text: October 18th, 2021 Not sure how to start this. Should I go Dear Diary? It sounds silly but that is exactly what this is going to be. My very own diary, my journal, my thoughts, my life...maybe someday, my memoir. I want to remember this day forever. The day I decided to teach myself to write. Again. Writing makes me feel alive. Just read an article where the author says ...Writers write. Doesn't matter what they write. Just put the pen on paper and keep it moving. Or just keep typing away on a computer or your phone. So, if I can't write a story yet, I can start my journal. Type my thoughts and talk about my day. So many things I want to do but there is so little time. Before I know it ...the day is over. I have to be up again with the same routine. Cook, clean, exercise ..but now I'm adding something to it. Learn to write for kids, and then start writing. Research, study writer's market. I won't have time to breathe. I can feel the excitement building again. Like I have found myself one more time. The quick memo is going to be my favorite companion. Here's the fun part. I carry my phone with me everywhere. I can just open it up and start writing. Life ...here I come. Look at how much I have written already. Shweta and Amber have entered my head again. Maybe Gaurav and Shekhar will start whispering too. Four of my favorite characters. The product of my very active imagination. They are always there at the back of my mind. They keep revisiting over and over again. A story or two, refusing to leave me alone. Who knows ...that day might be coming soon. Meanwhile ...it is exciting to be excited about something ...again!! October 19th, 2021 Dear Diary, I have often wondered what makes a story an awesome, relatable story. This morning while watching a TV show, I realized the role that a character plays in a story. I found myself almost switching off the TV because something bad was going to happen to the character that I follow. I realized that it was not the story I liked so much. In fact, it was to the character in the story that I felt an attachment. The thought of something bad happening to her was too much for me to take. For those few seconds, I became her and something bad was about to happen to me. Such is the power that a writer can have over the reader. Such is the kind of power I would like to give my characters. The reader should be able to identify themselves with the characters of a story. When they read something, their mind should go, "Oh yeah! This is exactly how I would feel!" I have come across so many interesting characters over the years that I have read books or watched shows and movies. More than the story, the characters stayed with me. Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice is one such example. She is everything that I ever want to be as a human being and as a woman. Everything she says and does makes me smile and think...I want to be her. And so does Arundhati ...from the TV show that I watched today. The two female characters are polar opposites and yet I identify with them both. That is the power of a writer. And as Arundhati moves forward to becoming an Elizabeth, I am with her every step of the way ...cheering for each and every step that she takes. Secretly, someday, I hope to be an Elizabeth too. October 27th, 2020 Dear Diary, Writers write. A little something that I need to keep reminding myself. It is hard to remember it when your day is so full of other non-writing activities. Cooking, clearing the sink full of dishes, laundry, picking up and dropping off kids from one activity to another. Every time I sit down to write, there is some other activity that seems more pressing and more important than this. Like, right this minute, even as I am tapping away at my cell phone, my mind is showing me pictures of my full sink. Before I begin clearing that, the dishwasher gives me the stink eye. How will you load me when I'm not empty yet? And then there's the matter of that pesky treadmill, all the way down in the basement, but sitting at the top of my head. Isn't it time for exercise ...it whispers into my ears? Do you see what I'm doing right now, dear diary? I'm writing ...even as I complain about not having time to write. Sometimes it is as simple as that. Just take out the quick memo on your phone and start tapping at it. Some other times, it is a whole other story. Life is filled with so many of these little and big obstacles. And the irony is that these very obstacles to writing can become an inspiration to write someday. Ask any writer to talk about the various responsibilities that come in the way of their writing ...they can easily write a whole book on it. There's an idea ...a book on a writer's life. The inside story. Many people have asked me what goes on in my head when I write something. Sometimes it feels like there is someone sitting in there dictating the whole thing. The words, phrases, and sentences popped out one after the other. The process is so smooth and so much fun that I end up feeling guilty. Work should not be fun. Work can not be fun. You certainly should not be paid for something that is so much fun. Not that I'm getting paid millions for this. But I hope to ...someday ...in the not-so-distant future. Writing about the process of writing can be fun too, right? And who knows ...this could one day be on the best seller's list. A journey into the writer's mind, a book to be read by all those upcoming writers. Not a teaching book. Just a book that goes through the ups and downs of a writer's life. It is lonely being a writer sometimes. Especially when you are doing the actual writing. It would be nice to get a glimpse into the triumphs and struggles of a co-writer. It might even give you a sense of community. I could just keep writing ...on and on. After all, writers write. November 5th, 2020 Dear Diary, It has finally happened! It has been the most productive week of my life! I have been writing like a crazy person. Have no clue if it is really worth anything. But just the act of typing words on my computer has been so worth it. My characters are speaking to me, and letting me get a glimpse into their world. These