As far as I can remember, I always wanted to be a writer. What lacks in talent, can be made up (to a certain extent) by hard work. I think I gave up trying . I have made a timeline of significant events which shaped my belief that I could be a successful scribe -just to remind myself what I once wished to be. If a certain desire still lives in your heart, and you wish to set fire to it, do it today. Because every day we walk towards our demise, and we are left with even less time to try our best at what we were born to become.
The rest of the post is more of personal significance:
School: I remember writing an essay 'আমার আদরের প্রাণীটি' about my pet dog, Snowy for Ma'm Sujata's Bengali paper- which she read aloud to the whole class. I later learned from juniors that she often read out my essays to them.
I took English tuitions from SKD since Standard VIII. We had to write essays every Friday evening. While many considered it an onus, I took joy in the exercise, and concentrated hard with a pen in my hand.SKD said I was the only other one he had given a B+ (the highest in his regard) in an essay (about a police car chase that ended in apprehension of the bank robbers) in his many years of teaching.
Undergrad/Blog: It was more out of boredom than anything else that I started taking German classes in my undergrads. I thought it was better than whiling away at the local mall (CSM) after class hours. It was the same boredom that made me open a blog and I scribbled some nonsense. To my surprise, people responded and I felt connected to a world outside my immediate physical environment. Interestingly, it was the blog that brought SG and me together. I can say that I am married to one of my most ardent readers.
Job in an e-publishing house: My stint at writing abstracts made me more confident and improved my skills in critical reading. I was often given 70 page papers to work with. I consider it an honor that one of my previous supervisors asked me to help him with a few articles even a few months ago.
Columnist: Manas Kaku, a journalist and writer of high calibre, showed interest in publishing my posts in the portal tripurainfo.com. Thanks to him even expatriates (whom I later met in US) came to know of my articles and mentioned how much they enjoyed reading it.
Book: In 2007, when I was busy applying for the only B-school I had applied to for my MBA, Genesis publishers and tripurainfo.com published my blook (blog turned into a book). Local newspapers wrote favorable reviews and I felt happy for a while. I promised Dad, Manas Kaku and myself a fiction before I turned 30.
Inspiration from family and friends: I have maintained journals since I first learned to write. My mother always made sure I had enough to write on, and that meant buying a new diary almost every month. I did well at school too, and when a friend who knew about my diary asked, 'When do you find the time?', I thought 'What a lame question!'. Now, I have made that an excuse for my laziness. Sometimes, I feel I don't have enough time for the one thing I have truly loved all my life.
Some of my best memories with my mother is reading to her something I had written. She is a very good listener and a genuinely appreciative audience. When she says ,' Fantastic', I know she means it.
There were enthusiastic friends too who mentioned friends of friends and their acquaintances who knew me by my name and had coffee table conversations about how they liked my style. The occasions when someone came up to me and said,'You have a blog, don't you? I really like reading it' made me feel special.
Lull: 2010 was the least productive year in terms of blog posts, but I have a private blog too on which I writealmost every day. My MIL is another inspiration who forbids me from giving up writing ever. I know I have wasted valuable time and should have made more efforts to improve myself, but all is not lost. I am still young and willing to try. The second book might not happen immediately, but I will get there.
Disruptive technologies: I often find myself wondering, does anyone read blogs anymore? Then I see the Google page views (also unique visitors, conversion rates etc)on each post. Sometimes, they are more than it was even in the peak of my prolificacy. And even if no one reads anymore, should I give up what I love? Never.
The rest of the post is more of personal significance:
School: I remember writing an essay 'আমার আদরের প্রাণীটি' about my pet dog, Snowy for Ma'm Sujata's Bengali paper- which she read aloud to the whole class. I later learned from juniors that she often read out my essays to them.
I took English tuitions from SKD since Standard VIII. We had to write essays every Friday evening. While many considered it an onus, I took joy in the exercise, and concentrated hard with a pen in my hand.SKD said I was the only other one he had given a B+ (the highest in his regard) in an essay (about a police car chase that ended in apprehension of the bank robbers) in his many years of teaching.
Undergrad/Blog: It was more out of boredom than anything else that I started taking German classes in my undergrads. I thought it was better than whiling away at the local mall (CSM) after class hours. It was the same boredom that made me open a blog and I scribbled some nonsense. To my surprise, people responded and I felt connected to a world outside my immediate physical environment. Interestingly, it was the blog that brought SG and me together. I can say that I am married to one of my most ardent readers.
Job in an e-publishing house: My stint at writing abstracts made me more confident and improved my skills in critical reading. I was often given 70 page papers to work with. I consider it an honor that one of my previous supervisors asked me to help him with a few articles even a few months ago.
Columnist: Manas Kaku, a journalist and writer of high calibre, showed interest in publishing my posts in the portal tripurainfo.com. Thanks to him even expatriates (whom I later met in US) came to know of my articles and mentioned how much they enjoyed reading it.
Book: In 2007, when I was busy applying for the only B-school I had applied to for my MBA, Genesis publishers and tripurainfo.com published my blook (blog turned into a book). Local newspapers wrote favorable reviews and I felt happy for a while. I promised Dad, Manas Kaku and myself a fiction before I turned 30.
Inspiration from family and friends: I have maintained journals since I first learned to write. My mother always made sure I had enough to write on, and that meant buying a new diary almost every month. I did well at school too, and when a friend who knew about my diary asked, 'When do you find the time?', I thought 'What a lame question!'. Now, I have made that an excuse for my laziness. Sometimes, I feel I don't have enough time for the one thing I have truly loved all my life.
Some of my best memories with my mother is reading to her something I had written. She is a very good listener and a genuinely appreciative audience. When she says ,' Fantastic', I know she means it.
There were enthusiastic friends too who mentioned friends of friends and their acquaintances who knew me by my name and had coffee table conversations about how they liked my style. The occasions when someone came up to me and said,'You have a blog, don't you? I really like reading it' made me feel special.
Lull: 2010 was the least productive year in terms of blog posts, but I have a private blog too on which I write
Disruptive technologies: I often find myself wondering, does anyone read blogs anymore? Then I see the Google page views (also unique visitors, conversion rates etc)on each post. Sometimes, they are more than it was even in the peak of my prolificacy. And even if no one reads anymore, should I give up what I love? Never.
4 comments:
Aparna Di, in a year we have got 365 mornings to wake up and chase our dreams. Happy writing :)
It's pessimism to give up chasing your dream just because it has not come true, so far.
Btw, the so called writer's block is only a state of mind. Please go back to read the books which inspired you the most.
@amitabha
And inactivity of the mind causes such pessimism. I'll take your advice seriously. I'm also getting acquainted with the works of new authors. I can safely say I have begun my efforts again.
@saswata right you are!
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