psparmita

[psparmita]

A little update... I'll be discontinuing posting on this platform from today onwards. If you would like to stay connected, do check out links to my other social media accounts.

INSTAGRAM

TWITTER

YOUTUBE

GOODREADS

[psparmita]

ENCHANTÉE SPOILER-FREE BOOK REVIEW | a YA Fantasy set in 18th Century Paris

[psparmita]

The moon is a reminder that even in our dark phases, we are still whole

RedBubble | TeePublic

[psparmita]

I'M FRAMING THIS RESPONSE AND NAILING IT IN MY LIVING ROOM!

Hey Mr. Gaiman,

I’ve always loved writing, but most adults (like school advisors and guidance counselors) say that writing is a dying art because of tv and all the new streaming services, and that it’s not a career worth pursuing. Do you think writing is a dying art?

Those are probably the same people who believe that all the TV shows exist because actors make up all the things they say and the things that happen to their characters, in shows that are based on novels which came into existence as a spontaneous quantum burst of 100,000 words created from cosmic randomness.

[psparmita]

I've been pursuing my dream of becoming a published author for more than six (!) years now. It hasn't been easy, and many-a-times I wanted to just give up. The moment I would think of leaving writing for good, another story would pop up in my head. I would tell myself, Okay, just this once..., and end up with another project. (〒﹏〒)

So, amid the pandemic scare, I've been working on a brand new project. It's in the revision stages. Strangely, it's more than what I've written since 2017. My dream is alive and screaming at me to hurry up. (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

I'll be starting the querying process again (for the fifth time!!) soon-ish. Fingers crossed for this one!

[psparmita]

a toast

for you have come

far and beyond

a toast

for you have survived

trials and tribulations thus far

[psparmita]

7 Spectacular Author Quotes That Will Blow You Away!

I have an eclectic taste in books from memoirs to speculative fiction. And of course that gives me access to fabulous quotes. Some of them deserve a mention.

So here's my curated list of top seven quotes by authors and poets that'll amaze you and give you food for thought. Try books by these authors if you can. They'll definitely leave a mark.

Without much ado, let's get started!

That's it, folks! Let me know in the comments section if one of these appealed to you. I'm always eager to connect to fellow readers who share similar tastes.

[psparmita]

don't beat it

clarity will follow eventually

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We often tend to be hard on ourselves for not knowing what to do, how to do, or where to start. It's only natural to be confused every once in a while. After all, life hasn't been laid out in front of us to simply walk. We have to choose our path and do the running. It's absolutely OK to be somewhere in the middle of not knowing. Just trust yourself to find the road meant for you to travel. You'll get there. Keep trying.

[psparmita]

Happy New Year, 2020!

[psparmita]

3 Things To Consider Before Becoming A Full-Time Writer

Every other literate person in the world thinks they can write. If only they had more time, more money, more of everything and less of the job they’re doing. That’s precisely my point. Just as any other profession, being a “full-time” writer requires dedication and hard-work. A professional writer has to polish their skills and put in as many work hours as, say an engineer or a doctor would. If you think this is a joke then joke’s on you, buddy. HA HA HA.

So here are top three things that you must consider before plunging into the dark labyrinth of writing (oh, yeah, darling; the world of professional writing is darker than the blackest night on earth).

1. Hobby or a profession

You have to ask yourself why you write. Is it a mere past-time? Something you like to do when you have attended to every other chore in your life? Or is it something you wish to pursue full-on, as in putting dedicated amount of time and energy into it. Take note that building a career out of writing requires the same level of commitment any other profession would. So ask yourself what you truly want to derive out of your writing.

 2. Support system

Writing is often considered a lonesome job. But being a full-time writer requires ample support from somewhere and someone—financial as well as emotional. It might not be feasible for you to give up your day job if you’re the sole bread winner in the family. Truth be told, writing isn’t a top notch career choice. Writers bleed everyday (eww). Their days are mostly built up of rejections and meager money that wouldn’t keep them fed even for a week. It takes ages and fair amount of good fortune to sustain a career in writing. So, if you don’t have someone who���ll pay your bills and wipe your nose then this career path might be a bigger pain the arse than you can imagine.

