A Side Order of Encouragement

Let the games begin!

Sirs and Madams,
This is Sanchit or Writer #3 from the first post on this blog. Hope you all read and liked that one.

As we said in our first post, this blog is all about writing for the heck of it; writing to put irrelevant thoughts out there and receive irrelevant thoughts back with the hope that at least someone somewhere will find it interesting or useful. Expect, perhaps frustratingly motley, but enthusiastic posts from us.

To introduce myself, I might be the nerdiest writer in the lot. I am a self declared Romanticist; my style of writing might seem preachy. I try to find meaning in everything I see around me and I write to inspire and move people. Sometimes I do it, other times I fail to achieve it. But I write nevertheless because it is not for me to decide how well I write, but for others. My job is to write. And so I shall.

In keeping with my belief to write without expecting applause, and my desire to encourage others to let out their creativity, I would like to share a poem I wrote, An Ode to the Human Flame.



This note is to all of you
All of you book readers, movie buffs, song lovers
All of you who have read something and found the strength to fend,
Who have watched a movie and never wanted it to end,
Who have heard a song and felt disconnected from the whole world for the moment;

All of you who have marvelled at someone's words,
Who have cried with your favourite character,
Who have found special meaning in a song that you heard
and felt that it was just for you;

All of you who have ever been moved by someone's thoughts,
Who have empathy in fiction sought
To whom these books and movies and songs have taught a certain truth of life;
You are special.

For you have read these books and watched these movies and heard these songs
And all of these have inspired you.

I beg you all, never let this die,
Let it live in you
And when someday you feel like writing a book, or making a film or singing a song
and you feel it might not be good enough,
Do it anyway.
For, I bet
Someone somewhere will read it or watch it or hear it
and smile as you did and cry  as you did and be inspired as you were.

It's a weight
passed on to you by those from whom you have been inspired,
And it is your part now to spread the flame and light up the world with your emotions.
And everyone will warm themselves to this flame
For everyone craves some heat and some light
And it doesn't matter how warm it is or how bright
A flame is a flame.

And deep down, we are all the same
And we all crave to understand and be understood,
To empathise and be empathised with,
To share a feeling with someone, even though you are separated by time and place.
To know what it is to be human.


Warmest Regards,
Sanchit Suri

First Post

This blog is a collaboration of three writers who have nothing in common but their inherent tendency of being insufferable know-it-alls.

In the following jumble of words which will pass off as our first post, we have tried to answer two symbiotic questions:

“What do I read?” and “What do I write?”

Caution: If you have started reading this post with great expectations of profoundly elaborate thoughts and soundly crafted opinions, kindly locate the little red cross at the top right corner of your screen and click it. Else, enjoy.

Writer #1:

Sushrut; struggling actor, only on weekdays.

Firstly, in my case, the term writer is used very loosely.  Some like to call it ‘no-nonsense’ writing and most refer to it as downright lazy. Very little effort or planning goes into what I write. Frankly, I am not passionate about it. Perhaps I write only when I feel like nobody in my direct contact wants to listen or when they only pretend to listen. I write only when I think an idea isn’t getting through when I speak about it.  Hence, my ramblings only share what I, as an individual, think about a particular topic or perhaps something I’ve experienced. I have never dabbled with story-telling for this exact reason. The idea that I must be in-charge of several characters that are part of the story and their vivid personalities sounds like too much responsibility. I guess it’s a simple case of lack of imagination. So, all-in-all, I write about stuff that I notice or experience on a daily basis and this blog aims to document the various things that either make me think or piss me off and often both.

As a child, I had a habit of reading one sentence as many times as required to completely understand its meaning. Therefore, I was most comfortable with literary material that just stated facts one after the other. I struggled with stories perhaps due to lack of imagination. Due to this, I spent many years avoiding literature of a fictional nature (or even material with vocabulary more advanced than mine).  Even now, I’m not one of those who get transported to a universe created by a book or a story or for that matter one who appreciates the beauty of a certain way of writing. Personally, I like books that make me think. So for example if I am reading a story, I look at it as if I am reading about a particular incident. Then if my mind starts to think of what comes next or tries to figure out what the writer is thinking about, it comes under good writing for me. I like to look for hidden meaning or allegories added by the writer. I guess it’s like reading between the lines regardless of the genre. Another facet of writing I enjoy is humour whether it is direct or implied.  I get very engaged in a piece of literature if it presents itself in a humorous fashion or even when it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Therefore, I must admit, my style of writing as well my trends in reading reflect my taste; slightly bland and simple.  

