“How much will it pay you?”
“Do you earn anything out it?”
“Well, at the end, it is not bringing you anything”
“It’s good only as a part-time activity”
“Acha hai timepass ke liye” (It’s good for timepass)
Artists are often bombarded with all the remarks mentioned above when they set out to nurture their art in public. My passion for writing and this blog RUMINATIONS OF MIND was not an exception either. At the dawn of my career, there were constant queries thrown by friends and family that how much I am expected to monetarily derive out of it. I had no answer; just one conviction that I wanted to learn and get consumed in this process of creating beautiful, inspiring string of sentences. I wanted to tell stories that could drive mankind to a reflection of reality.
The hunger of writing was so insane it seemed, at one stage, that this aspiration was the only thing that pumped blood inside my body. Alas, I met only with a mocking smirk whenever I shared this with anyone. Moreover, there were many uncertainties regarding my grip on the craft that continued to haunt me. I used to write a lot, but the fear of rejection and ridicule prevented me from sharing my work with anyone. There was a point when I even kept my first Blogspot account password protected so that only selected people (who I thought would be encouraging come what may) could get access to my articles. This continued for nearly a year.
In 2011, after many pestering sessions with a friend, I shared a piece of fiction on Facebook. It was called The Journey of Thousand Miles. It was not a professional writing, yet the fact that it was written from heart, struck a chord with most of the people I knew. Many expressed astonishment that I could write and some poured in lots of congratulatory messages. However, that was again the end of it. I dipped back again into my hibernated Blogspot.
Contrary to how “fun” and “relaxing” it may appear, being a writer is not that easy. Good writing—or any form of art for that matter– comes only to those who have no qualms in sharing a part of their soul with their audience. You have to let go all the inhibitions and let people enter your world of imagination and creativity. In a way, let people slice up your psyche and make you feel naked because, at the end of the day, even if your story is adorned with illusory characters, your readers know that it is also an extension of you. An artist always spills some of his character in this work. The challenge lies in not compromising with that streak of revealing yourself in open. Because readers can aptly distinguish between transparency and manipulation. You have to present only yourself. No imitation is required.
On many occasions, the writing block fails me. I am an ardent worshipper of this astounding craft and get totally enthralled with the way the letters, words, sentences all get wrapped in each other to give birth to some eye-popping and heartwarming paragraphs. However, there are days, when you sit down to express yourself, and nothing but quietness comes out. On those days, you start questioning yourself. You feel that the artist inside is dying a slow death and nothing could be done about it except for feeling helpless. Even on those gloomy days, the writing has to be continued. I wrote some awful drafts; read them again and again and later tore them apart. But, at least your weapon–the PEN– should not leave your side.
Adding to further injury, our inflated ego refuses to comprehend that art is subjective. People can like, hate, absorb, discard, burn your work. Period. It should not anger or upset you. What should remain constant is the zeal to learn something new every day. Because you can be born with good talent, but in order to be great, your skills need to be polished. Till the end of life! This is how the spark remains alive. There is no shortcut to hard work. Your imagination and artistic faculty needs to be fuelled with steady elements of courage, belief, modesty and self-confidence.
RUMINATIONS OF MIND was given a re-birth in early 2014 with the same mindset–Following the passion that makes me feel alive, speaking truth, asking questions, finding answers, worshipping words, and most importantly sitting down and writing better than my previous post.
After all, it’s not always about money!
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Baggout for listing my blog at Number 13 position in the category of Top 14 Entertainment post for the month of May 2015.
The journey has just started. I will spare no effort in learning more and be brazen in my conviction. Since I believe that anything that is tried long enough always finds it way.
“If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn’t brood. I’d type a little faster.” –Issac Asimov
P.S: All pictures are result of Google search and I have no copyright over them.
Ruminations of mind... 