Walking Tall …a note to life

Life is as sweet as it is painful. The more is joy as there is sorrow. And yet, despite it, life is poignant, and it is the very smell that the short stay makes us breathe. In this interval, we walk a many steps…growing with it; as we leave behind our crawling days and walk tall in the years that it follows. Walking tall, we cherish many a moments and regret a few that fuels us with guilt every time they are remembered. When life is meant to be cherished, I say, why reminisce those down times and repent our deeds which now are a part of the history? Love is what you are to cherish, and with it, the fine days of friendship which are and were full of funny talks, pleasant thought, and trustworthy bonds.

Life however is not just to be taken as a source of amusement, wonder and awe. It also should be taken as a learning stage for indeed life is a colossal university without any prescribed text books to study. It is a school where one learns as they do their deeds. It is the ultimate test of our conscience, morality, perspectives and differences in order to survive the harsh course time overpowers us, making us frail as we scream in agony, surrendering with a white flag saying, “Oh! Stop it, it’s too much. I can’t take more of it!” And yet, you’re white flags, no matter how many you show matters. It is your test, and you have to pass it, and there’s no way out. In universities, your exam time would end in a few hours, but not here. One is constantly put in to test. Probably that is why Charles Darwin said, survival of the fittest!

Life is full of deeds, categorized as either good or bad. There is no “middle” deed that carries equal parts of good and bad; balancing the latter with the former. From the good deeds, we get encouraged and try best the next time as well. Contrary to it, from the bad deeds, we learn not to repeat those actions again. It is from the latter that you are to learn the most. After all, one just didn’t say that “failures are the pillars of success!” If the former were to be the truth, one would have rather said that “achievements are the pillars of success!” The drawback of the aforesaid statement is that, were it to be true, one would never learn, and life, undoubtedly would have one in vein! Shedding of light more on achievements, to me, would reap in people more pride than making them humble enough to confess and apologize the wrong doings. I have never learnt a thing from my formal academics than this informal school of experience has taught me. Despite the turbulent times I’ve faced time and again, never has it been futile. I have learnt something now and then and it is this very essence that has made my life worth living. In spite o the poignant smell, it amazingly instills a charm of itself. With the ensuing years that I have been living, the poignancy has lured and attracted me the most by it’s poignant charm! No wonder I exclaim at the thought of life in joy for I know, this is the only life I have and will ever live. I do not know if there is life after death. However, I wish it be for this life isn’t enough for e to do anything. Moreover, it is not enough for me to write for endless hours praising its glory that I now have started to admire!

I love my life for it has given me many things I otherwise wouldn’t have been entitled for. Of most, it gave me my parents and sister whom I love the most. likewise, it also gave me my friends, who are dear to me, and a girl I love dearly, someone I never wish to au revoir. Moreover, it also gave me creativity and words that has now helped me praise it, along with my sincere note to thank life and God as well for giving a soul to my body by which I now live my life. I love my life and everyone that are a part of me because I know, and thus I believe that without them, I wouldn’t have been who I now am, and without me, neither would they have been themselves because everyone aids the other; making them or destroying them.

Creative Writing

“Write Creatively! You’re writing just dull”, many of us are likely to hear. Consequently, we all want to write creatively. However, as soon as we grab a piece of paper and pen, we start staring at it, puzzled; not knowing what to write. Some might put in a few sentences and just throw it away, while others might just sit and think “creatively” so as to write creatively.

Here are a few of my personal tips. I hope that it works!

Imagination is the key for creative writing. Creativity is unpredictable. Therefore, do not sit to write creatively. It takes shape when you are unconscious, or when you are least expected to create a creative idea.

Unlike essays and articles that you want to write for the university assignments or publish in papers, you do not have to follow a particular pattern for creative writing. For example, in college and university assignments, for essays, we follow patterns of three or five paragraph essay. We put in our arguments, counter-arguments, thesis, anti-thesis, and conclusion. Likewise, we also provide facts. Moreover, in them, we objectively portray the picture. We are less likely to give it a subjective interpretation for the simple fact that subjective interpretation varies from person to person based on cognitive ability. On the other hand, creative writing is free. You do not have to stick to a particular pattern. You’re the master of your own! You define the pattern and write accordingly. All you have to do is write what comes to you. Even if things don’t seen to get connected or convey what you intend to say for the first time, GO ON! Continue writing. In the end, your ideas will make sense. BINGO! You now know what to write.

To me, writing creatively is writing our emotions. If I were to write facts, I’d best write essays that are fixed in a particular pattern. I wouldn’t be writing creatively apart from writing new facts and data. We all go through a lot of circumstances. These could be pain, joy, sorrow, loss, anger, dilemma, regrets and many more. And to me, frankly, these are the very things that you are to put in your creative writing. This is the only basis that separates creative writing from university essay assignments.

Now that you intend to write what you are feeling, what you are going through, write it with a general touch, rather than insignificant subjective feeling so that the readers can relate themselves to what you’re going through.

Use ADJECTIVES and QUALIFIERS to show what you mean. They will beautify your work. However, don’t go OFF TRACK. However, don’t use too many adjectives as it may sound strange. Remember, it’s good if things are sweet, not if they are the sweetest!

Use SIMPLE WORDS. Do not use excess vocabulary as it easily irritates the reader as they have to look its meaning on a dictionary. That could be devastating because your reader might forget what s/he was reading until now.

Try poeti-fying your work. Give it a touch of poetry so that it becomes more beautiful. Instead of saying, “he gave her a rose saying I love you,” opt for, “With a rose that has been the emblem of love, he professed his love to her.”

Remember? The college essays had a word limit? But here, there’s no word limit. Indeed, there’s no limit to your creativity. You can write as much as you want. However, the length should still intrigue the reader to read more. The books of J K Rowling are fat. However, it didn’t stop people to read them because despite the thickness, it still had hooked the readers.

ACCEPT CRITICISM. Show your writings to your friends, parents and teachers and ask for their feedbacks. Based on the comments, work on your weak spots. Do not get harassed or demoralized for a few times because remember, you have just started to write! A child who has just started to crawl cannot walk and run all of a sudden. It takes time. Likewise, you also need time to write better the next time. Slow and steady wins the race!

Read, and read A LOT OF BOOKS. Doing so will improve your reading habit, and increase your love for books as well. Moreover, from the various writers you read, you’ll learn how to write and what to write.

However, most importantly, PRACTICE. And practice a lot because that is how you are to reach close to perfection. None of the best writings are best because of the subjective interpretation. It can be better than your previous works, but not the best. You are a better person but are you the best person?

Now what are you looking at? Go on! Start writing.

HAPPY WRITING!!!