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My Experience As An Anonymous Writer

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by Agatha83, Apr 16, 2018.

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Apr 17, 2018 #11

Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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Sunburst said: ↑

For someone who started writing at the age of 60, you truly are an inspiration to many . With the NSA and Facebook fiasco , I now believe that anonymity and privacy was never there . Everything is out there whether or not you signed up for it !
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Dear Sunburst,

Not knowing the nuances of FB, WhatsApp etc, I am not a member of any of these websites. One has to be technically suave, because many times we are left alone to deal with problems which occur periodically! After four years, now only I am comfortable dealing with my laptop or IPad. With so many long passwords, safe security, privacy settings, uhh! Too much for oldies like me!

Agatha83

Last edited: Apr 17, 2018

Agatha83, Apr 17, 2018

Agatha83, Apr 17, 2018

#11
Apr 17, 2018 #12

Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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Dear Agatha
It was like reading Bertie's article on 'What the Well-dressed Man is wearing' in his Aunt Dahlia's periodical 'Milady's Boudoir'. Rs.700 before a decade must have been a steal!
When I read your snippets, I am overcome with self pity. I ask myself, 'Why can't I write like her?' Your humor is unobtrusive. It is not a glaring diversion but merges beautifully with the main story. You don't write something for the sake of making people laugh but your snippets never fail to crease our faces with an appreciative smile .
IL is lucky to have you around!
Sri

Cheeniya, Apr 17, 2018

Cheeniya, Apr 17, 2018

#12

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Apr 17, 2018 #13

Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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nandinimithun said: ↑

Dear agatha,
That was a wonderful write up.... like its told everything has its own pros and cons....
You are an inspiration to many here in Indusladies..... writing at the ripe age with a simple yet beautiful content, kudos and a big hug to you.
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Dear nandinimithun,

Thanks for your kind words, lovely hugs and lots of affection.

Agatha83

Agatha83, Apr 17, 2018

Agatha83, Apr 17, 2018

#13

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Apr 17, 2018 #14

Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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Srama said: ↑

Dear Agatha!

Phew! I can only imagine - writing when feelings were so intense must have touched a chord with many and then your address and phone number getting printed! I can only imagine what you must have gone through then.

Thanks to that article back then, writing bug has stayed with you and we here reap the benefits of your lovely writing.
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Dear rama,

Imagine my position where I had to spend the entire day answering phone calls from complete strangers- some threatening, some cajoling, just to get the information about the hospital and the doctor. many times I just slammed the phone in anger, but there was no escape from the feedback I got through phones and personal calls-frustrating experience it was! thanks for your appreciation.

Agatha83

Agatha83, Apr 17, 2018

Agatha83, Apr 17, 2018

#14
Apr 17, 2018 #15

Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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jayasala42 said: ↑

Lovely writing! Every one has crossed 'the first time' in life.The first memory always lingers long, whether it was a desirable one or irksome.The good ones are sometimes followed by the undesirable results and vice versa.
Reg anonymity, I have read many poems written by authors( anonymous) and they have excelled even Tennyson, wordsworth and even Shakespeare.Some come to lime light and some remain a lamp inside a pot( kudaththil milirum vilakku)
When I wrote my first article to Open Page, the Hindu, someone from the Hindu office telephoned to me that the article was pragmatic to the core depicting middle class woes.When I saw my writing in print at the age of 68, what a feeling!Afterwards many articles were published, many were edited and many were rejected,all part of the game.The first one remains green for ever.

jayasala42
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Dear jayasala,

Yes it was an exhilarating experience when I saw my writing for the first time in print, but my happiness didn't last long due to a faux pas made by the newspaper. Anyway looking back it was a different and difficult experience, through which I came out intact! i always admire and enjoy your writings be it in the print media or in IL community.

Agatha83

Agatha83, Apr 17, 2018

Agatha83, Apr 17, 2018

#15
Apr 17, 2018 #16

Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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joylokhi said: ↑

Can imagine the shock you received after your supposedly anonymous write up came up to haunt you through phone calls! The Newspaper is clearly at fault for giving false information as to its anonymity. Either way, Im sure the write up would have had its effect at least on the few it was meant for! We at IL surely enjoy your writings with all the wisdom and experience behind it.
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Dear joylokhi,

The previous issues of the same newspaper which carried the anonymous columns were truly anonymous, without a mention of even the email Id of the writer. But in my case, somewhere things went wrong and caused me a lot of anxiety and embarrassment. Yes, i learnt some heads rolled at the top level in the same hospital, but my only fear was that no harm should come to my mom due to such an exposure.
Thanks for all the love and appreciation you shower on me.

Agatha83

Agatha83, Apr 17, 2018

Agatha83, Apr 17, 2018

#16

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Apr 17, 2018 #17

Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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Cheeniya said: ↑

Dear Agatha
It was like reading Bertie's article on 'What the Well-dressed Man is wearing' in his Aunt Dahlia's periodical 'Milady's Boudoir'. Rs.700 before a decade must have been a steal!
When I read your snippets, I am overcome with self pity. I ask myself, 'Why can't I write like her?' Your humor is unobtrusive. It is not a glaring diversion but merges beautifully with the main story. You don't write something for the sake of making people laugh but your snippets never fail to crease our faces with an appreciative smile .
IL is lucky to have you around!
Sri
Click to expand...

