Things about writing that no one else would tell you about….

Most of the people who are doing their PhD, are intending to be in academics, where what they talk in the classroom will be more important than what they write. Ironically, still, to be able to qualify to be become an academician, you should have done your PhD.

Only when you start your PhD degree do you realise that writing, which is integral to research, is no way similar to passing an exam. Though, for all your previous academic endeavours, it has been the requisite for a successful journey.

You would find a great deal of advice online and offline, about how and what to write, but first thumb rule to adopt for life is, that one never really becomes an expert writer. You keep practicing and you keep improving. That is the journey of a writer.

If you are a parent, then I can tell you that writing has some similarities to parenting. Like, only after becoming a parent, do you realise what it means to be one, only after starting to write, can you know what it means to become a writer.

Still there are a few things about being a writer, which no one would ever tell you about. Here are they:

• The medium that you start using to write becomes your addictive medium and it is very difficult to switch over mediums. Like, if you are a pen and paper writer, you may find it very difficult to move to a computer to write and vice versa.
• Once the writer bug in you is awakened, and you are involved in it in body, mind and spirit then it shows everywhere. From body aches to arm twitched arms, your brain starts to stay unaligned with your body clock. You may get the best of ideas at the wackiest of hours.
• If you are a professional writer, you also got to be a professional digital trouble shooter. With so many software and bugs that are present in the virtual world, and to add to that being able to handle formatting, editing and other concerns on the machine, you got to be not just good at the creative part. Have your technical antennas also ticking.
• Writing is exhaustive, physically yes but mentally too, equally. So much of creative exploration of your mind tires it and you need to give time to both, to rejuvenate and come back in their productive best state.