Words fall short when I have to express gratitude for the abundance of treasure I have earned through all of you, not only in terms of readership and following, but also the immense love, faith, and respect you unequivocally extend towards me. My writing journey has grown with you by my side. Thank you for standing by me through thick and thin. Your tremendous response to my previous post Say Hello 💕 has been overwhelming for me, especially the messages you have written laden with nostalgia about how you found me and when you started following my books and stories. I will start replying today. We have Easter break here for the next few days. These holidays, I haven’t planned any long-distance travel. Instead, I plan to spend time with family and finish the writing projects hovering on my mind (and to-do list 🙈😊) Also, tomorrow, 29.03.2026 Sunday, I will reveal the surprise I’ve planned for you, the close circle of readers and friends, who have been with me for years. Hope you enjoy your day, guessing what it is going to be 😍 See you here. Tomorrow!!!!!! lots of love and good wishes, M. (P.S. I will delete the previous post and this post, soon. So, if you haven’t added your name, please do so on the previous post – here ) (P.P.S. Filling the form once is enough!!! Some of you have been filling the form multiple times because it is not sending any confirmation of submission. Rest assured, I have your names. Contact me again, only if you don’t get an email by tomorrow evening.)
Hello dear readers, If you are still here… Say Hello 😍 in the box below, and add your email to be included in a close circle. Write your name. In the message: please mention which book of mine made you follow me, and if we have ever interacted before. I might have a small surprise for you 💗 sending you lots of love and good wishes 🤗 M. (PS. I will delete this post in a couple of days, so please be quick 😇) ← BackThank you for your response. ✨ Name(required) Email(required) Website Message Submit Δ
In the age of carefully crafted Instagram captions, curated, well-drafted, AI-written LinkedIn posts, and now even fiction churned out by the Generative AI, is there any room for more? For the past few months, the questions in the emails and messages I receive have changed. While previously, people wrote to me to talk about my books, my stories, my writing process and similar topics, these days, many people ask me if I have given up writing and why. Should they do so, as well, because writing has stopped making sense to them? If you are also one of those who have been feeling that the world is already drowning in a sea of words and opinions, adding to the growing pile of noise and chaos, and if you keep questioning yourself whether you should continue writing or give up, this post is for you. You are not alone. It is natural to feel overloaded, especially in this day and age, where one click releases a flood of information, spilling out from everywhere, all social media, and search engines, onto your screen. Opinion posts, reviews, poetry, essays, write-ups. stories, etc. There has bever been an era before when so much reading material was available that readers fell short of time and attention to go through it all. It is practically impossible to even skim through the sheer quantity of written material produced and posted every day. This is further complicated by the digital crowd sparring at each other with conflicting opinions, there is always a group speaking against any given information, followed by a plethora of misinformation, and so many fraudulent and manipulative discourses, that readers find themselves feeling both confused and disappointed. The growing feeling of overwhelm sneakily drains out the mental bandwidth and the physical energy to handle this barrage of knowledge, we were never designed to process. In this environment, it’s expected from anyone, who wants to protect their sanity, to take a step back and wonder if they should still continue to write at all. There is already so much to read, why devote time and energy to create something no one is going to read anyway? Should people keep writing, or stop? Think of the last time, someone wrote a personal email or a message to you. You might have read it twice. Or thrice. You might have read it slowly, taking every word in. Your coffee must have felt special for those few minutes, and maybe you smiled through the course of the busy day. I do. Your messages and emails make me feel the effort was worthwhile. They make my day a little brighter. On my side, I hope my stories do that same for you. Because this is what human touch does. It makes you feel what technology can never. Since the world has started sounding like an online echo chamber, and since it is already overwhelmed with similar looking, algorithm tailored write-ups, I believe the need for authentic, original, raw writing will only increase. You should continue to write because you are you. Your life experiences, your decisions, your mistakes, small wins and way of thinking belongs only to you. It is this personal journey that makes you unique. Even the intention behind your writing