The universe did come to my rescue, eventually.
By far Medium has emerged as one of the best platforms to showcase our love for the written word. Some talented minds who are strategically placed in the designated geographical territories, also benefit from the partnership program and are financially rewarded for their efforts. For the rest, all their work on Medium helps garner recognition in the form of claps, views, new friends, and followers.
This was a revelation. I am on Medium since 2015, though, I have been active only since last October and was determined to keep writing consistently. From the initial days, reading all the wonderful stories and essays by fellow writers spurred me to keep going. I knew instantly that this was the assured way to create my online writing profile. Showing up every single day was and continues to be my motto to grow on Medium.
And then came along the prompts and contests. At this point I got a window to publish in Promptly Written, managed by its EIC
and her team of awesome writers and editors. As I always like to mention, she has been hugely patient with all the writers and that gave the writer in me a sliver of hope too.
However, something sinister kept me from writing consistently. It became my number one excuse to not write at all. I could not handle the academic work pressure, life’s other pressing commitments, matters of health, and my planned daily quota of writing. Gradually, I became guilty of the only reason that all the writers seek refuge in —procrastination.
But as I look back, the last three months were not completely unproductive as they might seem. I did some research-based academic writing, which opened my mind to the vast possibilities in this domain. I realized that research based on content analysis is in great demand from students and scholars alike. So, I felt at ease after discovering sources that would pay for my writing. This proved to be an important step in making up my mind to henceforth focus on honing my writing skills.
By now, I had started contemplating how to get done with all the depressing endless clerical work that is also the bane of academics. I am certainly not against systems, but if these systems double up the work instead of cutting it down, then they need to be looked at from a fresh perspective. I soon figured out that the way to achieve my dream was to withdraw from full-time teaching work and instead opt for some honorary assignment. However, I wanted to make sure that I play my innings well and make a respectable exit. To get out of one role and embrace a new one, we have to sometimes wait for a favorable period or as they say, for a signal from the universe.
Today, as I stand to delve headlong once again into the mesmerizing world of words, I can hardly wait for my present commitments to get over. Nevertheless, it’s like your summer vacations are around the corner and term-end exams are about to begin. And I wish to pass every exam with flying colors.