Don't Be Shy

Novel freak. That is what I would love to term myself, but I am going to play the honesty card. I am absolutely nothing compared to some book monsters I know. I mean the two-books-a-week monsters that have a very tight schedule but still insist on indulging. This happens to be nearly impossible in medical school, but I know of a few exceptions that still pull it off. Anyways, I really missed reading (plus I needed inspiration for this book I am working on) so I tried to read a new book whose author I knew nothing about.

Before I explain how I feel about the book, you should know that I am a hopeless romantic whose love life has been completely destroyed by writers that have a  knack for painting a near-perfect picture of overly eligible bachelors; men that could never exist even if they tried. Now, I must mention that the book blew me away, not just because the lead male was my ideal man(except that I love them dark) but because I met the writer I really want to be; dropping a touch of humour plus reality that was punctuated with a heart-warming moral lesson. Feel free to castigate me for talking like a groupie, but I cannot deny the plain old truth. The woman reached out to me. I'm not going to reveal the name of the book(which unfortunately is the only thing I hate about it) or even the author. All I can say comfortably is that the lead female character is called Pepper Spicer (please don't laugh).

Back to my nearly-failed attempt at writing, if there is any thing I have learnt in my reading and writing, it is that keeping your audience happy is really exhausting. So is getting people's approval. For this mere fact, I have kept my manuscript to myself and my family members until recently. I don't know if showing it to the public was a mistake because for a full week (if not more than that) I have lived in fear, waiting for my newly acquired critics to break their silence and just nail me and my writing career to the cross. Still no answer.

So, I am going to keep writing my crappy book and publish it when it is complete. What is the worst that could happen? I waste half of my life writing the world's worst book; I get brutal criticism that will make me cross the sanity line; I erase social media from my life; I return to the medical school shell I've been running away from. So?

Then again, what is the best that could happen? I publish the book and someone big loves it and makes it public. I become a star and meet Chimamanda Adichie and the woman that brought Pepper Spicer to life (still not calling her name). I have to fit all the interviews into my very tight schedule. I make some extra cash...etc. Whatever it is eventually, I am willing to risk it. I think you should too. Don't let that shell you have been hiding under consume you and bury the one thing you love doing. The world might spoil the fun for you with its heart-wrenching criticism, but this same world might also be all the encouragement you need. So stand up, go out there and show them your light. You might even be surprised that they will make you a better version of your current self. Ciao!

P.S: One man's meat is really another man's poison. So in case you actually find that book and you hate it, don't come crying to me.
# TheRitaSide