I am a dreamer. Along the road with the many twists and turns that's life, some of my dreams have been fulfilled, many have been forgotten and some have been destroyed beyond repair. Some dreams though, refuse to die. They may be neglected for a few days, a few weeks or even a few years, but they always seem to recur and find some way to jump out and make themselves noticed. One such is the dream that I will one day write a novel, the novel about the Indian everyman. Something about your life and mine, something as real as a book can be. I have always gone about it the wrong way, trying to learn "the method", "the secret behind writing a novel" and so on. Obviously, there is no secret, there is no method to the madness. I have realized this. I have also realized that I need to figure out if I can actually do this.

I've been mulling about this during the last few days and I think I should really do this - à la Julie Powell, I am setting myself a challenge - there are 127 days left in 2009. I am setting myself the challenge of writing 150 "shorts" before 2009 is over. No restrictions on the length of the short, no restriction on genre, type, etc. I just have to be happy enough with what I write to put it up on this blog. If I do manage to start writing stories long enough to be broken up into chapters, each chapter will be considered a short for the purpose of this challenge. Thanks AB, D and all you others that have been pestering me for so long to at least give it a shot. Here goes nothing!

I just hope I have the energy, the creativity and the motivation to go thro' with this. If I complete the challenge, I'll start worrying about the novel. So wish me luck gentle reader, and do feel free with your comments and criticism. I'll leave you with this quote from Ratatouille that I really liked - "In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations, the new needs friends."

Challenge Update : 127 Days, 150 to go