A Year on Medium; No Secrets, No Regrets but a Shout-Out

My experience as an amateur writer

A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit — Richard Bach, American author (1936 — )

I have lived life at my own gentle pace, and if as a result, I have failed to get to the top of the mountain

(or of anything else), it doesn’t matter,

the long walk has brought its sweet rewards; buttercups and butterflies along the way - Ruskin Bond, Indian writer (1934 — )

During 2020, the entire world was under distress and I was no exception hoping COVID will be eliminated soon. A year on, we have some relief from the virus.

We lived with hope, and hope brought back life. Yesteryear is now a promising year of JOY. Let us lock our hands with a spirit, making our world wonderful again.

Coincidently, during this painful year, I wanted to use my extra time cheerfully, and I joined Medium.com not knowing much about it.

A year on, I shout out my experience as an amateur with no secrets and regrets. It’s my journey in the world of professional writers.

During the year 2020, initially, I published some posts directly on the medium which were not well attended, discouraging me to write. Further, more than half the time I remained offline, largely caught with my professional work.

Sometime in the latter half of March 2021, R. Rangan Ph.D. introduced me to Science and Soul which encouraged me to post few articles. Recently I published a post in Illumination too.

I am sure there are many like me; lacking time due to office or domestic duties. If there is a desire, inclination, flare, idea, motivation, etc. please find space and time to write. Who knows when we will hit a jackpot to realize the dream?

As an amateur writer what I learned is (views are personal);

We should snatch every enjoyable moment of life, be with nature, family, pets, friends, movies, music, success, etc… Rejoice in the gravity of warmth. Such happy moments are the buds blossoming into creative articles.

Feel every sad moment of life, be it failure or problem. Yes, I mean, it makes us strong, empathetic, and compassionate people towards the needy. It doesn’t hamper our success instead elevates our self-esteem. We can share the meaningful message through acts and there is a flow of compassion in the writing.

Start reading others' work, feel the depth of the words and trace the sensation between the words. It is also a seed for new ideas. We should draft in our head what to write. This is a moment of solitude to realize creativity. As Virginia mentioned,

Read a thousand books, your words flow like a river- Virginia Wolf, English writer (1882- 1941)

Start writing from what is called scraps, what comes to mind and we can always edit it. Feel, the freedom to express mood, emotions, thoughts, experiences, in a nutshell, what we want to say positively.

Write what should not be forgotten- Isabel Allende, American writer (1942-)

Writing is for self-satisfaction, it’s a self-gift, a reward. Writing is a reflection of our mind, mood, and soul. As we practice, skills develop to become better writers, a feather in our cap.

Focus on the desire than on success, and the dream will spread its wings. Don’t wait for perfection, then the time will pass.

While writing, there is always a doubt of rejection and bad comments. True, let’s not allow our interest to be quenched by somebody’s remark, opinion and rejection.

Let’s stand up to colour our dreams

Start with what is right for you than what is acceptable- Franz Kafka, German writer (1883–1924)

Once in a golden hour I cast to earth a seed Up there came a flower The people said, a weed ― Alfred Tennyson

As revealed by Tennyson, it is neither the fault of the flower nor the gardener but that of the people to call a flower a weed. Going a step further, I would say, do not contempt a weed. It has a great message too in one of my posts. Damn it, it’s a weed.

Finally, success comes from a daring beginning

During my association, I have encountered many excellent, prolific writers and I had some communication with them especially Vishnus virtues. I enjoyed reading many posts. Some readers sent me encouraging and meaningful responses. These relations are real wealth.

Special thanks to @Dr Mehmet Yildiz, Amy Marley, Amy Pierovich, Ed.D., Anthi Psomiadou, Alireza Zare, Cooking at Home, David Rudder, Dr Mehmet Yildiz, Francine Fallara, Gurpreet Dhariwal, Jenine bsharah baines, kurt gasbarra, Paulina Larocca Creative Catalyst, Princess Carrie Graham, R. Rangan PhD, Rachel Ramkaran (she/her), Ruchi Thalwal, Simran Kankas, Rebecca Romanelli, Susannah MacKinnie, Synthia Stark, Terry Mansfield, Vidhipssa Mohan, Vishnu*s Virtues, Warren Brown

Thank you for reading. Tara Desai