Writing for Joy

Friends, this is a humorous piece highlighting the true purpose of writing. Thanks.

Anand was a novice writer. He loved to write for the sake of joy. And he did not care much for the mechanics of writing. Then someone learned told him that to improve his writing, he must get feedback from others. So, he joined an elite writing group and posted his first story with nervousness.

Voila! A review popped in within a few days!

Yes, Anand's submission had received feedback from a learned reviewer. Alas! The judgment was negative. That venerable reviewer had declared that the “tone” of his story changed from passive to aggressive all of a sudden.

Now, Anand had no prior idea what “tone” is. He had always been writing from his heart. He was, therefore, forced to take the help of the internet to understand it.

After much scratching of the head, light dawned, “Okay! This is what the 'tone' of a story is. Hmm, I will henceforth judge my writing as well as others’ writing by this and all other learned criteria reviewers use to judge a writing.”

At this time, Anand was pursuing a peer-reviewed online course on ‘Creative Writing’ from Coursera. After his newly acquired knowledge, he became a strict reviewer over there. He started giving failing grades to all his peers for the mismatched “tone” and other grievous crimes in writing.

Result?

Anguish spread around the peer community from Toronto to Timbuktu. He himself felt moved. Learning his mistake, Anand ditched “tone” and all the rest of the paraphernalia. He went back to his old accepting self and resumed writing for the sake of spreading happiness. And yes, he stopped judging others as well.

Joy returned to his writing life once more.