I find these tools co-constructing texts with me; they nudge my words and sentences in different directions. Even writing this blog post, I negotiate with my computer by rejecting some suggestions and accepting others. Writing now also takes different modes for me. I write notes on paper, leave voice memos on my phone, and rearrange diagrams and paragraphs on my screen. Each mode serves a phase of writing from planning, to writing, and to editing.

In the last analysis, no text is meaningful in isolation. Every word I write is, in some sense, co-authored by the languages and tools I use, and the audience in addition to the individuals I collaborate with. How do you experience writing across languages and/or with others, and have you ever felt that your writing takes on a life of its own? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

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