is unique to you. Some write to highlight the pain and injustice, they see in the world, while some write to draw attention to the beauty of the world and human emotions. Some want to rant their frustrations out and some want to spread love. It is different for everyone and every emotion is very much needed. Especially now, more than ever, because the world (drowning in words already) needs a deeper touch of human emotions. We need different voices to stop our days becoming more mechanical with technology ruling a large part of our day. You should write because you offer a lens to see the world that others don’t have. It is easy to feel that everything worth saying has already been said. I go through this thought sometimes, when I open this blog to write a new post. Yes. it is true that almost everything has been already written and spoken in different shades and opinions. But your perspective can be different and unique. You need not write new things all the time. But the world needs unconventional and hopeful voice you might offer. At least, it makes sense to the few reading you. Yours might be the one that encourages people to take a step they have been meaning to, for quite a while now. So, go ahead! I hope more people bring raw integrity and authenticity to the world of automation and click-bait articles. Your voice matters. It truly does. I haven’t stopped writing. You shouldn’t too. ………………………. PS. In another news, I had crashed the code of this site that made my posts lose all formatting, making them look like a giant mass of words. I have found a solution, as I mentioned in my last post but it requires me to update all previous posts manually. Please bear with me as I update the blog, it’s main page, and the stories. I hope to make them more sorted. But it is taking more time than I expected. I apologize if during this process, a few posts reach your emails. I am trying my best not to spam your inboxes. Thank you once again. Tons of love 💕 M.
A few days ago, I had posted about how I had accidentally managed to crash the formatting of this website and all the blogs I have written till date. After a few changes suggested by Google and ChatGPT, it remained the same for the past few days. I am sure if I kept going for 2 more days, these tools would have taught me all the basics of coding Finally, I gave up trying to improve code once WordPress warned me that I will lose all access and posts on this site if I disturbed the original code anymore. So now, I have downloaded a new plugin and trying to write using this new system. I really hope it works!!!!!! . . . Don’t worry about these dots above. This was deliberate to check the page layout after posting. I am also making a new paragraph after every line to see whether it is really working. I will now do a few more additions below like changing the font, adding a picture, etc. Please bear with me and let me know if it is working or not! I am so deeply grateful to my friends here who bear with me with every phase of my blogging journey. Love you all 💕 Update: I think this new system works. Which is a good news!!! The downside is that I cannot make global changes to the website using this plugin. So, I have to go back and make the changes manually to every single post and republish it. It is going to take some time. So, I hope, like always, you will be patient with my old posts being clumped together, before I make changes to them. Thank you so much. Tons of love.
A few weeks ago, while updating this website, I somehow managed to disturb the basic code, and thus the layout of this website. After that, all my previous posts looked like a giant mass of text. That means, the formatting was lost and no matter how many pauses, gaps, spacing and paragraph changes I made in my post, WordPress didn’t add them to the code and the text appeared clumped. One of my tasks, before the year ends, was to make this site pretty and cozy. My idea for this blog has always been to create a homely place for everyone who wants to read something nice, especially on rainy days or cold winter days, balancing hot coffee or a mug of hot chocolate with a comforter, and also for those who might not be feeling well, or low or having a bad day, they should know there is one more place they can visit and feel welcomed. I was trying to make things easy, smooth and streamlined including the Homepage, the other pages, etc… but I deleted a few plugins and ended up like this 🙈❤️🩹 First, I spent a few hours every day to streamline the blog, before I start posting some of my stories… and then, the last few days correcting the damage. But alas! Finally, I found a solution and now I am making changes to every post manually. Hopefully, I correct the damage to the entire site before the New Year’s eve. But I am not deleting this post. I made this post to announce the damages caused and to remind myself that things can go wrong anywhere and everywhere. Also, whatever you think can go wrong, ‘will’ go wrong. But setbacks have only one meaning- Growth! I am leaving this post here… as a reminder 💗
