Two Roads Diverged In Yellow Wood And I (also) Took The One Less Travelled.

Despite being aware of these thorny truths, why did I choose to be a writer?

Literature is really enigmatic and fascinating. It was summer and the first day of my 9th standard. My English teacher, full of enthusiasm taught this poem "Two roads diverged in yellow wood" by Robert Frost.

I could literally see the infectious passion for literature in her eyes.

And God-damn! The way it was written literally awestruck me.

Hitherto, I was an avid reader since my childhood but that class had deeply inspired me and for the first time, I just fell in love with literature.

Journey from avid reader to aspiring writer.

"There’s no money in poetry, but then there’s no poetry in money either." - Robert Graves

Hey! How are you doing?

Hello! I am doing well.

What is your profession?

I am a writer (author).

Ok. But I asked about your profession. I think writing could be a passion but a profession!

What’s the first thought, whenever you think of writing as a career?

• Mostly discouragement from family.
• Unstable career path.
• Irregular income.
• Stagnation in growth of life.
• Hardships and sometimes even poverty.
• Stack of rejections from publishers.
• Criticisms by readers.
• Anxiety and depression stories of struggling writers.

These are the most common themes in the biographies of successful authors.

And these made me really perplexed.

1. Should I pursue this path?
2. Will I be able to make a living out of it?
3. How will I stand out with my craft?

My breakthrough from these (stupid) questions.

In this turmoil, I was reading about biographies of established authors and got these.

• “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” - Toni Morrison
• “Write what should not be forgotten.” - Isabel Allende
• “Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.” - Natalie Goldberg

These authors also faced the same turmoil but the difference between them and me was just that they figured out the reason to follow this path which was more stronger than these perplexing questions.

And then, I poured my mind, heart and soul to just figure out my own reason and my goodness! After constant probing here it is.

Journey from aspiring writer to writer.

You must be confused. What the hell is the difference between an aspiring writer and a writer?

You may be thinking that maybe one is a published writer and the other one is still struggling to get published.

Well this is not but there is one difference.

For aspiring writers the passion is like a sudden volcanic eruption. But for a writer the passion is like a perennial stream of river.

“If you wait for inspiration to write you’re not a writer, you’re a waiter.”- Dan Poynter

And that is my reason I choose to be a writer.

The passion of writing I felt in that English class is still the same, rather growing despite problems in this path.

I drench in happiness and peace in this very process of writing.

“All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” - Ernest Hemingway

There are hundreds of reasons to not follow the path but you only need that one reason to power your passion.