Republished from authorlata@instagram published on 6th June 19.

The journey to becoming an author starts with becoming first a reader, then a writer and finally an author. When I decided to take up writing as a second career, becoming an author appeared a distant dream. I had always been an avid reader but honing the craft of creative writing entailed skills such as good grasp over English language through vocabulary, expression, voice, writing process, writers’ block and other related terms that I was totally unfamiliar with. Coming from science and engineering research background I would often be plagued with self-doubts about my competence level in the new career that I was stepping into. My research attribute held me in good stead and the writers’ school I enrolled into introduced me to the world of writing and trained me slowly and steadily in improving my craft.

My first success came when my travel article was published in a Singapore magazine for Indians. I couldn’t believe my eyes when next I saw my readers’ letter published in a Newsweek magazine. My discipline and perseverance were paying off and my articles were being accepted and published by the Singapore magazine. I had become a published writer and my confidence level was soaring; however, having set my goal to achieve something bigger and having already started work on a non-fiction book and another on fictional stories, I wanted to focus on completing them and getting them published. 
Writing books was altogether a different ballgame. The journey was indeed trodden with few highs and many lows with their respective pleasures and pains. Writing a book itself was a big challenge and finding a publisher a much bigger one. The yearly Singapore’s writers’ festivals and frequent meet the author sessions gave the opportunity to listen to some of the world’s best including celebrated Indian authors, and their writing journeys. It was though an assurance that I wasn’t alone in the treacherous path, “I am not there yet” was a mantra that seemed I had to adapt for life.

There is no gain without pain. Going on the rough road, nevertheless, today I feel happy to see my books on online bookstores like Amazon, Goodreads, and read some excellent reviews by readers. Writing is a profession that is not limited by time, space or geographical location but only by our mind’s imagination and of course will power. While in my home or on a move, in a hotel room, or an airport, anywhere in the world, on an urge I have felt free to open my PC and write even if a few sentences. It was a surreal moment when an excerpt from my book ‘Autumn Showers”, a story revolving around my ancestral village in South India I read was heard in rapt attention by writers gathered in northern tip of Iceland for a writers’ retreat. That my ideas and message could resonate with people across the world could only be the magic of writing.

I know I am not there yet, still awaiting the day of being widely recognized as an author. At the same time, we writers and authors would agree that there is never an end to our journey. There is no day when I wouldn’t be thinking of a new idea or a writing process or on something that I am stuck in what I am currently writing. In this crazy human world, a writer’s mind is sure to buzz with ideas and build a world of her own. The ability to put in perspective of the things I see and understand with a heart and mind to empathize with those around me, is for me my precious gift from becoming a writer. In other words, continuous learning and rediscovering myself, a work that I could be doing till my last breath.