Whenever I am in public or when reading articles about writing in newspapers or on the Internet, I find that writing as a profession is buried under murky waters. Any talk about writing is a great conversation stopper. Whenever somebody asks you gleefully, ‘oh, what do you do?’ and you say that you’re a writer, that sure puts a definite stop on the conversation and you stand there staring at a blank face. Nobody minds that, but I do mind when I read articles about writing in some of the leading newspapers because from there you expect something educating.
The gist is that most people are ignorant about the nuances of writing. Writing is generalized and there seems to be no knowledge about its various categories. Headings like – ‘Earn Rs.10,000 per month through writing’ or ‘It’s not vanity publishing, it’s self-publishing’ or ‘Your book can sell like hotcakes’ etc. irritate and sometimes disappoint me.
Of course, you can earn money through writing, but you need to understand what kind of writing that would be. Writing letters the whole day is writing, but that is what it is – letter writing. Yes, you can earn 10,000+ every month only if you write commercial articles the whole month. Anybody with good knowledge of English can earn good money through outsourcing nowadays. What’s the big deal?
There are many kinds of writings and there are numerous kinds of writers. It’s much like sports. Every player is a sportsman, but he plays only one game. It can be football, cricket, golf, billiards, hockey, boxing and so on. It is not fair to generalize comments and say that sportsmen make big money. All sportsmen don’t, cricketers do, tennis players do, but our hockey players don’t. The same is with writing. You’ve got fiction writers, non-fiction writers, technical writers, bloggers, ghostwriters, journalistic writing and so on.
In fiction we have: In non-fiction we have:
Horror writers Autobiography
Children’s writes Biography
Juvenile Historical
Sci-fi How-to
Adventure Self-help
Mystery Religious
Thriller Educational
Comedy
Fantasy
A writer, if he is not just writing for commercial purposes, can only be one of these. A literary writer will seldom write a sci-fi or a fantasy in her entire life. There is specialization in writing, as in every other profession. An accountant cannot be expected to do a manger’s job. But seeing people’s blank faces and media’s crappy articles, I must stick to – I write books, and keep my mouth shut.
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Hi Ashish,
Yes, all writers are learners, even the celebrity ones. Well, you can't compare the art with the personality of a writer. There are all kinds of personalities. Some writers like to be in the limelight, some don't. It's a personal choice.
About grammar, I don't think now there is such a problem. Writers are breaking rules all around. It's not like in the 19th century.
Literature is more about perception than good writing. Every kind of writing needs excellent writing. It's more about your choices and personality.
Thanks for coming by, Ashish.
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Hi Shruti,
Welldone!
But, I consider myself as a learner!
You are apt to pinpoint ,the generalisation of this tag!
But,writers are not obtuse human beings!
Yes! they donot hog limelights like their European or American counterparts. Somedo, while others slog a lot!
But, a thorough wordsmith is as powerful as a civilservant or corporate honcho!(e.g.,Jaipur Lit Fest)
One of the fallacies about writers is that they stick to grammar. Late Sham Lal, former editor of 'Times Of India', used to rue,"How grammar has taken over good content!"
Good content has nothing to do with grammatical laws!
That's why, we seek services of editors !
Afterall,they are paid for 'subbing' our rough drafts!
What makes you think- Arthur C. Clarke is not a literary writer!
John Grisham also writes well!
Good luck!
yours,
ashish
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Hi mehulkamdar,
Yes, you're absolutely right. I read you blog on this topic, and most of it makes sense. At least now, I hear that we in India are also getting literary agents like in the U.S. What a relief! I think India is catching on.
Hey, thanks a ton for coming by!
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India needs to have more writing courses at university level like they have in the US. There are good schools here that offer BFA and MFA programs in writing which are often chaired by eminent writers or have eminent writers as resource people and these are highly sought after programs with some of the best students applying to join them. Job opportunities are also high in the advertising, film and television industries even while people work on publishing books and it is possible for someone with a degree in writing to live a very comfortable life while working on books or on a pet ambition. There are also foundations like http://www.pw.org/ and http://www.writers.net/ which are excellent resources for anyone wishing to take writing up as a career or as a hobby. India could definitely do with something similar.
Cheers!
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Sauvik,
hmm...I see you on sulekha the most. Maybe it's I who disappear. I call it my hibernation.
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yep yep yep .. i know ... all u think about is writing .. ! i dont disapear but th epoint is that u ll have to search me at the right place ... lol... and u would always see old pals... :)
cheerio
sauvik
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Hey Tanushri,
Yes, it's the popular beliefs about writing that irk me a bit. But I don't socialize much so it's ok.
Thanks for dropping by!
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Thanks MayaAnil for taking time out to read this blog, and for liking it too.
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Hi Sauvik!
I sometimes check out your site. Yes, you do disapear! haha. I was surprised to see your comment here. I thought you were incredibly busy with your work. Anyways, thanks for writing in. It's great to see old pals again.
And yes, writing is all I think about.
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So right you are, an accountant cannot be expected to do a manager's job.....I agree.
Creative writing is not everyone's cup of tea...
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