This post is for for all those who either read or write online… and especially those readers who still check my page every day, either reading old posts or checking for new ones. I have been writing online for more than 15 years now. Off and on, of course. On different platforms, different forums, blogspot, wattpad, wordpress… for all the times, readers poured in, joined my journey and the numbers increased when I was consistently posting. Interestingly, they left when I wasn’t regular with posting stories. That’s the norm. That’s expected. And I always know it will happen. But can we do something about it? I guess, the answer is – no. If you have to take a break, you can do nothing otherwise; or else you, your emotions and your mental peace will be hijacked by algorithms and public sentiments. The case is same with social media and algorithms. If you are there regularly, your reach shoots up. Or else, you are shadow-banned. That is how the business or the system works. When you are a busy professional and love creative work, it’s usually the most difficult with writing, unlike painting or cooking. Writing takes long hours beyond regular day work, just to have 1 product ready. It demands patience and an undistracted mind for one piece of writing takes ages to complete. Yet, we keep doing it purely for the love of it, and for the way it makes everyone feel… authors and readers alike. It does get exhausting at times, to try to juggle and fit multiple things in a box. Taking a break is not only natural, it is much needed. At least for some of us. However, the plot twist thickens when you take a break and return. It is never, ever, easy to bounce back after a long sabbatical. I can vouch for this, first-hand, because I have been in this shaky ship for several times. Both your creativity and audience go away for a long walk once you take a break. Audience leaves, barring a few. Creativity leaves faster and is harder to get back. It is said that creativity is like a running tap. When it flows, it flows. When I used to post an update every single day, it was overflowing for me. I still don’t know how I did it. But when it stops, you need extra efforts to unblock the plug you put on it. I started writing online around 2010, took a few breaks here and there to attend to personal stuff. As you all know, by now, that I am a doctor and a very hands-on mother. I love to cook and read. Sometimes, I paint as well. So, my plates are more than full at all times. However, writing has been my all-time love. My audience connected with me and kept increasing as I posted new books and disappeared when there were no books. It is justified, though. Especially when I remove the ongoing stories due to any reason. I understand that readers will drift away when there are no books for them to read? And sometimes, I feel responsible for people who were invested in the story. They deserve closure and it is not fair to take the story away, especially when it is not completed. It stays in my mind to compensate it. some day. Before I took a long sabbatical in 2014, during my second pregnancy, I had thousands of readers on blogspot. However, the number gradually dropped to 5-7, as I stopped posting regularly. A few stayed in touch with me through emails. But this time, the gap was 2 years. When I returned, I started posting again in 2016 and later joined wattpad in 2017. Like always, I started writing for the handful of readers I could count on my fingers but I owe it to them for constantly asking me to write and post new stories. Once again, the number quickly rose to thousands. As a lot of you already know, I had to remove my books from wattpad in 2019 because they were being plagiarised. Not one but over 3 times. This time, I decided to publish my books and remove them from all online sites. My first 2 books – The Masquerade and Spark & Spice 1 were published in quick succession, with a promise of a sequel for Spark & Spice. But then, life caught up. I was not even trying to edit. I dreaded picking up Book 2. Or any other form of writing. I was not being lazy or complacent. I took some giant leaps in my professional and personal life. I moved to Germany, added a new degree to my résumé, learned a new language, joined courses, joined new work. But that is not an excuse. That is life 😊 I finally picked up editing Book 2 in the last few months. But the lack of flow is troubling me. To maintain a flow, I even started writing part 3 here, so that I can get the grasp of the story smoothly. Initially, it was difficult to be honest. Then, I started getting emails and messages to not continue it because readers were tempted to read. Then, at one point in time, I couldn’t go ahead too without giving spoilers from Book 2. So, I stopped part 3 temporarily. Whenever, I resume Book 3, it will be completed here initially because you started reading it here. I had previously posted the stages of editing process of my books in my writing journal (Read here). I have now edited the third draft of Book 2 of Spark & Spice which is pretty loose but more structured than the first one. The first draft was written in 2018, and I feel I was very new to writing then, so I used to repeat a lot of stuff (I still do) and made a ton of mistakes (I do that too). I now appreciate my readers Read…
