Do not let the writer in you fade away

You are not a writer because you can churn out content (of any kind) for your company within tighter deadlines. You are a writer if you know how to notice a story in everything and be able to narrate it clearly. Like any other professional who writes for a living, not an author or a poet, I have let the writer in me take a back seat in the last three years as I was too busy writing to convince my boss or the audience at large.

To evolve as a professional writer, you have to adapt to the latest trends and mould yourself to suit the market and attract higher salaries. However, in the process of doing so, you must not forget to do the most important thing – that is, to write to express yourself. As ashamed I am to admit it, it has been long that I sat down to write something for myself. I have always explained my love for writing by telling others that I indulged in it to find solace in my otherwise maddening life.

Better late than never. I have decided to awaken instinctive writing that has been left buried inside me for years now. Starting today (July 24, 2016), I will write at least 100-150 words more often than not and to help me write better, I will read at least a chapter from a book. These definitely seem to be extremely low standards to set but goals like these are often the most difficult ones to achieve. Believe me when I say this as it took me two weeks to eventually write this article and begin with this challenge.

I do not expect you to take inspiration from an ordinary writer like me. However, I would request you to do everything you can to keep your zeal for writing alive. Writing for an audience is definitely important but let it not be the sole objective for everything you write. Try keeping yourself above everybody else for a change. More importantly, do not let self-doubt cloud your thinking and writing capability. You can never please everybody as you cannot control their perception of your writing. Write while being honest to yourself and readers who relate to you and your words will support you no matter what happens.