365 Days- Book I

101. Recycle

October 9, 2018

"Take something you've written in the past andrewrite it into a completely different piece. "

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"I want to be a good writer"

And today, a year after the original post  I had my own epiphany: As long as I write - put pen to paper, fingers to keyboard and churn out the letters, transforming them to words, words which lend themselves to sentences, sentences that turn into paragraphs and paragraphs that craft themselves into stories or essays or a series of ramblings - I am a writer.

It is the qualifier that gives the pain and joy. For how does one be a "good" writer? Is it judged by personal perception or measured by public praise?

Personal perception is definitely subjective and partly biased, coloured by our own preferences and experiences, our likes and dislikes, by the books we read and the stories we hear. It is completely influenced by everything we know (which is not much) and devoid of all the things we are ignorant of (after all, our knowledge is limited only by our ignorance). So when I read and judge my writings, it would be in the light of the books I read, the experiences I carry and the opinions I have formed. I could be a very avid reader and a discerning critic but how accurate would my judgement of my writing be?

Public praise could be objective, but then what is the definition of public? How do I define who my core audience is and whether I am able to reach out to them? Especially when I indulge in Fan fiction, is the readership based on the love for the lead couple or is it the story that captivates them? How do I know? How does anyone know? A part of me feels that the story is read only because of the couple, borne out by the fact that the readership is directly proportionate to the viewership. A part of me feels that this is an oversimplification and is a reflection of the "sour grapes" theory.

That was what had been my perception then. Now I know that I and I alone decide if I am a good writer. I am a good writer if I am honest with myself and to the stories. I am a good writer if I do justice to the characters and am able to build realistic ones. I am a good writer if I have fun while writing and also manage to get a message across. I am a good writer when I am exhausted yet happy when I finally finish writing my tale. I am a good writer if I do not have any regrets about the story I have written. 

Now come the second paragraph which I italicised. What does that signify? Readership only signifies how successful I am and it could be dependent on how good a writer I am or maybe not, for it is purely based on a reader's perception and moods. Again this is solely my opinion, based on my perception of the books I have read, all the popular writers are not good and there are extremely talented writers who somehow fail to garner the appreciation they deserve. 

To conclude, so as long as I write, I am a writer. As long as I am honest with myself and am happy I am a good writer. And while public recognition is exhilarating, as a writer it is better to write as long as it makes one happy. 

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Word count 569

The original post was posted on my thread - Random Ramblings in India Forums.