Hello dear people,As some of you might have noticed, I’m posting here after a long time, almost 3 months. If you didn’t, I don’t blame you, as internet is cluttered and we have limited time to catch up on everything!That I haven’t been posting, also shows in my choice of title of the post. I didn’t know how to title it aptly. In my hay-days of regular posting, I would have never titled a post as – ‘new post’…On the bright side, this will assure you that this post is not written by AI. These days, everything I read online smells of AI, so much so, it is sad it has taken the credibility away from good writers. Whether a well crafted piece of analysis of world politics or an opinion article, or a thoughtful essay on life, everything posted online stands at a risk of being considered ‘not authentic’ in case, they are composed beautifully, using well chosen words and written really well.Sometimes, I think, only flaws differentiate real work from nearly perfect AI creations. Embrace your flaws for they make you authentic.I have always had a hot and cold relationship with social media. I post on blog or Instagram for weeks and months, and then disappear for a long time. It’s because sometimes I feel like I don’t have much to add to the already existing flood of information. When things are going wrong, whether in personal space or world affairs, I find it better to read more, try to know what exactly is going on and can I help in any way. I believe posting needlessly will only add to the noise with my limited knowledge and possibly skewed opinions. This also gives me a moment to step back and observe. Just observe. The world is too crooked and yet too synchronized in its chaos for you to notice, if you are not careful enough to spot the glitches.Sometimes, I stay away from the internet to finish things I began. And most of the times, to just be. Be myself. You all know me. I don’t live my life on the internet. I try to do a truck load of things and then feel overwhelmed, because obviously, it is too much. As some of you know, I am a doctor and a mother, apart from all other things I try to be. So, I always have my plates full.But I do miss the connection with all of you who have been with me in my journey through thick and thin. Today, I am here for a warm up post to see if some of you are still reading the blog :)I plan to post regularly for the next few weeks and share the progress on my third book because I had promised to do. I have recently finished editing the third draft and I am slightly on track, touchwood. I am now writing 6 new chapters, fresh, from the scratch, as I believe the characters need and deserve more. I do need advice on whether I should change the name too. But more on that, in the next post.If you have any questions or suggestions, about my upcoming book, about the writing process and about anything in general, you can write to me in the message box at the top of this page or DM me on Instagram. I always look forward to read from you. I have been receiving a lot of emails and messages from some of you who try to stay in touch with me and I can’t be grateful enough for the love and trust you pour on me.In the past few weeks, some of you have asked me to help them chart out a path to success. Though, very general, it is a pertinent question, especially for the younger lot who have big dreams but not a concrete plan to execute them.To answer honestly, I am not an expert. I usually don’t have everything figured out, so I keep sifting through numerous, countless pebbles to collect the gems to stumble my way towards success. But I do one thing and that is to keep working. If I fail, which I often, I try to see what I can do better and improve my approach. But I don’t stop.Other than this, I believe, there is plenty of advice available on the internet for free. There are numerous youtube videos tackling the obstacle you might be facing in your journey. I may not have anything special or different to tell you which is already not known. It’s all there. The secret to any kind of success, in any field, is no secret actually. Follow the age old formulas and you will see yourself hitting the top.A word of caution, though. Please don’t fall for claims on the internet.Most of them are false, loud, and misleading. People who are really earning in millions will not sell a course to teach you how to make millions. It smells of a scam from a distance. Research well who you are taking advice from. Go only for certified professionals or leaders in their profession to upscale your game or learn skills in your profession. Keep your eyes and ears open. Get rich quick schemes don’t exist. You can also go to the OpenAI and type in your problem. It will give you step by step solutions, alternate ways to look at the issue and possible resources, as well. Do not follow it blindly, though. Every technology has its limitations.Still, if there is anything specific and you want me to discuss it, let me know. If my adding 2 cents helps you, I’d be glad to share my experience.Take care. Love 💕M.
