Travails of a Struggling Writer

We all know about the ‘struggling artist’ syndrome where talented painters draw cheesy posters of C grade movies to make ends meet while dreaming of becoming an MF Hussain someday, where gifted photographers float around from one friend’s wedding to another hoping someday someone will pay them, where small-time actresses become the victim of the casting couch so that someday they can become a Katrina Kaif and wannabe singers sign up for each talent hunt show, hoping to snatch glory from the jaws of humiliation. What is common to all of them is the belief that they all have a GIFT and the hope that someday someone will have faith in them.

Now, I have never harboured any romantic notions of being ‘talented’ or ‘gifted’, which is why like a sensible girl, I listened to my parents and did my MBA. However, today, when I am possessed with the idea of being a writer, I take a walk down the memory lane, trying to chart out MY struggles to get noticed:

1.It all started in school and college where I would contribute poems, stories and articles for the in-house magazines which nobody read.
2.It became more of a passion during MBA when I started this blog and became a member of the Corp Comm team where it was serious business.
3.This was followed by contributing to ‘letters to the editors’ and sending my stories to random newspapers/magazines trying to get somebody to publish my work.
4.Some concrete work started coming in when I would do some freelancing for online portals (and I still do that).
5.Calling up/sending emotional emails to newspapers/magazines (with my blog link and sample stories) hoping to get hired.
6.Writing articles/introductions for start-up portals by cousins/friends.
7.Editing CVs/ Appraisal Forms of friends.
8.Writing resignation letters and farewell emails of my colleagues.
9.Writing wedding invitations for friends who wanted their invites to stand out and not follow the usual sloppy (forever together) styles.
10.Finally, yesterday, I hit rock-bottom when I created the online matrimonial profile of a friend, in an attempt to make him stand out among the numerous other cocky, “modern yet traditional” and ‘simple living high thinking” creeps.

And yes, I am STILL struggling to get noticed…