Writing fiction - after a long time!


Despite my exposure to the various forms of science fiction, I remain on the side of not believing in fate or destiny, but there are times when things just seem to fall in place and even seem to happen for a reason. These are the same times when I have urges to simply stop anything I was doing and dwell in awe of the incredible ability of the human brain to assimilate all the streams of information flowing in, find seemingly relevant data, match them with patterns it is used to, associate them with emotions, etc., all in an effort to make the human feel rather special and consequential.

I did just this a few moments back. I reflected on the sequence of events that have unfolded, starting on Tuesday the second of May. I logged on my work PC as usual and was going about minding by business as usual when I got a message from my rather enthusiastic colleague.

“Hi, I hope you read in invitation for entries for Terribly Tiny Tales (TTTs) – for the editorial newsletter.”

“Yes, sort of.”

“Ummm, I hope you send in some.”

“I’ll try but I’m not sure if I’ll find time at work.”

“I have seen some of your captions on Instagram. I'm sure you can send in a dozen.”

“Thanks. I’ll try my best.”

I honestly did not have much confidence in writing fiction. My only previous attempt, almost a decade back, was when I was more active on this blog and participated in a challenge to write a short story. Then I thought I could pull it off. I tried and I failed - quite miserably. Unfortunately, or thankfully, I can’t find any traces for it on the blog.

Yet, I tried once more. I wrote The Visits within a few minutes. It’s not quite a TTT (50 to 100 words). I tried to write another one later in the day (Number Too), once again failing to quite meet the requirements for a TTT.

Since then I have written a few others, with only one qualifying as a TTT (Hi, Yes, No), with the others being either relatively longer yet short (Proof, Broken, Inspiration, Faith, Light, and Sparkle) or long enough as standalone short stories (June 16, 2100) or tentative first chapters in a book (Maybe I’ll See You Then and Cosmo).

I don’t quite know what changed to make me not suck at what I used to terrible at. Maybe it’s the books that I have read since then or maybe it is a pleasant by-product of all the discussions that I have had on the books as part of the book club that I’m a part of. Maybe it is the conversations that I have had with my writer friends (yes, I have a few of them). Or maybe it’s just that I have matured enough to string together something other than my experiences or opinion in a cohesive, interesting way. Whatever it is, it is fun!

To be honest, I’m quite surprised at what I was able to do in the six days or so since I restarted writing fiction. And I’m quite proud at what I have achieved. I have shared these with a few close friends, with most of them giving me positive feedback on most of my work.

I hope to continue writing. I will continue to share the shorter ones on Neverlast (my Tumblr). For the longer ones, I don’t know just yet. Maybe I’ll write sufficient stuff for a novel. :) Knock on wood.

Engayging Life has moved to WordPress

Engayging Life has fully moved to WordPress

Yes, I am alive and I'm still blogging. Regularly. But on WordPress because offers an easier workflow for me. Here is a selection of wh...