In my dermatology practice, I am often asked the same question (or maybe some variants of it) by a lot of people – “Will my skin glow with this cream?”My answer is always, invariably – “Of course, not!”No matter how many eye-rolls and eyebrow raises my answers invite, I am firm on what I say about the newest skin-glowing cream, even if it claims so. It is almost impossible to make human beings ‘glow’. It would take a totally drastic DNA sequencing and alteration to make you glow in any way. Fireflies glow, some fish and animals glow, even Vampires in Twilight glow. Human beings don’t.They smile. And they get the point. They rephrase the question – “What I mean to ask is will it make my skin shine?”My reply is still the same, with a better explanation. Yes, it will make your skin clearer. Maybe a bit blemish-free. Maybe you feel ‘slightly’ lighter because of tan reduction. But that is it. I remind people of the toothpaste advertisement, famous in 90s, where an entire village stands in a queue to light up the road because their teeth shone like hundreds of tubelights in a row. It was funny and it drove the point across that the particular toothpaste helps you clean your teeth in a way better than the others. But in reality, we don’t expect to see our teeth shining like pearls or worse, tubelights and bulbs. Similarly, no sane women will chase a man on roads, no matter whatever deo they apply. We get the message.Advertisements thrive on larger-than-life storytelling and hyping up things. So, do books, movies and TV shows. They are not expected to be taken literally. This art of taking things with a pinch of salt and bringing them to our lives to match reality is called toning down. It is a subtle art but needs a lot of patience and reality check.A lot of times, we find ourselves watching tv and films, reading books, and then silently sighing, “But it only happens in movies and books, right?”Right!You get the point. Situations, circumstances, plot themes in films and fiction books are created, planned and planted deliberately to add a layer of mystery, romance, thrill, or suspense. They are all carefully contrived and serve a purpose – either to move the story ahead, reveal something about the characters and their relationship or to add conflict. Even the dialogues and instances in the storytelling are devices to serve the story, so that the drama and climax wrap up in 400 pages.Imagine someone holding your hand under the moonlight and crooning a melody to serenade to you or speaking a long monologue of love and togetherness forever. Cringe, right? Thankfully, it doesn’t happen in real life. Usually doesn’t😊. And no one ever looks at your face momentarily to guess what you are going through. Chances are you will have to shout at the top of your lungs and declare war before people actually get what you are trying to convey. How about a billionaire obsessed with you, felt possessive and stalked you to a point it drives you crazy? You will end up blocking him everywhere. So, here’s where we put our art of toning down to use. Books, novels, poetry and movies are a beautiful escape to wonderland, not meant to be translated word to word in real. Instead, the message must be slightly toned down to avoid smothering people around us with over-the-top, unrealistic expectations.Storylines, plot themes and characters following a set pattern are called tropes. Enemies to lovers where a spicy banter turns to undeniable passion; childhood friends turned lovers, especially after the girl faces a traumatic experience; a pretend-relationship through a contract, forcing a proximity between people who don’t get along well; forbidden relationships due to family animosity, or maybe a social taboo; damsel in distress, the beauty and the saviour, the beast; an ordinary character out to save the world; memory loss; office romance, etc. etc… Fascinating, isn’t it?These are some of the tropes I have loved to watch and read about. The best part is how they are woven intricately in different stories by different writers, making them appealing every time they are explored. I wonder, how I would have relished if I had seen any of them in real life. But I haven’t. So, I look again but this time, I tone down, apply a brush stroke of rosy pink shade and a soft-glow filter to reality I see everyday and find they are great to toss around in a new story I am writing.Fiction is meant to slowly draw us within a dream, to make us feel things we miss during the course of a busy day, to escape the noise and dive in the magic. It’s beautiful and surreal. But the magic of fiction doesn’t mean the real life relationships are any less magical. Just like human beings don’t glow and their teeth don’t shine, logic and sanity says we shouldn’t look for dramatic tropes in real. The silence of companionship speaks louder than declarations of love. If someone watches out for you when you are late at work, orders your