Writer #2:

Zinnia; struggling to fit into 10 words.

A good book is about as indefinable as a good friend. For some, a good book is one that makes them laugh. For others, it is one that helps them become a better person. For whoever’s left, it is one that forces them to think, to contemplate the way of things. For me, a good book is one that becomes a part of me. When the words I read worm themselves into the very core of my being and mould the way I live, or will live, that’s when I know it’s good writing. Doesn’t matter if it’s a frivolous comic or an intricate thriller; as long as the book makes me go, ah, I don’t think I’m ever going to be the exact same person that I was before I read this- it’s a good book. Screw that, it’s a great book.

I read anything and everything that makes me not want to throw the book out of the window and lock myself in a dark cupboard. Or vice versa.

What I write depends on what colour shirt I’m wearing. Or what I had for breakfast that day. Or even what day of the week it is. Point is, it varies. Randomly. One day, I could be writing about the meaning of life, next thing I know, I’m spouting crap about dead fictional characters. Whenever I feel like my head’s going to implode with the sheer magnitude of little thought bubbles, I pull up my keyboard or a pen and pour the words out in a massive, twisted mess. And try to salvage meaning from it. On the rare occasions that I do get a good idea, I stare at a blank screen for hours together before I cobble together something which doesn’t even remotely do justice to said idea. If I’m lucky. 

I write stuff that I would enjoy reading. I write things that would eventually consume me, if left unwritten. I write words that will do their best to make the reader fall in love with them.

Basically, I write for the sake of writing.

Writer #3:

Sanchit; struggling with struggling.

The reason for starting this blog, and any other form of writing, is to become a better writer. I am quite divided on what is the essence of good writing. I enjoy writers across genres and styles of writing. I sometimes find myself writing poems and at other times pontificating about current events. Nevertheless, there are certain things I like in writing of any kind. What the writer is putting across is definitely one of the most important parts of writing. People enjoy reading stories, looking through an eye-hole into another's perspective and escaping their own stodgy existence. I am most assuredly one of these people. But I feel literature that spins a beautiful story all the while subtly leading you to a valuable realization is much better than a simple tale. A good writer should have an interesting fictional (or non-fictional) story for the reader, no doubt. But he should also have something beyond that- a purpose to deliver a viewpoint to society. The greatest skill a writer can have is how uniquely or impressively he presents the viewpoint. Simply sermonizing to the reader is never gonna work. Presenting a fictional work or a compendium of anecdotes in an alluring and appeasing manner deserves applause. But if the writer is willing and able to use such a creation to convey an ideal or belief or value, that for me is a really good piece of literature. That way writing goes beyond simple entertainment and becomes something better. And while the writing and the message give you satisfaction, the vocabulary and the use of language is what seduces the reader. I'm sure some of you reading this will agree that there's a certain, perhaps egoistic pleasure in reading something very eloquent and ornately wordy. I for one love it when a book has me reaching for a dictionary. Excellent vocabulary is not just about using heavy, uncommon and recondite (I used this word to sate my desire for being wordy) words as much as possible, but using words that are the perfect choice from amongst their synonyms to use in the context. Figures of speech and detailed imagery may sometimes seem tedious, I confess, but it goes to show the dedication and thoroughness with which a writer presents something to his readers. Sure, conversational and simple writers are trendy and produce interesting reads. I myself enjoy colloquial and informal writings, from blogs to books. But, in my opinion, if a writer can spread his legs comfortably in the blanket of a language, he is indeed a good writer.
Like all fellow readers, I'm inspired to write like my favorite writers. I work towards it too, though it seems little more than a pipe dream to me. But regardless of whether I am awarded the Booker Prize some day or I live off the royalties brought in by my various bestsellers in the future, I definitely want to communicate better through my writing. I aspire to write literature that is erudite. each time I pen something down, I want it to show that I'm not talking about something vague; I want it to show a clear and well-constructed opinion that gets across to the reader effectively. Whether the reader likes it or not is up to the reader, but my vocabulary should do justice to my opinion and my opinion should do justice to the topic. Writing better for me is developing both my literary skills as well as a broader, more logical and erudite thinking. I want to write eloquently, and also write something that someone can read and connect to and empathize with. That is the most basic thing I intend to achieve.

So that was what we had to say on the topic. Keep reading this blog for more things we have to say, because we have a lot to say.

As always,

Present-and-Blogging.