Dear Cheeniya Sir,

That was the first time I ever received a cheque in my name, at a ripe year of 60 which I never ever dreamt. Right Ho Cheeniya Sir, You are the star writer here in IL and looking at the repartee you give back to Iravathi's sixers and fours, I am almost clean bowled by your finesse with which you handle even the most delicate FBs. ,
I love watching movies like "The Kid", Life is beautiful, The pursuit of Happiness,- movies which combine both drama and comedy. When life is too serious, I have to take some deviation and delve into humor or otherwise I would be counting the mosquitoes in a lunatic asylum.
More than the cheque of 700 rs, appreciative words coming from you is a Life Time Achievement Award for me. Thank you Sir for such sincere and encouraging words.
Regards,
Agatha83

Agatha83, Apr 17, 2018

Agatha83, Apr 17, 2018

#17
Apr 17, 2018 #18

SCSusila Gold IL'ite

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Enjoyed reading your reminiscence . So warm and humourous.
It must have been tiresome having strangers calling you up , when all you wanted was anonymity !

Now, no more anonymous ! you are a Star here !

SCSusila, Apr 17, 2018

SCSusila, Apr 17, 2018

#18

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Apr 18, 2018 #19

Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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SCSusila said: ↑

Enjoyed reading your reminiscence . So warm and humourous.
It must have been tiresome having strangers calling you up , when all you wanted was anonymity !

Now, no more anonymous ! you are a Star here !
Click to expand...

Dear Susila,

It’s nice to see you here after a long time. Yes, that was the one time when I wanted to become invisible or go underground! Haha! Thank you for your star rating. But I would like to be very much in touch with members like you in IL grounded in reality rather than a twinkling little star up above the sky!

Agatha83

Agatha83, Apr 18, 2018

Agatha83, Apr 18, 2018

#19
Apr 18, 2018 #20

shyamala1234 Platinum IL'ite

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Agatha83 said: ↑

Decade back, a leading newspaper welcomed their women readers to submit essays as part of an anonymous column that described their everyday life. For every essay that was published, the women would be given Rs.700 for their efforts. For the first time in my life at the ripe age of 60, the seed of adopting writing as a hobby was planted in my mind.

I knew what I wanted to write about because for five years I had been struggling hopelessly between doctors and hospitals for treating my mother’s spinal chord problem. Their utter callousness towards my 80-year-old mother, had made me want to shout out loud to the world about how unethical the doctors could be. I wanted to reflect the ugly truth behind those pristine white coats donned by the doctors even in some of the best hospitals.

I poured my heart and soul into writing about the happenings in the hospital, the casual attitude of the doctors, the indifference showed by the nurses and attenders, the vicious cycle of money — the list was endless, but I wrote with an unusual vengeance and trauma. Many times it left me emotionally drained, drowning me in an overwhelming sadness about my impotent anger.

When I asked my daughter to edit my writing, one look at it and she first asked about me having ever read newspapers. While I passionately nodded my head in affirmation, she asked me how was it that my writing didn’t have any structure, introduction, paragraphs, punctuation marks — in short from start to end it was an emotional garbage.

She also pointed out how I went overboard with my emotions in my narration, another negative point in my writing. Thus taking these points into consideration, I made a fresh copy of the whole write up which was approved by my daughter to be sent to the newspaper finally.

Since I was relatively new to a desktop computer, it took almost a week to complete the write up and check thoroughly for any spelling mistakes, syntax errors and silly grammar mistakes resulting in a decent write up finally.

Though it was an anonymous column, I had to give my house address, phone number as contact details. But that the newspaper never revealed the name or email id of those writers whose articles were published in the previous issues. — all made me feel very safe and secure.

Few months passed, by which I had completely forgotten about the article I wrote. But suddenly one day, there was an email smiling at me, with a happy news that my article was to be published the next week.

I could not sleep the entire week, because the article contained many sensitive issues, which even the medical council would have refused to discuss. The D-Day arrived and I was nervously waiting for the arrival of the newspaper.

When the paper landed with a thud, my heart skipped a beat. With trembling hands I took up the newspaper and started reading my published article. Hey! My first write up published and I was also getting a cheque for Rs.700. I was shouting out loud in excitement and started having dreams about getting a top slot in the Booker’s prize list in future!

But wait, my sweet reverie was broken with a loud ringing bell — both from the phone and the door bell. When I opened the door, a complete stranger was standing. But the non-stop ringing of the telephone stopped me in furthering my conversation with him and ran to pick up the phone. At the other end when I lifted the phone with a pounding heart in anticipation of congratulatory messages from the newspaper itself, I was taken back by surprise when a complete stranger asked me to reveal the identity of both the doctor and hospital which treated my mother in a threatening voice!

I was dumbstruck when the query was raised and asked the fellow how he got my phone number. He chuckled and asked me to have another look at the newspaper article. I cut off the call and hurriedly looked out at my article. Below it in bold letters was my name, address and phone number! What happened the entire day was a nightmare with recurring calls from complete strangers! So much for being an anonymous writer, what with the harsh welcome I got, when I stepped in to the world of writers!

It was a bitter lesson I learnt in my life - never to take your anonymity for granted!
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Dear Agatha madam,
Anonimity cannot be maintained for ever in any field. Talented artists, writers or with any skill have to come out and the world finds them.
Smooth flow of words...no pomp or showy...the words just flow and your fingers dance on the keyboard!
Hope we would read and interact on many blogs in future.
Syamala

shyamala1234, Apr 18, 2018

shyamala1234, Apr 18, 2018

#20

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