 3. Patience

Write, revise, submit, wait, be rejected, REPEAT. That pretty much sums up the life of a struggling writer. The passage of time is considerable from submissions to responses. You may have written the best piece ever, and yet it may end up rejected. The field of publishing is subjective so much that your full-length novel may be rejected just because the editor didn’t like the way a side-character gave side-eyes. And it’s such a shady business that nobody knows what works and what doesn’t. If you can’t wait for ages then you might want to reconsider being a full-time writer.

 So that’s that. I don’t mean to discourage you from pursuing writing full-time. However, I do wish to save your precious sweat and tears if you aren’t fully up for the game. I’ve been a full-time author for over five years now and it has mostly been guns and no roses with fires shot at me from everywhere. HA HA HA. Save yourself the trouble if you can’t deal with massive failures that’ll make you question your existence.    

[psparmita]

Why Failures Are More Important Than Successes

As children we’re often told what we’ll get post doing something: If you clean your room, I’ll treat you to a McD lunch. If you get A+ in your mathematics test, you’ll get a bike… As we grow older, this notion of winning gets ingrained in us so much that we only think of being ‘achievers’ and ‘winners’. But what does scoring the best teach us? That we can score best? Then what?

 If you’re someone like me, you know how easy it is to win something and move on. Learn nothing out of it and be called the achiever and winner and none of it meaning much to you at all. At the end of the day, what did you learn? Also, the overemphasis on winning doesn’t prepare you for failures. When disappointment inevitably falls on your lap, you fall hard. The kind where you ache all over not knowing how to stop the hurt. Believe me that kind of pain doesn’t go away easily.

 Achievements and wins mean nothing if you don’t know how to deal with the opposite of them. Just as the sun rises, it sets as well. Similarly, you won’t always be winning. There will come a tournament that you’ll fail to top; an exam where you aren’t the number one; a job you’ll find hard to do. Then what?

 That’s why it’s so important to instill in yourself the importance of losses and build yourself a coping mechanism. A fall from the top is harder than a fall from the second step. When you fail you get to know what doesn’t work. When you fail, you’re better equipped to win. When you fail, you understand the meaning of a win. When you fail, success tastes sweeter. When you fail, you grow strong. When you fail, you learn the art. When you fail, you learn to practice harder. When you fail, you become a bigger winner than you would’ve otherwise.

 Most ‘successful’ professionals have built their careers on a litter of failures. So, embrace your losses and evolve. One of these days, fortune will be on your side. Keep working!

[psparmita]

7 Steps To Tackle The Revision Slump

So much’s been said about writer’s block and how to finish that first draft and yada yada. But as a writer, that’s not the end of your problems. You may have finished that draft of yours and yet you may find it difficult to polish it aka revise it. As you must know, first drafts are merely the raw material that you have to cook and plate before serving it to the eaters (readers). Sounds easy? Well, if you’ve been in the business of writing for long, you know how challenging it can be to open that mess of a draft and start refreshing it. I’ve been in what I call a ‘revision slum’ wherein I find myself staring at anything and everything except my project.

You just got to correct the mistakes, babe, I would tell myself. But nope. NOT TODAY. My brain temporarily would stop listening and thinking. It’ll deliberately forget to lift fingers, to see, to read, and to feed the changes. What then?

 It wasn’t until my fourth project that I finally figured a way out. I went from nothing to revising one paragraph, then a chapter to revising at least twenty-five pages a day. Here’s how I did it and I hope you’ll find these minor steps useful in dealing with your revision slump. Let’s get goin’ then!

 1. Look away! You heard me right. Don’t look at the pile of papers or the size of folder that you have to revise. It’ll overwhelm you and force you to procrastinate or run away.

