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KATHMANDU, AUGUST 01
The craft of writing develops with our ritualistic writing habit. As a writer, I have never stuck to any rule book for enhancing my linguistic caliber.
When I was a schoolboy, I used to think that I had to follow what people said about how writing skills could be developed.
As a young boy I happened to be the victim of confusion for the most part. However, the process of enlightenment slowly came when I truly believed in what I was doing.
In the past, every time I went through a newspaper, I would go back to see the marvellous etymological structures of the sentences. I used to question myself why I couldn't write like them. I was envious of people who had great writing skills.
The mounting intellectual jealousy ushered me onto the writing journey.
I started reading many articles written by extraordinary columnists of various newspapers, such as the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the list goes on. I was, however, worried that reading only those articles published by a few media outlets would limit my infinite possibility of understanding the process in which writing takes place.
To my mind, the process of writing begins with passion, commitment, perseverance, inspiration and dedication. Writing can be formed much in the same way that an ocean is formed from the tributaries, rivers and creeks of the world. A person who wants to become a writer must have many qualities and interests. These can be acquired by being in an environment where a reading culture is prevalent. For example, a person can go to a library to pick up a book of his liking.
One thing that tickles my fancy is the quote by legendary author Stephen King: "Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work."
Well, some colleagues underestimate their classmates, thinking that they are a dunce with no reading or writing skills.
In my view, we should not be making fun of people even if they do not have the skills you have. School life might not necessarily project the potential that one has in life.
We have seen many examples of people who were once considered to be dim-witted in school becoming phenomenal successes in the later phase of life. One of the nicest things of becoming successful in one's writing career is that a person can hone his or her writing skills without having to acquire a university degree.
We have seen many authors in the world who have achieved great success in their life at an early age. In a nutshell, a true writer puts a hell lot of efforts to become one. The practice of writing should be incessant and persistent.
A version of this article appears in the print on August 2 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
