Myself in 26 verbs (Introduction)

Every writer from Shakespeare to Jeffery Archer would have gone through this sort of phase. The “How to Write Short stories/ novels sort of books”, that I used to read, when I was in college, term this phase as “Writer’s Block” (Read it as politically correct way of saying “I had been lazy for long, and didn’t write anything). The best way to get out of this block is to write something – those books used to counsel. Write Something – What “Something”, shall I write about, to get out of this block? (By the way “Something” is not really a silly word, in fact there is even one website called www.something.com).

All said and done, I decided that I had to write about something that I know very well about. What do I know very well about? Cricket? But then there would be definitely many guys out there, who know more about cricket than me. Politics? Writing? Education? Same holds good for all of them too. I am not an expert on anything. But then there is one guy about whom I know more than anyone else. If you can’t guess who that guy is, please stop reading. I don’t want dumb wits like you to read my epic work. (Oops, now I know what my major shortcoming is. From starting to write just for the sake of coming out of Writer’s Block, now I want to write an epic, dreadful!!!)

Okay, so you might ask, “who will want to read about you”? Didn’t people want to read about an orphan in England (Oliver Twist)? Didn’t people want to read about a small petty thief in Punjab (Train to Pakistan)? Didn’t people want to read about a cruel Jew and a Kind Merchant (Merchant of Venice)? So why won’t people want to read about me. Fact is people will read about anything, as long it is presented interestingly. The catch here is only way you can find out if I write interestingly is by reading through this epic. If I could manage to write interestingly about a boring life of mine, I am sure I can write New York Times Bestselling Novels in the future. No, I don’t want to write novels that wins Nobel Prize. Even my mother won’t read my novels then.

Having decided the theme of my work, I now need to decide how I can make it interesting. I want to present it in an interesting way. I don’t want to begin my story saying “Once upon a time”. You know, how difficult it is to write a life history of a guy, who has never done anything worthy in his life. How can I write interestingly about a guy, who doesn’t even have a girl friend? Nevertheless I am going to write. If even I don’t write about me, then who will?

Eureka!!! I found a way to make this story interesting. I am going to describe myself in 26 verbs, one verb from each alphabet. What an idea!!! I can read the News York Times review now itself in foresight, “What an intelligent way of telling a boring, dull life story”. So here begins my tryst with 26 verbs. India began its tryst with destiny at midnight and has done reasonably well. I am beginning my tryst
with 26 verbs @ 7.45 pm Indian Standard Time. Let’s see how I execute it.

PS: I will try to post at least 2 - 3 verbs per week. If I don't do it, please scold me in very bad words. Let's see if at least that forces me to write regularly.