Taking a Break

Why I haven’t written a new blog in over 4 months, and why I probably won’t for much longer.

I love to write.

Something in my core just lights up like pine trees on Christmas when I finally compose a decent sentence. A sentence that was once a mere thought, purposeless, lingering in the air. But I have somehow (with my magic, of course) turned it into something physical, purposeful, and a truthful expression of my thoughts. Sentences make paragraphs, paras multiply, and before I know it, I have a coherent piece of writing.

There are many ways to express ourselves — by speech, music, dance, or literally any other art form. Yet, nothing comes close to expressing my mind’s honest worldview than writing it down. In this magical way, not only can I share my knowledge and experience. But I can finally breathe life into stories, a thing I have always dreamed of doing since I was a kid. To me, stories make the experience of life worth living.

There is a reason that people forget plain facts, but they remember stories. Yes, they are magical.

So, why in the world would I ever want to stop that?

Why stop writing?

Growing up, I always wanted to live in a Richie Rich-type house (who didn’t?) — A gazillion friends with a theme park in my backyard. A whole McDonald’s sitting inside my room, and the best, a chocolate fountain to drink from whenever I craved. I waited for my parents to say, “You passed the test, son! Actually, we are very rich.”

But what I needed (and what I am thankful for) were a bunch of close friends with whom I have priceless memories. (One of them became my lovely wife!) What I needed were cousins and siblings that irritated and loved me too damn much, and a family that was (and is) always there for me no matter what. Back then, my feeble mind never dared to know the difference between want and need.

Now, I do.

There are many spectacular things I want to pursue regarding my blog (and I will come back to it when I can). There is a document full of topics I wish to explore in unique ways. But my current needs say that I have to take a breather from it. I’ve been doing this for the past few months, and I have to do it for much more.

I am not taking a break from writing entirely, but from writing articles here so I can devote myself to honing my story writing and world-crafting skills (and finally, be good enough to publish books one day!). After all, for the first time in my life, when I had the uncontrollable urge to write, it was to script a story vigorously bouncing in my mind onto a page.

Stories are what got me writing, what got me here. And with you as my audience, they can help me reach way beyond.

Some of the greatest life lessons I have ever learned were from stories, such as:

1. The unimaginable hardships that my grandparents went through. Yet they came out on top, raising many generations. Because of their forward-thinking and sheer determination, I am here, enjoying certain privileges.

2. Astonishing real stories of everyday-life heroes who fought (and still fight) astronomical odds to save lives. Some even devoted their entire lives to the greater good, teaching me selflessness.

3. Coming to fiction, I learned about love and friendship from Bollywood classics like Dil Chahta Hai and Kal Ho Na Ho. Even a timeless fantasy epic like Lord of the Rings (LOTR): Fellowship of the Ring showed what a selfless (and loyal) companion Samwise was to Frodo. The Harry Potter series is also worth mentioning here. (And so many more!)

4. Inspirational works like Rocky (1976), Lagaan, Chak de India!, and Dangal taught me how one deals with failures and overcomes them.

5. Sci-fi works like Interstellar, The Martian, Gravity, Dune (both the film and book), and 2001: A Space Odyssey expanded my horizons of what a story could be. It displayed that hope, survival, and perseverance of the human spirit can be unbreakable, traveling beyond the clutches of space-time.

6. The Dune trilogy also showcased (among many other things) how prophecies can be dangerous. While the entire saga of LOTR circles around the one all-powerful ring to rule them all, shadowing the themes of greed and corruption.

7. And didn’t we all first learn to never give up from a crow? It was thirsty but couldn’t reach the water inside the pitcher. So, it dropped pebbles inside and the water rose. Similarly, our young, high-pitched voices recited “Slow and steady wins the race!” as the moral of The Hare & the Tortoise story.

Undoubtedly, these stories made me understand what simple words never could. It’s why I fell in love with them, why I want to write them, and become better at crafting them. In my attempts, I have published some original short stories here (fiction). They aren’t masterpieces, but I am still proud of them. (Links are shared at the end.)

Apart from stories, I always had (and still have) ideas on thought-provoking topics I have shared over articles. From The Beauty of Lies, Need of Boredom, to Why is Motivation a Big Struggle, Death of Criticism, I am grateful to all who have read and shared their opinions. Thank you from the deepest trenches of my heart. Your actions speak louder than words!

All this makes me exceptionally proud of my work here. But now, I should take a break from it.

Why?

Time.

I said in my previous blog “Nature is the greatest equalizer.” But I realize that Time can be the cruelest organizer. Managing time is a game of ever-changing priorities, and they have definitely been changing lately.

From the fact that writing isn’t paying my bills (and probably won’t for long) to that I recently got married (Alhamdulillah! I am extremely grateful for it) — time is rocketing by like a bullet train! I am up to a point where whatever free minutes or hours I get, deciding where to devote it becomes a chore in itself.

So, in that spirit, my priority had to shift to writing fiction (and working on novella-length projects of the same). It’s the reason I ever began writing in the first place.

The sun has to set somewhere for it to rise in another.

So…

What’s next?

Writing does come easy to me, yet it can be the toughest job in the world. I would be working on something for over 6 months, a year or two (or even more), with nothing to show for in the end. I may have learned valuable lessons along the way, but I can never know if this will pay off the way I want it to. This is the life I am in for as a writer, one that I dearly love. (And sometimes loathe.)

So, what’s next?

A whole lot of uncertainty.

Things I am working on will someday need a beta audience to read and review (once it is read-worthy and finished, of course). This platform should come in handy. Because everything comes back to the reader. You can let me know my overlooked blunders, novice mistakes, or something that was pleasing to read for a change. If it’s not good, out the window it goes!

Besides this, I don’t know when I will publish a new full-fledged article here. It could be 4–5 months, less, or even more. But what I know (without a doubt!) is that I will never forget the support and encouragement I got from you all. It. Was. Incredible!

And I only wish for this support to keep coming 🙂

Thank you for sticking with me, and I wish great health to you and your family.

Just before you go, please let me know which of my blogs was your favorite (if any). And as I am always looking to read something new, comment your suggestions below. Fiction or not, it doesn’t matter. I would love to hear from you!

Until next time…

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thank you so much for reading!

Please leave your thoughts in the comments below. I would really appreciate it!