I have been reading short stories since I was short.......
had a short memory........had short concentration...... had a short temper.
Short stories are meant to make you feel you can write one day (the chances are very less that you would write in a day). But the important thing is I actually thought one day I could write too. So I summoned all my thoughts and went on and on and on.....
........all the memories that I could think of...all the mesmerizing dreams that I could remember.......all tensions that I could bear.....all people those I could fear even thinking. Then I realized I was in a mess.......a serious mess of thoughts which were hard to set a story. And I went back to the basics of story writing.....(“you should always stick to the basics”, they say).......and I think I thought of starting with the style of writing first and then the subject.
Since it was my first & I din't want people to make it my last, I decided to try writing something serious........a crime story.......a thriller........a mystery......a love story........difficult choices.......
Crime can never be short.....its like thinking of a bank robbery and writing about a pickpocketing......
Thriller......??? I was thrilled to write a short story....thats the end...........
A mystery........boy it was becoming tougher.......
A love story is a good choice......but I would have to portray characters that aren't real........but believe me every love story does take place......some way or the other.......so taking into consideration a struggling lover i thought of a scene.....but
'A boy proposed a girl......she says NO
and he lived happily ever after'
was the shortest I had received in an email.......so love stories are done.
Whats left???? a comedy may be......and I thought 'YES! this is it'. I can write humor. How funny am I. So think of an incident......tough......took time but......recollected
then think of characters that are close to real characters.........done
then think of a day to day situation.......yes.....I was going great........
finally think of a funny climax........superb....
I was ready.....but I always kept in mind to keep it short and funny.........
So I took some pages to scribble down my funny thoughts.....my first short story.......
I started well and with the flow I wrote a fabulous story......
I was determined to become famous one day.......I think that was the day.....so I sent it to a local newspaper office where they encourage newcomers.....Amateur writers......Neophytes....
The only morning I woke up with a smile was when one of my neighbors came crying at the very hour that my name was in that day's newspaper......finally.....I was the man.......I blushed......
Mom came and congratulated me.....I was glad and on the 4th seat of cloud 11......(since India being the 2nd largest population, cloud 9 and 10 were full......)
I acted like I know nothing....and asked mom whats that for?....'You are in today's newspaper my boy....good work!'.......
I tried hard not to show that I am grabbing the newspaper but failing to do so.....excitement seeping over the sleepy eyes......and I was ready to read my own story in the newspaper......
aaarrrrrrrrgh.......it was in the Joke of the Day section...........
I was disappointed........dejected......and feeling sleepy again......
It dint matter it had my name under it........it dint matter it won the first prize.........it dint matter I received a cheque of Rs. 500 in three weeks as the prize money.........I never told anyone I had written a short story which the cruel editor made a JOKE of......
The print media prints in a very small fonts I believe.......next time when I write, I have decided to write using a keyboard.........