favourite food, checks whether you had your medicines or makes you laugh, they speak love language in their own ways. Also, expecting everyone to speak their minds clearly, communicate sensibly, bare their insecurities or worries, be reasonable, or make tall declarations of love is a bit too much. Not everyone is capable of doing that. All you need is the subtle art of toning down and you will see how stories and people around you are nothing less than special in their own way.Let’s enjoy the beauty of fantasies written around captivating characters, bask in the glory of riveting book tropes weaving unforgettable love, feel the magic of unrealistic love stories and complicated relationships, but always remember the best story is the one you are living in, even if there are no last-minute airport confessions or rain-drenched melodies.Let Read…
Last week, I had written that I will journal as I go deeper into the editing of Book 2 of my second novel Spark & Spice. A lot of you asked me to post it here. So, here I am… with the book editing journal for More Spark Extra Spice (I will soon make a landing page for Book 2).So, in the last seven days, I started working on it seriously and finished almost one-sixth of it. For the ease sake, I have divided the story in 3 parts – The beginning, middle and the end. So, I’ve finished more than half of first part and hopefully finish the first part this week.When I write the story for the first time, I am a natural over-writer. I write and write what comes to my mind. Initially posted as a long form of serialized fiction on blog or wattpad, I need to repeat things a lot so that the readers don’t forget what happened in the last few chapters and how the protagonists landed in a particular situation. But it is not needed in a novel, which is more or less, concise. So a lot of deletions need to be made while writing a novel. Currently, I am at the developmental editing stage, where I need to make sure whether the story makes sense despite all the editing and the deletions.Ideally, the following are my stages of writing and editing a story before it gets published:First Draft (When I write and post a story online, I usually post the first draft)Second draft – When it is to be made into a book, this stage ensures there is a sensible story to tell, after all :)Third Draft – Developmental Editing – This step includes deletions, rewriting, rephrasing things which don’t make sense, removing repetitions, deleting entire chapters which sound dragging or which don’t find a place in the final draft.Since I write a lot, the book will go up to 1000 pages if I publish every chapter, every scene. The price goes up too. And I feel both are unnecessary. I am trying to keep the pages around 450-500 pages or maybe lesser, if I can. This stage is the most daunting for all writers. It is so much work, I keep pushing it for later.Fourth stage – to check if finally everything is making sense and there are no loopholes left.Fifth – To reread dialogues, line-by-line editing for spelling mistakes, typo errors, grammatical mistakesSixth – At this stage, I give the draft to Beta readers, family and friends, whom I trust to give valuable, honest opinion to me.Seventh – If I need to make changes after feedback, or improve clarity at some points.Eighth – Right before giving it to the publisher – I try to read againNinth – After the publisher designs the internal design of the book, some words get merged since the transition from MS Word to PDF file makes these errors. So, they send it to me to check if there are errors.Tenth – Just before publishing 😭If you noticed, I wrote ‘Stage’ and not ‘draft’ after Fourth. It’s because with each stage, I may have to read the draft 3-4 times.Since I am deleting a couple of chapters, I am arranging them in a separate folder “Deleted Chapters – Spark & Spice 2” – They were once posted on the blog but unfortunately, some of them don’t belong in the final book. Don’t worry, though. Once Book 2 is released, I will publish those chapters here under a separate section, so that old readers don’t miss any scene they might have liked before 😊Coming to the writing tip of the day, for all the aspiring writers, who connect with me:Read a lot. Read different genres, newspaper, fiction, non-fiction, blogs… keep reading. And then, keep writing. When you fall in love with the art of writing, you will get better at it only by consistent practice.I love writing fiction, as you all know by now. Let me know if you write too, and what is it that you love to write the most. Also, what is it that motivates you to write something. I would love to hear from you.Ciao for now. I wish you an amazing week ahead.Lots of love 💓M.PS: You can write to me by commenting here/ or, use the contact form to reach my mailbox/ or, DM me on Instagram – dr.manita.v Go backYour message has been sent Name(required) Warning Email(required) Warning Website Warning Message Warning Warning. Submit Δ
