On writing

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Source: Exchange For Change

I have been writing regularly since the time I can remember. I began writing somewhere in my teens with my first poem published in an educational magazine when I was 13. I wrote my first novel at 14 (the length of an A4 notebook) which was essentially a candy floss love story. A daily diary here and some letters to pen friends, writing remained an integral part. Somehow during those years I had never thought of becoming a writer or a story teller. All I knew is that I wanted to write till my last breath because it was cathartic. 

When I started my blog 6.5 years ago I used to write things I had heard or read somewhere. For almost a year I kept on doing that till one chance encounter pushed me to write a story based on it. I somehow didn’t want to accept it online that it was my story. And there in that moment the story teller in me was born. I fell in love with stories all over again, this time with the magic of creating them. Soon everything and anything became my inspiration to write a story. 

Gradually I lost all the apprehensions of talking about things close to my heart. I spoke openly about my pain, hurt, the past, trauma along with the hope and joy of good times ahead. It is in this process that I healed. Writing is so deeply instilled in my system that at times when a friend sees me upset his immediate advice is, “Write it out, will you? You will be fine thereafter.” And it does work wonders, something that even the best of therapies and counselors couldn’t guarantee ! 

Source: WUWM

As I look back today I really love my transformation from being someone who repeated someone else’s thoughts to becoming someone who now has her own thoughts to share. That progression is a huge leap according to me, it shows that I have grown and how! In the last few years my writing has changed from mere observations to deep introspection finally leading to stories that are poignant. (Well, I like to believe that! :) ) 

I write because it lets me escape to a world of my own. I write to give voice to the inner most thoughts and channel them to the Universe. I write to unite my shruti (the internal voice) and stuti (the external voice) and create something significant. I write to fall in love with the world around me once again. I write because my mind is a scary place to be with all those words jostling for space. They behave better when on paper. I write to keep myself sane. I write to tell the untold. I write because it makes me feel alive. I write because that is the closest I can get to being a creator of something that can be immortalized. I write because that is the only way my heart knows how to talk to me. 

 “I write… therefore I am.”

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