Writing is like a ‘lust,’ or like ‘scratching when you itch.’ Writing comes as a result of a very strong impulse, and when it does come, I, for one, must get it out.

– C.S. Lewis

Writing is difficult! Not for everyone, but for some of us, it is! Last Friday, I wrote my first post for Sowers titled Technology: Challenge to Bridle. To be honest, it took a LOT of effort to complete it. I write, but it generally lacks structure. (Ironically WordPress suggests the readability of this post is good!) I am a thinker-scribbler. I usually scribble on my notepad straightaway as things keep coming to my mind about how I feel about incidents, or situationships, or some wage rebuttal about the arguments on ideas I may have had with people. Scribbling comes to me naturally to me, but writing it’s difficult. When I first entertained the idea of writing this post, I began with the least of five different ways I could do it. Every time I would pick one route, I would take a completely novel direction. I would then delete everything and start again on a fresh note. But every time, I would end up losing the point that I intended to take in the first place. One of these days, Ashmita and I were walking back to our respective places after work. On the way, we were talking about my writing style, and she said that I write exactly the way I think. She even illustrated it with an example: Le Writer: “Once upon a time, there was a boy, standing under the blue sky.” Le Me: “There is a boy. This is a story from some time. The sky is blue under where he is standing.” (You see how the sky becomes blue in writing only when you mention it?) What she meant is, I pen down words exactly the way they come to my mind. Of course writing is very different from thinking. You articulate and re-frame thoughts as you pen them down. You aim for structure along the way. I could relate to what she said. I don’t just write the very words I think but also continue writing till the time I find out that I am far away from the point where I started. This usually happens while thinking. I also sometimes think it is because of my weak vocabulary or lack of presenting skills. These are the issues that I have identified in just one week of formal writing which I’ll work upon. It’s hard but I did ended up writing my first post; didn’t I? Once the post was up, I had this feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction which I loved. Some people have this talent of writing in them, that when they write it flows from them. But, others, like me, are not born with it but have this desire to write. We try to learn to express what we think, by writing. This process of learning will take time, and will get better and evolve over time for the better. I’m on a journey to learn and do better. Writing not coming as naturally to me is just an aspect of how things are with me. Of course it is not the whole picture. What is it that does not come naturally to you while you desire so much to learn? Are you working on it? Are you tirelessly stretching? Can you identify where you are taking the other road? What is it that one cannot achieve!