Last month, I was on a super short impromptu visit to India. I had previously planned for a longer haul sometime later in the year, but since I had some urgent official works, I had to make this quick trip. Two weeks flew away in a jiffy – travelling to and fro, and through three cities within India. Too much travelling, I know. The trip was hectic but extremely fruitful, both emotionally and functionally. It doesn’t matter that I couldn’t buy Indian-wear, savour all the Indian delicacies I had been missing or meet all the people I wanted to hang out with. Yet, just being in my homeland and connecting with my roots anchor me to my purpose and mission. Back to the grind, I am currently working on creating a system that can help as many people as possible understand their skin and hair problems. I see more and more people ignoring their concerns because of either lack of doctors, longer queues, or unsuitable timings, leading to them applying anything or everything suggested on the internet. Please don’t do this. It will further complicate your issues or aggravate the disease leading to complications. Always check the credentials of the advisor before taking medical advice on social media. Apart from that, my writing has taken a major setback in the last 3 years. Firstly, since I was moving to Germany, my focus was on the nitty-gritty and official work. Paperwork and setting base to a new country takes some time and a lot of work. Then, life here took priority. And now, when I am comparatively settled, I am at a stage in writing where I keep trying to pick up where I left but it gets difficult every day. Writing is like any other art which thrives on consistency. A lot of people ask me how I managed to write and post stories almost every other day, back then. My answer is because I was consistent, the ball kept rolling. After Spark & Spice, I received hundreds of queries about Book 2. I have been working on it forever, because I did not edit after the second draft. I start and stop. I start and stop, again. I even started Book 3 Spark & Spice Forever, so that I stay anchored in ‘that’ zone mentally but even that met with so much resistance from readers. People didn’t want to read Book 3 before Book 2. And my procrastinator self followed what people asked me to. Finally, I have started writing the blog again and I hopefully continue, except when I am travelling (as in past 3 weeks). Now, I will start Book 2 again and finish it in one go, so that the gaps are sealed seamlessly. I am also planning to keep a journal of my journey of completing and publishing Book 2 of Spark & Spice, with my log of the day and some writing tips. Let me know if you would want to read it. Some of you have stayed in touch with me for past so many years. I am so proud to see a lot of you working in diverse fields and following their passions too. At the same time, there are a few who were following their passion or calling a few years back but have given up now. Maybe you have discontinued as your art doesn’t give you the same joy as before. Maybe you are on a break like I was. Maybe you want to pick it up again but don’t know how to. Consider this as a sign and try to get back to it if it still speaks to you. Once you begin, it will follow you all over again. I may have been on a break but I know I will pick it up, more strongly than ever. And when I can do it, along with my work, family, two kids, traveling, and consulting patients, you can too. All of us have different issues and all of us deal with them in our own ways. The best way that works for me is to have an anchor that brings you back to your pursuit and keeps you hooked until you finish your task. Anchors are for the times when we need support to begin or continue something. Not for most of the regular days. Find an anchor that brings you back to your calling and let it hold you on your table for at least an hour or so. I used to listen to music when I studied for medical exams. It was my trusted anchor for a long time when long hours of sitting on the desk was needed. Then, it was replaced by a wrist watch. I used to take it off my wrist and would lay before my laptop to begin working. My fingers moved on the laptop with the moving needles of the watch. It’s funny and a bit silly too, but works. These days, I light a candle and make coffee as I sit down to write. These are my anchors on days when writing becomes a task. Do you have any anchors which swiftly take you back to your work on dull days and remind you to not be distracted? Share with me if you have them. I am excited to know. Ciao for now. Take care 💓 M. PS. I would love to hear from you. You can write to me in the comments/ or use the below form to reach my mailbox directly/ or message me on Instagram – dr.manita.v Go backYour message has been sent Name(required) Warning Email(required) Warning Website Warning Message Warning Warning. Submit Δ
