Skip to main content

Writers are Experts? Think Again

Is it good enough? The moment you decide to bare your soul to others through creative expression, you realize the inherent complexity of the exercise.

Can you really convert your thoughts and ideas to concrete language? Can truth be replicated on screen/paper?

I can say this about my experience as a writer. I constantly have this tussle. Are the words and phrases actually conveying what I want to say? 

Heck, are the words authentic at all?  Are words enough? Am I being authentic/genuine enough? Am I just writing to please, being politically correct? Do my words reflect my stance/my world view or someone else's? So many questions. so many conundrums. 

To tell the truth, the writer is something of a nervous wreck! 


Do I need to Say it?

In this age of information overload, who wants to read or see something they have already read or seen? How do you bring newness into what is essentially a universal feeling or a routine experience? Will your language, expressions, words, images really be able to depict your angst? Or your exhilaration, or trepidation or stress?

Several factors colour our perception, recollection, and what we choose to remember, don’t they? Primary factors are what we were feeling/sensing at that time and how we were affected by the consequences. These control what our mind has rejected as unimportant or has retained as significant. So, what I feel is the truth about an incident, an event may not be the actual truth, right? 

Similarly, when I write a story, the truth of my characters - as I see it, may not be wholly correct. I can create a character who lives a different reality through imagination and borrowed knowledge, but I haven't really lived in his/her/their shoes. Case for example - a poverty-stricken youth, a transgender, a prostitute, a corrupt politician, etc. At the most, my strong empathy will allow me to feel close, but is that enough? 

Can I make You Understand?

As a content creator, you are beset with the risk that what you want to portray is understood entirely differently by any one of your readers/viewers.

Maybe what you wanted to show as longing is seen as obsession by her? What you have portrayed as loyalty in some character, looks like slavery and dependence to another reader? Worse, your reader or viewer can’t catch the irony, or sarcasm you have tried to convey!

This is the essential duality of the experience of creation. While being cathartic, trauma-releasing and recharging, it is also excruciatingly painful. It can maim, it can leave you vulnerable, and even more broken.

Does It Touch a Cord?

Even if what I write is perfect - both in language and also in structure, does it strike a cord within you? Can you feel what I am trying to convey? How much should be left unsaid?

The moment the book is out in public scrutiny, the writer dies a thousand deaths every moment. Every word of appreciation comes as oxygen to her. 

The impact of trolling, negative comments, or scathing sarcasm can crush a creator. Of course, some of it will go into making a better writer. Most of all what destroys a writer is indifference or apathy. Simply said, when you ignore a book, it kills a writer.

So, pick up that book, read, and encourage a writer. Say what resonates with you. Suggest what can be improved.



Do not ignore a good writer's work, please. For what you know, it may be the end of his/her writing.


#WritersDilemma
#SupportNewWriters
#Don'tIgnoreWritersWork
#WritingAuthentically

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Self-Supported Publishing - Boon or Scam?

When I started writing stories, I felt some people would find solace in my words. The purpose wasn't to earn money through selling books, but yes, money would be welcome when it came. The idea was to provide readers with something they could connect with. As it is, the process of writing involves immense churning within, and exhaustive editing and finishing after you have finally written what you want to. Any creator will tell you it is almost like birthing a child. Self-doubt assails you, you get nervous and unsure about your work, you aren't sure the denouement is looking apt, or the characters are relatable.  Then comes the commercial aspect of it all - as a new writer, you have to keep an eye on the reader's liking, avoid esoteric words and concepts, and make your content readable and catchy. Finally, what starts is the toughest part. Yes. Finding a publisher for your work.  Common Publishing Models For the uninitiated, there are basically two types of publishing models...
1 comment
Read more

Enough! No more rape!

The recent horrifying, stomach-churning incident in Kolkata is not a one-time aberration. It keeps occuring in our country. And we women are also responsible for this stinking rot in society. Ask yourself these uncomfortable questions. How many of you protest when a girl wearing "revealing clothes" is cat-called?  Did you show your support for our wrestlers protesting against a habitual offender? Did your blood boil when you saw pictures of our sisters in Manipur paraded naked?  When rapists are released from prison or routinely escape punishment, do you raise your voice? How many of you have tolerated violence or even casual sexism in your own home? Do you turn the other way when transgenders are leered at? Do you grin and bear it when the men in your family crack obscene jokes? Do Kathua and Hathras ring a bell? And lastly, how many of you thronged cinema halls to make misogynistic horrors like Animal and Kabir Singh blockbusters? I have asked myself and am distinctly feeli...
Post a Comment
Read more

Laapataa Ladies - the Unfortunate Story of Lost Women

Laapataa Ladies is a deceptively simple, yet extremely thought-provoking satire couched in a simple story of exchanged brides. Image Source: IMdB This is the unfortunate story of countless ordinary women living under the veil, in the shadow of uncaring men. Who can't remember any details of their husband or the sasural they are married into. Who are trained only to obey their husband, do their duty in the kitchen, and follow orders of in-laws. Who don't have the liberty to study or do something for their own betterment. What can we expect for such women, except a lifetime of slavery? If the husband happens to be good, then there's some ray of hope. If he's a rascal, then God save her. Thanks to Kiran Rao for addressing the woes of 80% of Indian women living in nameless villages. And thanks for calling out the "greatest fraud" - the fraud of getting ready for marriage and domesticity. Where you can make the perfect kalakand, but you can't find your way...
Post a Comment
Read more