How I began my writing journey:

     Hello to all readers and aspiring writers! This is my first blog on this platform and I hope I can interest you through this blog for a while! Here comes the question: How did I decide to become an author? Here is some information myself. I am Hamsa, a teenager attending her second year in college. My major is English Literature; a course I took out of pure passion (and a course that requires passion). The majority of jobs that attract this generation (or their parents) are either doctors, software engineers, or civil aspirants. Creative courses aren't valued by most of society as they are considered 'indignified' or 'less-paying' jobs. 

    And in search of a comfortable life, we decide to kill our passionate side. In favor of what others might think, we refuse to hear what we think. 

    Besides, being an author isn't always easy. One of my teachers said that it wasn't a stable job and thought that I was on the path of self-destruction. I cried about it for a while before deciding that what i wanted also mattered? I am not committing a crime. I took this path, fully aware of what the consequences are. But the fear that the teacher put inside me, that fear of not earning enough to survive every month frightens me. 

    But here is the deal; I always knew what my limitations were. 

    When I was a kid, probably six or seven, I watched the movie 'Interstellar'. And that amazing movie sparked my wish for me to become an astronomer. (Not the ones who tell the future, that's astrology. Even I was confused once.) But then, I realized that my career involved loads and tons of mathematics and physics. Two subjects that stood incomprehensible to me. So I had to skip that option then but my love for space facts remained concrete until this day. But this is where the journey began: 

    1. I used to read many magazines like 'Magic Pot', 'Tinkle', and 'Children's Magazine'. These were the most popular magazines for children at that time in India and my favorites. They contained stories submitted by people all over India, by all types of people from different age categories. They also included fun activities like crafting, scientific experiments (which don't involve chemicals exploding), etc. One fine Sunday morning, I decided to make a magazine of my own! I pulled out all the A4 sheets and colored pencils and began making that magazine. The fun thing is that it contained 10 pages and the person who finished all the activities I made was my sister. To this day, it serves as a memory of my creative side! 

    2. I was a huge lover of comics. Not the Marvel or DC comics, but the fun franchises from Tinkle. And then, I began drawing comics. They contained plots that were inspired by the various TV shows and cartoons I watched. Once, I made a comic called 'Galatic Force', a combination of the two most popular comic series (according to me). Whenever life throws lemons at me, I pull out the notebooks I drew my comics in, read, and have a good laugh about all the cheesy jokes I made. 

    3. I was in a 'Harry Potter' phase once. I bought the Time Turner necklace, a book containing all the spells in the series, and weirdly enough, wrote the words 'Harry Potter' a hundred times over to show off to my cousins. That was when I decided that I wanted to write a book too. But back then, I didn't even know what the word 'plot' meant. My other creative skills took over and I scrapped that idea. 

    4. Before the pandemic, I became obsessed with animations. That led me to create a YouTube channel, where I made these stories out of animating. The latter was hard but the former was easy. I made a list of all the ideas and stories I wanted to animate. During the pandemic, one of those ideas was a big success and gained over a million views on YouTube! My mother advised me to monetize it and I was able to make a good sum of money. 

    5. I began writing on Wattpad out of boredom and as a side hobby. What I didn't know was that it would remain the one hobby I was never bored of; writing. 

    6. Due to the worries in my education and other pressures, I had to quit making animations. But the book I had been writing since October 2021 was finally finished in 2024! Many times I tried to quit but knew better than that. I faced disappointment in reading unfinished works accidentally and didn't want to put my readers through the same pain.

    7. It was during the pandemic that I realized my passion for writing. I studied BiPC in 12th class and that meant that I was the orange in a basket of apples. Nevertheless, I never stopped writing and thinking about ideas. Out of all the creative hobbies I had, I realized that one thing had been common; creating stories and sharing them with the world. 

    8. It was in late 2022 that my obsession with fantasy and romance novels began. My library began expanding and my love for the fantasy genre grew bigger. 

    9. Over the last two years, I worked on three fantasy drafts. I had to stop one of them because I didn't have a clear idea of what to do with it. The second one was because I had grown tired of that story. Just when I participated in NaNoWriMo 2023, I found a sparkling idea. A trilogy series related to elemental magic and human emotions. 

    Over the last six months, I have been working on my current WIP. I finished writing the first draft within one month because of my love and interest in it. To preserve my interest in it, I took a vow that I would work on my novel and brainstorm about it every day. I watched several videos about writing and saw the growth of several authors in the industry. 

    The key? Never give up on your story. And the story wouldn't give up on you. 

    Fellow authors and writers, if you quit writing your draft midway, how can everyone know about your amazing idea? How can you serve justice to the story? Your drafts are proof of your persistence and passion! So, I implore you to never give up and fight writer's block with everything you got! If you really want it, you have to be willing to fight for it! 

One day, I hope that all of us will become successful in our writing journey, let it be a poem, novel, short story, or others. Remember that many writers in the world are pursuing the same field as you. 

    Don't let failure win. Let passion and resilience triumph over. 

Question of the day: How did your writing journey begin?