Writing like love is an act of magic

Writing like love is an act of magic.

There are various aspects of creativity like writing, painting, acting  and singing but here I will deal with writing.  At some level we all aspire to be a writer and express ourselves in any form of writing –fiction, essay, poems or play. There are thousands who were never published except when they published themselves. Those who are published have literary agents. Presently there are many sites on the net where self publication is welcome encouraged. But somehow it does not click because there is no way to know if it was read at all and by how many. We fail to find words that may measure up to our emotions and thinking.  Once that happens there are readers who also feel and think likewise and read and patronize your writings.

The question therefore arises what makes a good writer?   What makes them different from those who could not make it?

I think writing, like love is an act of magic. Either it happens or it just does not. It is not like waking up in the morning and taking a vow that today I will fall in love or write a story or poem.  A whole life passes thinking about love and it never happens. Even if it happens, it disappears. Similarly a whole life passes but the story or poem or an essay remains an unfulfilled dream. Even established writers say their best is yet to come! There has to be a magical spell howsoever short it may be for bringing that something unique.

Secondly the words or ideas come through the core of the heart touching every nerve and pulse.  Many writers have agreed that their best creations were close to their hearts. A great amount of honesty is required to do so. Listening to our inner self is one thing and giving expression to it in words is another.  Any amount of compromise will kill the very essence of truth. Many a writers are tempted to compromise for the sake of living. I do not think Kalidas wrote his epics “Abhigyanshakuntalam’ or Tulsidas wrote his ‘Ram Charitmanas’ to gain some material gratification. Tulsidas made it very clear that he wrote ‘Manas’ purely for his happiness-‘swantahsukhaya’. A writer need not be educated in the literal sense. Kabir was unlettered but his ‘dohas’ have the wisdom of the universe. In every community, there has been a Kalidas, a Tuslidas and a Kabir. They could find words to what they wanted to say.

Thirdly I would not say that though no one is born writer but there is something that is ingrained in the early childhood. In the later years training and practice help.  The most important thing however is how he/she react s to the happenings around. A writer writes about what happens around him. Literature is the mirror of the times the writer lived in. The difference is in how it affects his sensitivities.  Writers may not be intellectuals but they are sensitive and good observers. They are prepared to research their subject thouroughly.

There are examples of people leaving their lucrative jobs and engage in full time writing. Amish Tripathi and Chetan Bhagat come to mind. 

Dose it therefore suggest that those who don’t get that magical spell or have no in born talent should not try?  Far from that. What I want to suggest that  writers do  not  produced only masterpieces. They too have their moments of despair. They too struggled to produce a master piece. In fact some renowned writers took leave of their passion for years  and when they returned, they created another master piece. Most of them produced mediocre work in between just to sustain themselves. Salman Rushdie has not produced anything worthwhile after Midnight Children’ and so is about Arundhati Roy after her success with ‘The God of Small Things’. There are many writers and poets who are best known by their one or two creations even though they might have been published many times over.

It therefore appears that a writer should love what he writes and should keep on writing till he finds his true love. It may or may not happen in his life time but it is worth trying. He should be honest to give words to his/her observations without fear or favor.