When we think of writers we think of fiction authors, popular novelists, scriptwriters, or storytellers. Well, there are innumerable varieties of writers, all equipped with their unique narrative styles. The whole writer spectrum includes people who weave intriguing pieces that you love to read on a lazy winter afternoon to people who scribble nonchalantly to come up with poignant love poems. Perhaps a writer is hiding in all of us. We just don’t often let them sneak out.
Peter Handke says, “If a nation loses its storytellers, it loses its childhood.” A writer, a storyteller is a voice for the voiceless or the ones whose voices are frequently clamped down on. A storyteller acts as a powerful tool in the course of a country’s political development. A writer has the power to evince the truth of our society. Some writings put us in an imaginary realm and help us escape our mundane lives for a while and experience the rich vastness of our imaginary world. The others give us a taste of reality in the crudest way possible. Both types of writers are equally valuable for society as they help in contributing not just to the literary-cultural indexes but also focus on current policies of the state.
Writers often have to face a lot of problems in the printing industry as well, especially as a novice. Contemporary writers often find it difficult to publish their works as the printing media prefer seasoned writers over newcomers who are experimenting with writing. In such a case, a writer often has to resort to self-publishing one’s book, the cost of which might be comparatively manageable but the back work is enormous. The editing, designing, and marketing of such pieces are often the responsibility of the author themselves. In all hubbub, a lot of interesting and revolutionary pieces land up in the trash. Thanks to technological advancements, you can upload and edit your eBook manuscripts on Kindle, that too for free. Publishing your writings is even easier these days with the introduction of thousands of technological platforms.
Another sector where the writer’s invaluable knowledge and skills are of utmost importance is the content developmental sectors. The expressive style of writers and the lucidity of content play a pivotal role in website development; the more engaging the content the more is organic traffic to the website. Yet these content creators are often poorly paid and on several occasions, exploited of their skills, energy, and time. Content quality is often a deciding factor in traffic generation yet writers and editors are not paid their due part. Some website owners insist writers on creating content as a ghostwriter, providing no recognition of their pieces. This often leads to degrading quality of writing because you only get what you pay for. Ironically enough, the value of a storyteller cannot be put to words or their value cannot just be monetized.
A writer’s dilemma
If I am asked why I write I would say I do so because I can’t think of not doing it. Writing has been my lingo. What I can easily put down in words I cannot seem to verbalize. I feel that my writings keep the suppressed voices in me heard and retain their rawness. It’s easier for me to channelize my thoughts through writing. The pieces I write might not make sense to me or would not be of high literary value but to me, it’s a confession of ideas closest to my heart. Surprisingly such writings often become a piece that helps in the release of emotions for people who read them. In that sense, no piece of writing is meaningless or worthless. Writings serve a purpose of their own, often the value of which isn’t quantifiable to all.
My pessimistic self often raises her eyebrows and enquires of me, are you writing the truth-truth? Or are you writing your truth? I frequently feel the pressure to hit the perfect harmony between being authentic to myself and the readers when I am writing. It becomes quite a tough task to remain objective and uninfluenced by the dichotomy of truth. There is no one truth and my truth is often your truth too and often it’s not. Writings come out majorly biased even with the conscious effort to remain neutral. But it’s comforting to know that a portion of the readers will be able to get help out of the piece in some form or the other. No writing piece is the ultimate truth or a refutable lie.
Writers can put exciting connotations to the blandest of our fantasies. Without poets, authors, novelists, and all sorts of writers, I believe this world would be a monochromatic canvas. Our colored thoughts would go to waste without them manifesting through words. A finished piece of writing is art. It is to be cherished and treasured, to be read and experienced. Unquestionably, writers provide us with unusual perspectives on ideas. Writings help bring people’s attention to humane matters of concern. As Gorge Orwell says, it is frequently an initial stage of getting an hearing from people to expose lies that circulate as a truth.
Young writers who want to tell their story should be encouraged by family as well as by the media so that a budding talent does not go to waste. The power of storytelling demands to be explored so the world is well-understood. The art of creative writing will die down if not valued enough. This is soon going to be bad news for all of us. Keep the writers in you alive.
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