LIFE LESSONS FROM THE WRITE PATH

                                                                                                        Unsplash
  

‘Celebrating the Introspective and Reflective Aspects of Writing.’

To write or not to write has never been the question. From an early age, I grew up with books strewn around me at home. Everyone I knew was a reader or a writer. When people asked me if I wanted to be a writer, my answer was always a resounding ‘Yes!’ In fact, I wrote my first poem at the age of ten.

However, that first poem of mine did not get written for altruistic reasons or because I wanted people to read and savour my writing. Instead, I was bitten by the green-eyed monster of envy. A young friend of mine would come with her poems to my mother, herself a lover of the English language, and spend hours showing off her prowess. There were evenings when she would attach herself to my mother, and leave only three or four hours later. What was worse was that mom would wax eloquent about her talent, her flair and her dedication, all the while casting sidelong glances at me. When the pressure got too much for me, I sat down and promptly wrote my first poem, only to enjoy the process so much that I continued to write on whatever little scrap of paper I could find. Much later I realised that my mother had played the smart card and got me hooked on to writing.

That was Lesson Number 1 that I learnt from the Write Path.

 Often, positive results can come out of negative emotions.

The green-eyed monster having vanished by them, I fervently thank that friend who was the catalyst for my writing.

                                                                     The Green Eyed Monster - Alamy

My father was an Army officer, and we were posted in the picturesque city of Vizag. I was in the 11^th and there was a Naval Week essay competition that I took part. I recall Dad telling me, “Make sure that your opening paragraph has a punch strong enough to catch the eye of the readers.” I took his advice and wrote out an introduction which was catchy and had an apt quote. I used the dictionary to find words that would enhance the narrative. To make things easier, I learnt the whole introduction by heart.

On the day of the competition, I began writing with an air of confidence while my fellow writers were nibbling on their pens to put words to paper. Once I had finished the first bit, I continued writing everything else which I had compiled earlier. When the results came, I was adjudged the winner and received a certificate and prize money, but what was priceless were the words from the chief judge.

“What an amazing introduction you presented! You have a flair for writing.” Elated, I went home to tell my parents about my win, and gave my father an extra special hug, saying, “Dad, if I did well today, it was due to your amazing suggestion.” Lesson Number 2 had come my way.

It is vital to hook the reader right from the beginning, something I try and do with my short stories and my novels.

By the time I got married to a smart young Army Captain, I had already written several stories and articles for magazines like Woman’s Era, Femina and Mirror. Our first posting was to Bhuj, a tiny cantonment which came into prominence during the Gujarat earthquake.

As a bride I was welcomed into my husband’s regiment by the Commanding Officer’s wife, along with three other young brides who had also come in along with me. We were all royally pampered by the senior officers and their spouses, who invited us for every meal for almost a fortnight. It was such a lovely feeling that I would sit down and write about everything to my mother and sisters back home. By then Dad was no more, but his spirit hovered above us, as though he wanted to make up for having left us so early in life.

We moved on to Deolali, where my husband was posted for a course, I wrote regularly for a little newsletter called ‘Deolali Doings’. I found so many amusing things to write about my life in the Army – right from the accommodation, the cooks, the parties, the pets and just about everything. That is how my first book titled ‘Arms and the Woman’ was born, a book that took a light-hearted look at my life as an army wife. Lesson Number 3 presented itself.

Humour is a useful way to get your point across.

Lesson 4 sneaked in deviously into my life, as subtly as my fascination for thrillers of all kinds. Starting with Agatha Christie, Conan Doyle, Daphne du Maurier, Victoria Holt and Mary Stewart, whose intriguing books I devoured as a teenager, I moved onto the equally suspenseful books of Jeffrey Archer, Dan Brown and Mary Higgins Clark. I loved the twist in the tale concept, avidly searching for red herrings and mysterious clues that these stalwarts threw in, often to confuse readers.

When I wrote my first thriller short story, I realised that the bug had bitten me as well. From then on, many of my stories and books revolved around thrills and chills… my Shadow quartet and my thriller story anthologies. I was even invited as a Guest editor for a horror anthology titled The Abandoned House Horror from the Chrysanthemum Chronicles publishing house curated by Monalisa Joshi.

That is how Lesson Number 4 crept in.

Childhood interests grow into lifelong passions.

Very early in life, I also understood how important it is to love your writing and make it sparkle. If what you write bores you to death, how on earth would you expect it to interest your readers? 

"I know nothing on the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and look at it, until it shines." Emily Dickinson

Thus, I learnt to sift quality over quantity, only writing about what interested me, adapting to the times and the interests of readers. Sometimes, it felt terrible to discard a piece I had written or a plot that had fascinated me, but I would steel my heart and run a red pen over it because it was not convincing enough. Lesson Number 5, I would say, is one of the hardest lessons learnt, and one of the most vital ones as well.

Write with your heart and edit with your mind.

                                                                                                     Unsplash

It was Oscar Wilde, that delightfully witty writer, who said,

 "It is always a silly thing to give advice, but to give good advice is absolutely fatal." 

I have always believed that it is better to talk about your own learning experiences than to give dollops of advice to others. I continue to be an aspiring writer because I feel that there is scope to improve with every piece of writing. In fact, look upon writing as a blessing and a pleasure. Let it be an activity that takes the stress out of your life, instead of a tiresome chore that you must complete due to a Damocles sword of a deadline hanging over you. Make friends with reader and writer groups and communicate with like-minded folks. The more you share your work with others, the more joy you get out of the whole exercise. Lesson Number 6 catapults its way from this trampoline. 

Keep reading, writing and sharing your writing for you never know where your next reader is going to spring from.

"You should write stories because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different pages on a page." Annie Proulx 

THIS POST IS PART OF 'THE WRITE PATH BLOG HOP' HOSTED BY SWARNALI NATH. 

https://theblissfulstoryteller.com/