are the times I fall in love with my life! What is it about these characters that make me feel so alive? I know they got created so recently in my imagination. And yet, I feel like I have known them forever. I laugh when I make them laugh. I cry when I make them cry. I go through every twist and turn of their life as if they were my own. Is it just me or does every writer/creator feel this way? Is it even possible not to be attached to your creations? After all, they are pretty much like your baby, aren’t they? Crazy or not, this is the truth for me. I got so involved in their lives that I needed to take a break from their story. They were beginning to take over my life. I needed to come back to the reality of my life. Maybe that’s why some writers have more than one project going on at a time. I’m so glad I have my faithful diary waiting patiently for me to scribble on its pages. I don’t know what I would do without you. December 5th, 2020 Dear Diary, Have you been missing me? I sure have missed you like crazy. Between my personal life challenges and the challenges faced by the characters in my book, (of late it has become hard to distinguish between the two) it has been the craziest month of my life! This was a month of sickness for me and my family. My son came home with a virus and very kindly shared it with his whole family. He has taken this sharing lecture that I gave him a bit too seriously. I probably forgot to mention that it was okay not to share germs. I have to keep in mind to be more specific when I decide to give him any advice in the future. But the good news is that I decided to share this challenge with the characters in my book. They are not very happy with me at this moment. Between the sniffles and sneezes, one of my characters threw in some not-so-nice words at me. Words that I can’t really share with anyone. I have got to say this, I really am in love with this girl that I helped create. She is everything that I couldn’t be as a child. I was a scaredy-cat and so obviously this girl has to be the bravest kid on earth. It makes me feel powerful that I can mold my characters any way that I want. Writing is such a powerful tool. If you are feeling miserable, just put in some happy scenes in your work. If you are a bit too happy, add in a few sad scenes to balance out the feelings. Uhmmmm ...maybe it is supposed to be the other way? December 25th, 2020 Dear Diary, I can’t breathe. I feel like the words are stuck in my throat. They tell me that it is a terrible case of writer’s block. I have had this before, but nothing of this magnitude. And the story had been flowing so well. I was getting dreams of my characters doing and saying things. I would wake up in the middle of the night and start typing as if my life depended on it. I started getting weird looks from my family and even my friends thought I was behaving oddly. But, I didn’t have a care in the world. As long as the words kept flowing, all was well with my life. And then the dreaded event happened. I slept through the night! Not a single dream. The characters just stopped whispering. It’s like they just disappeared off the face of this earth. I woke up the next morning, feeling fresh and miserable! Now they tell me that I should go for a walk or something. It is supposed to help with unblocking the block. All I want to do is find a corner on my couch, get a giant bowl of chocolate ice cream and sob away my day. I extremely dislike writer’s block!!!! December 30th, 2020 Dear Diary, The chocolate ice cream helped! It helped me gain 5 pounds in one week. I checked my weight this morning and almost fell off the scale. But it also cheered me up a bit. I spent the next two days visiting parks, zoos, and museums with my son. He was so shocked at the quality time he was getting with his dear old mom. It is quite possible he thought that this was going to be a forever thing. The poor kid had no clue that after two days of non-stop activities with me, his dream would come to an abrupt end. It all started at the museum. I was staring at this painting apparently drawn by some kid, and a fleeting thought crossed my mind. As my son chattered on about what he was seeing, I was desperately tuning him out so I could hold on to that idea that could move my story forward. Here is a funny thing about inspiration ...it always seems to hit when you are least prepared for it. I had left my notepad in the car, and I was standing empty-handed in the middle of a nice museum. I almost screamed out loud that day. And then I remembered, my trusted phone was in my bag and it came with a quick memo. As I furiously jotted down my thoughts, my son gave me this sad look. He knew the days of mommy and me were over as quickly as they started. January 15th, 2020 Dear Diary, I did it! I started a story and actually managed to finish it. There is a beginning, middle, and end to the story. I fell in love with my characters as I created them. I felt happy when they achieved something and mourned their losses with them. It has been an amazing journey from start to finish. No human has yet set their eyes on it, and I feel like I have achieved something great. Is this how it feels when a writing project gets completed? Does every writer feel this way? To see those words on your computer screen ...THE END. I don’t think there are any words that look and sound as awesome as those words. I never thought this day would come so quickly. I remember those horrible few days when the words had stopped being my friends. I never ever want to go through that again! But those days will come again. New storylines will develop and new characters will take birth. I will make new friends and there will be days when they stop communicating. But the real magical part is how things always seem to work out in the end. And you have been my friend, my companion through it all, my darling diary. I wouldn’t have made it through this if I didn’t have your support. Now editing beckons me. But I will be back before you know it. I will be back to laugh, cry, celebrate and vent. I will be back to bicker and complain. I will always keep coming back to my loyal companion ...