 2. Do nothing! At times, you have to not do anything to be able to do something. Just open your file and sit there not lifting your finger. Keep repeating it, diligently. It doesn’t matter if you get nothing done. Just open the file that you have to revise and stare into nothingness. EVERYDAY without default.

 3. Start small! Once you’ve done nothing, one of the following days, you’ll find your brain tired of the blankness. Suddenly, your edit notes will make sense and you’ll find your fingers itching for some action. Then you begin. Take it nice and easy and slow. Even if you correct just a line, it would still be progress. Don’t force yourself into huge targets just because you’ve forced your brain to work again.

 4. Celebrate! You’ve done it! From nothing to something. You ought to pat yourself on the back. It isn’t easy to break out of the slump. But you did it, one line at a time. Soon enough, you’ll reach the end. Keep at it!

 5. Trust yourself! Never stop believing that you can reach the finish line. You already wrote the draft and there’s all the chance that you’ll revise it, too. Have faith.

 6. Be regular! Even if your body aches or life keeps throwing knives at you. Maintain that schedule. Make revising and rewriting as much a part of your daily routine as brushing your teeth. Schedule your revising session. It is work after all and like any other job, you have to proceed.

 7. Do it! Stare, tap, sing, or dance in front of your work. Just keep at it. Eventually, things will fall in place.  

 You’re a creative professional and solely accountable for your performance (and the lack thereof). Often, it isn’t only the hard-work that pays off. It’s persistence that does. Set aside the lure of giving up and rise to your project. Show it who’s the boss. You got this!    

[psparmita]

5 Ways To Set Goals

If you’re someone like me who loses her way without a goal then this article is for you. In my lifetime, I’ve tried two major kinds of lifestyles: a disciplined one and a lax one. As much as I would’ve liked to be the person who could fit everything in her schedule without a proper structure, I’m unfortunately not. I can’t focus or do the needful without a goal. But wait, setting goals isn’t the magical solution. You’ve got to be realistic about it or else you’ll be buried in your pile of expectations and disappointments.

So here are five ways with which you can set goals and achieve them too (gasps!):

 1. The Practical Aspect – We would all like to be overachievers and be the next person to land on moon. Alas, it takes more than just dreaming to land wherever we want to. Hence, set goals that seem achievable (in the long run, that is). I’m not saying stop dreaming. What I mean is for you to know what it’ll take to achieve a possible goal and then decide if you’re willing to put in the labor and the hours or not.

 2. The Time Aspect – Nothing can be built in a day, especially fulfilling aspirations. If it’s quick and easy, then it isn’t really an aspiration. Be aware that achieving a perspective goal will take time, often unknown and indiscriminate. Are you willing to give your precious years to get to the end? If yes, then sure. Set your “it” goal.

 3. The Dedication Aspect – When babies take their first step, they usually fall. That’s who you are for your new-found dream. A baby, or to be more precise, a fetus actually. You have to be prepared to pursue a goal dedicatedly despite the failures and set-backs. Are you willing to shed tears? To bleed? To take risks? Is it worth it? If yes, then get-set!

 4. The Bulk Aspect – Look, goals are huge as in HUGE. Don’t expect to get it all done per your possible plan. Break it down. Take it apart and deal with smaller targets. To set goals, set many targets that’ll add up to your ultimate goal.

 5. The Flexibility Aspect – Breathe, breathe, breathe. No matter what you dream to achieve, you have to give your schedule the elasticity it needs because we all know how life can be. It throws situations at us when we least expect it, often leaving us slightly (or awfully) tattered. There may be setbacks on the way or perhaps some other thing may come into your life that would take priority. It’s okay to take a rain check so long as you return to it.

 Once you’ve thought this through and agree on most (or all) of the aspects, go ahead and drink up that goal so it gets digested and flows in your bloodstream. All the best!          

[psparmita]

you'll find comfort

in the company of the ones

who love you

unconditionally

[psparmita]

remember me

until the next time

we meet again

[psparmita]

going back

where it all started

to find solace

[psparmita]

pour me some tea

for time is sparse

and we need to catch up vastly