By: Sheenam Dhingra
Working with Muskaan on her blog made me realize a few things about writing a good blog. A blog is very similar to a sales – pitch. Hence, it should inherently answer these questions: ‘what’ is it that you are selling or offering for the consumption of the readers; ‘why’ are you selling or offering this piece for the perusal of your readers, to what end or need will it meet; and ‘so what’ is new, different, or unique about that which you are selling or offering to the readers?
It was a fine line that I was treading while brain-storming with her for ideas for a blog-post, and later while editing the blog-post (there were quite a few rounds), as I did not want to influence her creative process, yet I wished to publish something that was in agreement with Philyra’s theme and intent for blog-posts. But, finally, we did it!
I am excited to share this with you. Please encourage the writer with your comments and review.
——————-
On Cosseting Penchants
There is always a hidden penchant in each one of us. It remains unfamiliar for a very long time until it gets shaken up by some idea, thought, or inspiration from an outside source and external environment. It lies beneath the murky depths of our consciousness. The moment our thought routines get shaken up, we dig deeper into ourselves, trying to simplify our thought process. It is, then during this whole period of realizing and unrealizing the self, we discover a hidden trait that holds the potential to grow full.
A similar thing happened with me a few years ago, when I started reading extensively – classic novels, motivational books, newspaper or a Sunday magazine. Whenever I got some leisure time, I always laid my hands on some reading material. Soon, reading became fun. I continued to build a stack of books on my table day by day. Later in time, I started using a particular word or a phrase that I had previously read, in my daily conversations. And finally, it got etched in my mind. It was then, that I decided to put down these words, phrases, proverbs in a diary of my own.
Since then, I have collected several diaries – executive, decorative, spiraled, and so on. I discovered very early that I am inclined toward keeping diaries. My first diary was an executive diary of the year 2014. It is very close to my heart for this very reason; a wealth of knowledge into which I have sieved so many beautiful words and phrases. They accost me everywhere – in someone’s speech, a lexicon, academic and creative essays, and so on. The diary helps me immensely to locate a word that I could not once recall while writing or conversing. Nonetheless, I have also embedded various forms of poetry in it that I write, that is, haiku, senryu, and tanka. Writing poetry made me realize that words have power. They maintain a balance of sublimity and decorum which leave both the reader and a writer with contentment, and hence, afford pleasure.
A very recent experience that I had, was nearly two weeks ago when my mother gifted two-yearly diaries to me. They were handed to me in a neat wrapping with a flowery lace adorning it. It filled me with such delight and ecstasy that I let out a happy cry. I shall always be grateful to her. The moment I opened a diary, I found some inspiring quotes, bonus indeed, from a large body of writers and scholars, at the bottom of each page, and then my happiness knew no limits. These quotations have kept me encouraged and motivated in both professional and academic spheres. The icing on the cake was a roller pen of Pierre Cardin. “What else does a writer need?”, I wondered. I caressed the diary as if it were my own child. Like every poet, my head was in the clouds as I had begun thinking about how to use these diaries more creatively.
There may be many other undiscovered instincts that I am not yet aware of and I feel that on the right day and at the right time, they will surely surprise me, taking deep roots into my creative inclinations, for greater things to come.
Until then, dear readers, have you any penchant so far?