Are writers overrated?

It’s been a few days since I was told something which didn’t go down well with me. I was told that the field I look upon with all sparkles and twinkling in my eyes, the field of writing and the job of writer is overrated. To be precise the exact words were-“Writers are overrated!”  Yes, overrated. It took me a while to realize that the other person has actually said it.

I don’t want to sound too defensive (which by the way I am very much right now), so I would start with the basic question that has been raised and the basis on which the other person had made that statement.

Just like any other art, say, dancing, singing and painting, writing is also a form of art. But not everyone dances, or sings, or paints; even, song writing, not everyone does that, but writing-I don’t think there is anybody who doesn’t do that. Is there? Yes. The unfortunate ones who couldn’t get basic education. So does the statement ‘writer (writing) is overrated’’ failed to prove true? Not yet.

Isn’t writing just the organized and logical written piece of the thoughts in our mind? This brings us down to-writing is the written form of one’s thinking. And who in this world doesn’t do the thinking part? I so wanted to disagree here, but that would be only to comfort myself. Even an animal, for that matter of fact any living being does think.

So, does that mark the statement in question to be true? I still am too far from agreeing with it.  And anybody who does agree here has, certainly, never tried writing.

Let me put forth my case here.

Writing is not always a fun-ride; most of the times it isn’t.

Not everyone who can write is a writer. The one whose story holds the power to take you into some other world through his/her fiction; the one whose poems hit you hard at your soul and make you realize the nasty facts of life, see the ironies of life, enjoy the unseen beauty of things-small and trifle; the one whose articles make you think over the other side of the coin, are the writers.

If I talk about writing a piece as short as of three lines (here, I am talking about those 3-liners which are much prevalent on social media), it might not be too laborious a task to write it down but it must be demanding serious (at times draining) thinking to finalizing the lines/words that describe the content in the best form. Writing effectively in as least words as possible restricts one using his/her tools. After all, the only tools that a writer does have are words and when one is asked to make as less usage of those tools, it does mark a restriction boundary.

Now, let me talk about a small piece like this write-up of mine, or other pieces of medium length. Here, what you are looking at is an organized, flowing and chiseled piece of writing (troll would be on me here if I did leave any technical mistakes here. I’m still striving for betterment.) But not even a pencil can be put to its use unless it is sharpened, then how can a writing piece flow out smoothly without getting hammered? It cannot.
If asked, writing this post titled as ‘Are writers overrated?’ wasn’t really tough for me. As all that I did here is wrote my mind, my perspective. No filtration was needed. But not all of my write-ups are such. Especially when it comes down to (short) stories, the most daunting task for me is writing. Though I love penning down a story, it is highly stressful a task creating it, at times.

Many would think how tough it can be to write something which isn’t even real? Well, I would say go on and try it. Story isn’t an apple hanging from a branch of the tree, which you can just pluck and get done with your work. Weaving a story is the process of sowing, nurturing, and growing a tree of apples in itself. The crux of a story can be an apple, but the whole story-I wish it was one!

There have been stories which I had worked on, they sucked up my energy to such an extent that I wanted to quit writing. It became too heavy a burden for me to carry. When (right) words don’t come out, when story doesn’t flow as smoothly as was expected, then you curse yourself that why did you even chose to write it!

Now, if I talk about the most-daunting, draining, strenuous task that a writer can pick up to work at is writing a book. Do you know what it can be like to think of a story which neither does sound too surreal to believe nor too plain to go unnoticed?
If not in grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, and other technicalities of writing, one needs to be a pro at being patient, perseverant, disciplined, and optimistic. All the technical stuff can (should) be learnt, but if you lack latter four then not even God can help you, let alone other living beings around.

Once writing is done, comes the tougher part of editing, and re-editing, and some more re-editing (it never really ends.)

If asked why writing/writer is still not overrated, here is my other argument.

How many music-lovers are there in the world? Billions. How many readers are out there in the world? Definitely nothing closer to billions. Whom does a writer writes for? His/her audience, if one has at all. It doesn’t take much of one’s efforts to listen to music, neither to enjoy a piece of sketch, nor to appreciate the dance moves of a dancer, but when it comes to reading the picture flips. Reading is one of the activities which along with being enjoyable, may ask for reader’s efforts too. Let’s be honest, reading isn’t fun, always. Another factor of lack-of-time does hinder one’s reading.  With the advancement in technology, a lot of other entertainment sources have replaced book reading. So here we can draw a conclusion that readers in this world are really less.

And if a writer still chooses to write, to deliver the world with a new world of itself, to risk one’s countless hours of efforts, I cannot second the thought of a writer being overrated. The time when most of the people are up for movies and Netflix, there still are (qualitative) writers who prefer to stay down and work to create the non-existent stories/articles for others’ eyes.

In fact, writers aren’t overrated, but what it takes to become even a good writer, if not an exceptional one, is undoubtedly underrated!

In case you do agree with the statement of writers being overrated, please do send me the stories, or writings that you have written. And if you haven’t written any then only one statement-No write-ups, no comments! Not everyone who can write is a writer.

“A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.”
–Thomas Mann
Shouldn’t it have been the other way around? It isn’t.

But okay, under the law of freedom of speech, you are free to share your thoughts here. So, how do you feel about it, about ‘Are writers overrated’? Phew! My defensive shield is down and now I am ready to receive and appreciate others’ perspectives too. Trust me, I won’t scratch your face if you do agree with writers being overrated. 😉

IF YOU ARE A FIRST- TIME VISITOR OF MY BLOG, DO REFER ‘First-Timers‘. IT WOULD HELP YOU IN EXPLORING THE PLACE.

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