Thursday, February 5, 2015

The Almost Promise

And I am back with half meaning promises of being more regular with this blog. But when you're churning out way too many articles for the popular website you work for all day, the writing section of your brain is exhausted by the time you get home.

The thing with not having written (for yourself) for a while is that the struggle to express oneself becomes far too real. But here I am with my almost promise. My life could be a series of 'almosts'. The time I almost went for a jog, the time I almost got laid, the time I almost fell in love, the time I almost didn't cheat, the time I almost cried, the time I almost laughed... you get the gist, right?

This teacher (friend?) had told me when I got my job at the website that if I don't continue writing for myself on the side, the website's voice will become my natural voice. And no one wants that. Least of all, me! I made an almost promise then. Evidently enough, I couldn't stick to it.

Recently, I met Vir Das for an interview. When I asked him if he had tips for aspiring comedians, one of the things he told me was that a comic needs to write each and every single day. Even if it is for a small amount of time, but the process of writing (it IS a process) must happen each and every single day.

Now I am no aspiring comic, unless you count the times I have been told  I should try my hand at stand up by my friends, after their fourth drink, but I see what Vir means completely. You don't necessarily need to be a good writer to be a good storyteller, but you can't be a good writer, unless you're a good storyteller. And who are we, but our stories?

Which brings me to yet another almost promise of mine. This time, the promise isn't about writing, it's about storytelling. Let's see if this one will see the light of the day...

From Drafts

I sometimes miss being in unrequited love to text them to overthink their text to romanticize every moment to actually dream about them...