Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. Musings from someone who sees stories everywhere.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

The Geo Drama, inside story

Today we celibrate India's Independence Day. Jai Hind!

Writers crave independence too, in their very own way. They do need the freedom and space to write, to be free from financial burdens and the muddled mess of the world.
Prominent magazines fold up every now and then, leaving faithful readers, and writers and staff, high and dry. Writing is, at best, a precarious existence. Many 'creative writers' focus their energies on writing magazine features, ad copy, brochures etc.  A handful of writers puruse their true passion, writing original novels and stories. There's nothing in it financially for most authors. Ocassional messages from delighted readers are the the author's sole reward. Gigs with magazines, tech writing, etc are often such passionate storytellers' sole lifeline to roti, kapda aur makaan. They slog away at such not-really-that-creative, but much more routine jobs, to find some space to write their original stories.

 People often accost us only to wheedle out free copies of our books. Fact is, we are not born into wealth, and we are rarely appreciated for puruing our creative interests despite all uncertainties and odds.


Payal Dhar, who has written several spellbinding novels to date, has been among those summarily cast aside when Geo magazine recently folded up. She "Decided there was no point festering, so I'd just write about it:"

Here's her take:http://writeside.net/scratchpad/what-happened-at-geo

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