Writer, book lover, civil engineer, YouTuber, aspiring talk show host — not always all of them. Not always in order.
Hi there!
I’m Ana. I’m 28 years old and was born in a small town called Jorhat in Assam — a hilly Indian state nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas. English is my fourth language, but somehow the love for the language is rooted deep in my heart.
When I was young, my friends had dreams of becoming astronauts, movie stars, or pilots. I always wanted to be a writer.
There wasn’t even a single doubt in my head. It was my one true love.
I wrote my first poem when I was only four-years-old. When I was ten…
Habits for Smart Writers
This is how I got on a writing streak of 2,000+ words daily for seven straight months (but the word count is not the point).
Since March, I’ve been on a writing streak. I spent the first two months of self-isolation working on my novel and finished the first draft (87,000+ words). I was also writing a few articles here and there, but then, once my novel was complete, I started writing one article daily.
Aside from the blog posts, I was also writing regular newsletters and working on my upcoming collection of short stories.
People from the Northeast are as much Indians as the people from the rest of the country
I was born in Assam — a state in the northeastern part of India. Aside from Assam, there are six other states in this region — Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Tripura — that are collectively known as “the Seven Sisters.”
Ethnically, the people from the northeastern part of the country have different features from the people in the mainland. We have fairer skin, straight hair, more slender build, and epicanthic folds in our eyes. As the book North-East India: Land, People and Economy makes clear:
“While the original settlers were the Mongoloids, the Indo-Aryan and other groups…
Because now’s the best time to start building your online writing empire.
As a child, I always dreamed of being a writer.
But back then I thought the only way you can earn money by writing is if your book becomes an international bestseller, something like Harry Potter.
This is part of the reason why I never considered taking up writing seriously. According to what everyone around me said, writing is just a hobby, and you need a job to stay alive and earn money.
Today, thanks to the advent of the Internet, writing has become one of the most sought-after occupations in the world. …
Friendships, fun, and a cool site-wide book readathon.
Dear friends and readers
After your overwhelming response to the launch of the BAOS Book Club, we are super excited to announce some even cooler features.
In July, we focused on making the reading experience smooth for you. Now, we have even more exciting features, including a site-wide book read-along, and an amazing opportunity to earn money while reading or writing.
You’ll need to become a member of the BAOS Book Club to experience the same. For $5 a month, you get access to four things:
1. A virtual book club
What do you do if you’re sitting on your balcony one day, staring out…
Lessons I learned from my grandmother’s silence over the conflicts in a dysfunctional Indian joint family.
When I was seven, I loved writing poems.
I turned every new experience into my childish poetry.
As a seven-year-old, almost everything that happens to you is a brand new experience.
My first train ride, the first time I rode a bicycle, quarreling with a friend I thought would stay forever, wanting someone to be a friend but being met with disdain in return — I turned all of them into poems.
My parents loved reading these, even though they didn’t always know the context behind the poems. They showed their appreciation by sharing it with local newspapers. I loved…
And how you can apply them to become a highly paid online writer.
When I started taking online writing seriously at the beginning of January 2020, I used to make INR 3000 per month (about $35 US). Back then, I’d be over the moon if I could make INR 10000 (about $150 US) per month by year-end.
By the end of the year in December 2020, I was making more than $3000 US per month. What started as an experiment in online writing turned into a thriving business in less than a year.
This article discusses three important lessons that I learned from my journey that helped me fuel my online writing career.
…
Science-backed reasons why aiming too high can be harmful. Bonus: The psychology of setting more achievable goals.
A few days ago, I had to stop myself from writing “I’m a failure” over and over again in my journal.
The urge was strong, but my will prevailed, and I could finally calm down.
I’d set myself a deadline of one hour to finish two articles. At the end of two hours, I’d completed only the first draft of one. For a while, I couldn't stop blaming myself, using harsh words like “too slow,” “loser,” and “not good enough.”
Looking back now, the reason seems so childish. …
Powerful books you can finish reading in a single day.
It feels great to say you’ve read 100+ books in a year.
But given how many tasks we plan on a daily basis, it’s difficult to actually get much reading done amidst all the hustle of life.
That’s where short books come in. A book less than 200 pages can be easily completed in a few days, no matter how busy you are. And if you’re a fast reader with a relatively free schedule, you can finish a 200-page book in a single day.
But there’s a perception in the reading community that short books aren’t too good, and most…
Bonus: Tips for new writers to turn Vocal.Media into a viable income stream.
Over the past few days, several writers have asked me if Vocal.Media is a potential alternative to Medium.
The answer is a little complicated because there are some very different parameters for success on both platforms.
But if there's one thing for sure, it’s this: simply reposting your Medium stories on Vocal won’t make you much money, especially if you write about topics like self-improvement, psychology, or personal stories.
So what is Vocal.Media and why are writers all over the world so excited about it? This article explores exactly that. It also addresses some important questions most beginners would have…
