I love to write and I try to write a lot. In fact, I have written over 3000 entries for my blogs in the last two years. Thus, on an average, I have written nearly 5 entries everyday. I know that there are many bloggers who write 10/15/20 or even more entries each day and some of them are really successful. Well, I feel that I should read a lot first and thus I have been reading a lot for the last two years. I have been writing continuously since 1997 and it is almost 11 years now. I have written for newspapers, magazines, TV and radio, Internet. I have also done a lot of ghost writing. Still, I feel that writing it not that easy.
Of course, typing is very easy but writing is difficult. One reason may be that I mainly write in English language (second language). My mother tongue is Bangla but my working language is English and for the last 2 years, I had hardly written anything in Bengali. This is perhaps a big tragedy for many writers living in the third world countries. One of the problems that I often face while writing in English is that I find it extremely difficult to find a particular word or phrase at the right time. This struggle often takes the away the energy and interest and I have to try a lot to find my rhythm. Of course, if I do not care for quality then it is not a big problem but I try to maintain a minimum standard. At least, I like to believe that I do so.
I recently attended a fair in my city. There, I saw many companies showcasing their products. One thing I liked about the companies and it was that they were focused with their work. I guess that writers often distracted in life. Of course, writing is different from other works. You want to write something but you are not satisfied. You have thought a lot of and believed that you can write a masterpiece but then when you sit to writing then you lose your track. I guess that this matter happens to almost every writer. When I was younger, these things caused a lot of unease for me. Now, I have learnt to deal with this.
For pursuing the career of writing, I had struggled a lot in my life. In my darkest period, I got a lot of inspiration from the writing of Alex Haley. I am quoting from him:
Many a young person tells me he wants to be a writer. I always encourage such people, but I also explain that there’s a big difference between being a writer and writing. In most cases these individuals are dreaming of wealth and fame, not the long hours alone at the typewriter. You’ve got to want to write, I say to them, not want to be a writer.
The reality is that writing is a lonely, private and poor- paying affair. For every writer kissed by fortune, there are thousands more whose longing is never requited. Even those who succeed often know long periods of neglect and poverty. I did.
If you want to read the full essay, visit this link:
I am lucky that I was never a luxurious person in my life. I guess that this is the most difficult part of writing. It is not easy to sacrifice all the comfort of life and embrace tension.
In the end, writing is difficult because life is difficult.
