And the award for the Most Versatile Blogger goes to... [119/365]

I took to blogging as a way to release creative steam. And a lot of it.
Blogging allowed me to write in a way that defined the way I see things around me.
I am a hopeful romantic and an optimist.
People ask me why I blog when I don't earn anything out of it. A question I can't answer very easily. But someday, I'd like to earn a respectable living out of all that I write.
Am I addicted to blogging? I can't say that either.
But I am constantly thinking about what I'll blog for today. So that makes me a borderline maniac who is very critical and has an opinion about everything.

A day before the new year, a very good photographer friend of mine challenged me to a 365 Challenge to blog. Challenge accepted. So with the number posts and the topics I've been writing on, I have my fans and my haters.
But when one of my reader and a keen blogger herself, Ruchita Vakman  awarded me with the 'Most Versatile Blogger' award, it felt good! Really good. Thanks Ruchita!

There are some rules I need to follow though.
1. Create a new post. Check.
2. Thank the lovely person who nominated you for the award. Check.
3. Pass it on to your fellow bloggers.
This is not going to be easy.
Bloggers that I would like to recognize and in no particular order is,
Alka Narula. She is a wonderful poet and has a great eye for detail. I love the topics she writes on and she is also a guest blogger for my blog.
Saru Singhal. I find her poems really unique and expressive. You can almost have an image in your mind.
Nabanita Dhar. She writes on topics that you and I would've thought of at some point of your day. Besides, she is also one of the guest bloggers for my blog.
Joshi Daniel. For the wonderful pictures that he captures. Truly a thousand words.
Umashankar Pandey. Wonderful with words. Riveting.
Debajyoti Ghosh. Multi faceted. He has a unique way with satire.
Rohini Singh. Story teller and prolific writer. Must read the 'Incomplete Chapter'.
C Suresh. I love the humor and the wit in his posts.
Leopaw. He calls his posts 'Self Improvement'. I call it Satire, at it's best.
Ranjith. Funny. Wordsmith.
4. State 7 random facts about you.
Seven Random Facts?! Gee, isn't that really tough. Wait, I need to check my Wikipedia page. Oh yeah, I don't have a wiki page on myself yet. Okay, while I realize that this is going to come back to me and bite me in my derriere when I am famous, I'll still list them for your voyeuristic pleasure.

1. -I love ink. Given a chance (and permission from gf) I would spend a significant part of my savings on tattoos. I've got three until now. Until I married, that is.
2. -I am a recovering shopaholic. Once upon a time, far far ago, when I would shop until I drop.
3. -I am freakishly freaky about cleanliness. I OCD with the broom.
4. -I love collecting miniatures. Cars, aircrafts, ships.
5. -I fantasize driving a big rig or flying an F22 Raptor. My favorite games are '18 wheels of steel' and 'F22-Raptor'
6. -I love planning and giving surprises for my partner. Hate it if she finds out what I've been planning.
7. -I crave for a vacation where I'll do nothing but read and write.

5. Claim and post the award pic. Check.
That's right. Take a good, long look at it. You are looking at the newest Most Versatile Blogger in this zipcode.

Where's my topic, dude?

How many of you writers have struggled to find your next topic to write about?
While a flurry of hands go up, I must admit that I have struggled with my fair share of false starts.

Right up there in my list of 'The Most Pleasurable things to do', writing is one of those things that I'd love to indulge in.
Some of my best articles were when I was emotionally spurred and I often wonder if I'll ever get saturated.
A well written article is like fine dining.
Must be exquisite, thorough and well knit.

Having blogged for a year and a half now, I've grown and matured as a writer. Though I still lack the marketing and technological skills that I'd need to promote my blog writing about things that matter to you, sharpens the wit and wordsmithing skills that you'd need as a writer.

Start Engines.
Getting the ball rolling is perhaps the toughest.
Many people I know fear writing. They experience what I'd describe a 'pen fright'.
I've struggled with the overwhelming anxiety of how my writing will be perceived. However I've figured that I'd never know how awful or awesome I am unless I try it. My first blog post about GE Brinjal, in hindsight, was an amateurish effort. Nevertheless I was happy that I'd started.

Know thy Topic.
If you'd keep your mind open, you'll never run out of topics. This is however easier said than done.
Over the years that I've been writing, I've had no dearth of things that I wanted to write about. However deciding how to harness your creative juices is what matters.
Ofcourse, you mustn't write about stuff that you'll regret about. Meaning, ex'es and secret love affairs are out of the question. I've grown to be wise about the topics that I choose to write, because they are mostly about things that matter most to me. Things that make me who I am.

There's never a Tomorrow.
Procrastination is a killer. Maybe you don't have the motivation to write or maybe you simply don't know that you could dedicate just one hour in your day to write. But most people I know, simply don't prioritize their writing. They decide to start writing when they retire. I push all my writing assignments to a vacation or a holiday since I am simply too disorganized to write when I am not on vacation. Like any other evil, the moment you procrastinate, you know that you're done for. You know that you are not getting that article written. Of the three long vacations that I've taken, I'm yet to finish any of my assignments. But I still believe I will write my memoir when I'm retired. Fat chance that is going to happen.

Writing is therapeutic.
Literary therapy- Can only be compared to the peace of mind that you'd get when you are in love.
I remember I started writing because I was lonely as a child. Many years later, I started blogging when I was going through one of the most traumatic phases of my life. Writing fulfilled a need to express and a desire to be honest with yourself. Writing gave me an emotional orgasm.

K.I.S.S
A decade ago, just as a fresher out of college, I worked with a marketing agency. A salesman trick that we're taught is how you must walk with confidence, approach your client with a smile and give a firm handshake. They also taught us of how we must make our best impression in the first ten seconds of meeting the client and of how we must 'let' the client hold and feel the product that we are selling (which in my case were Oxford Thesauruses). We were told that within 45 seconds of having handed over the book for demo, we must close the pitch or they'll not buy it. The K.I.S.S technique- Keep It Short and Sweet. Writing is not too different. Writers must be careful of the topic they choose, how they present it and the succulence with which they must wrap it up. Improvising on the K.I.S.S, I would say, you need to follow the 'Mini skirt' technique. Short enough to arouse interest, long enough to cover the subject.

Looking forward to a future that is a watt brighter than what it was before I was a writer/blogger, I owe all that I've written to my Lord- Jesus Christ.