Challenges faced by a first time writer

Well, I’m back with the some challenges and problems as I promised before, and here’s the next set of tea/coffee for your mind.

I’m not going to write long essays, or deep thought provoking stories here to make you doze off. Every writer, author, in fact, everyone faces some struggles, problems, obstacles, etc. in the course of achieving their dreams. That’s bound to happen, and those are the challenges you need to take up, bet on yourself, and win them!

For the first time writers:

As soon as one decides to be a writer/author, here are some (if not all) straightforward thoughts and fears that come to the mind:

·         What am I going to write?

o   Books, blogs, papers etc.

o   Ideas

·         Who will publish me?

·         Will anyone like my writing?

·         Will I actually earn from it?

·         I really want to write, but…

Isn’t writer’s block the biggest struggle of a writer? Oh yes, it is! But for that, you need to be a writer first, so we’ll come to that later. To start with, that’s not the worrisome part.

What am I going to write?

Writing is one field where you have limitless pools from where you can take inspiration and go ahead. You’ve decided to be a writer, so it’s time to take a dive in that pool and find out what you enjoy writing – is it books, technical papers, blogs etc.? Well, the best part is, you don’t need to zero in on one, you can write them all! So initially, don’t worry about it, and start writing.

Next thing ‘what am I going to write’ about (Ideas) is where you may want to invest some quality time. You have a limitless pool of imagination inside you, so start tapping that. Visualize your writing in your head, and start putting that on paper. Believe me, you don’t need to be Tolkien or Rowling to do that. In case you are not that imaginative types doesn’t mean you don’t have a limitless pool. The next pool you could dive in is, ‘Life around you’! We are social beings and have no end to exploring the world around us and even the far away planets and stars. Meeting people, travelling, and watching the world around – you will never be out of ideas. All the things we talked about in our last chat, would mostly cater to this mind block.

Who will publish me?

Being born in this digital world is one of the greatest boons, as a writer, you have. You don’t need anyone! Blog around, no one stops you. You can get to people as you want, on your own, in your own style, without needing anyone, and it’s fun. That’s all good, but I really want to get published. Indeed, getting to a big publishing house, and being accepted for your manuscript was one of the greatest challenges a new writer used to face in primitive days. Today, well, you’ve already landed on this site, have explored the internet, and you know you will never be out of options! You have the self-publish houses at your disposal, delivering all the help you need, to get going – from editing, improving your text and make it impressive to making book covers, publishing, marketing, book launch etc. From as little as you want from them to as much as you want them to do for you. They are just like the informal friends, who could help you with most things, while you concentrate on writing. That’s what an author should be doing – you are a writer, you worry about only that, although you are free to take care of the rest of the stuff too!

Write all you want, believe in it and yourself – and at least in this age, you will not be out of options to how to make your writing reach people.

Will anyone like my writing?

Well, let people think about it. You really want to be a writer, so write all you want, and read it. Keep re-writing until you love it yourself! There will never be each and every one who likes your, in fact, anyone’s writings. Every person is an individual with his/her point of views and likings. Write for yourself, write your heart out, believe in yourself and you’ll turn out to be awesome. Would you believe, Harry Potter was rejected by some ten-twelve publishing houses! It is one of the best ever sellers of our times (in terms of revenues) but still, there are so many people who just don’t like it. So don’t worry about others’ likings. Rejections don’t mean it’s not good. There are amazing stories all over the web, it’s just about not giving up.

The fear of not being liked will hinder your writing. So write, not to be liked, but because you love to write.

Will I actually earn from it?

Frankly, if that is your sole reason for writing, it may not be the best one. Writing is an art, and the inspiration should come from the love of doing it, not just the numbers earned from it. The more you are in love with the art, the more time you’d want to spend with it and do it, and the chances are, with such a zeal, you’ll do just great. Don’t compare yourself or compete with others in this art. It’s you and your heart you’ve put on the paper, and it can be only you who can do it, it’s your uniqueness, so keep it like that. If you are able to write, it’s a priceless treasure in itself.

I really want to write, but…

Just remove this ‘but’ (Be it anything), and put an exclamation after write. That’s all you need to do, to drive away all the problems! You love it, you want to do it, and you’ll do it!

Oh, and as for writer’s block? I’m sure you would have read the definition in a thesaurus, but I’ll tell you one thing - It’s a state into which a writer enters, once he/she is not writing, probably, for the love of it, and forgets about the limitless pools available in and around him/her. Aim for writing, write as much as you can, even if it’s just your daily diary entry. Who knows, your own story may turn out to be the best story ever!

From the Editor's desk

Amit Sareen