How and why I became a writer

How and why I became a writer

How do I become a writer? After five successful years of writing and several projects and articles to my credit I was in a reflective mood.

Though a voracious reader I never tried writing. After my post graduation I started working as a proof reader in a publishing house. I corrected proof after proof and was blissfully unaware of all the problems related to writing. But somehow the ambience and the constant interaction with the writers slowly embedded the writing skills in me.

Years rolled by. I wanted money very badly. I was waiting for my long awaited pay hike and it was nowhere to be seen. One day fed up with my pathetic condition I headed straight to my editor’s room and presented my poverty. He just brushed aside my wails and said, “You won’t be getting a hike in the near future. Forget it. Consider yourself lucky that you are still here. People with your talent should be thrown out and they are still tolerating you. I don't know why." I knew that he never minced his words but it was the first time it got so personal. I gulped back my tears and returned home humiliated and sad.

After a furious down pour of tears I sat on my computer. I watched it sadly. I knew that I have to let it go. I have not paid a single instalment of the loan. I turned it on and entered into the magic world of internet. It was another meaningless luxury for me. I heard that internet provided several job offers and I was trying to get one. But it never materialised. I surfed blindly and at that instant landed straight on a job opportunity. It was content writing. I have to write about some card game. In my small world I never came across card game and my knowledge was a big zero. But I decided to give it a try and that night I surfed through various sites and collected some information about the game Bingo. I wrote an article on Bingo and mailed it. It was accepted and soon I became a content writer. My remuneration was meagre since I couldn’t write much. Still I was happy.

But success proved elusive. All the next set of articles was extremely difficult. I struggled hard to meet the dead line and was always late. My long distant boss was at first kind but slowly turned irritable. I worked all night and was sleepy at the office too.

“Why are you here? Go home and sleep”. My editor barked at me one day. I tried to concentrate on the proof guiltily.

After submitting a bunch of articles I waited for the payment. That month it amounted to a substantial sum and I was delirious. But the real blow was yet to come. “Plagiarism” the mail screamed and I was numb with terror. My boss was in a foul mood. All the words I picked up from other articles due to my ignorance of the card game gave me away.

I lost all the money and lost the job too. He kicked me out.

I was in a spell of gloom for nearly two weeks and then one day I again turned on the system and searched for another opportunity. This time I was more cautious, mature and proceeded slowly. I selected topics carefully and wrote and rewrote. I fought with sleep and fatigue, always raced against time but somehow successfully finished each project.

After a year of agonizing, back breaking work I have started earning really well.

I continued my proof reading job and never asked for a hike after that. I am receiving a handsome amount through my writing. I am now a confidant young woman who relies on her own talent and ability.