My education started in a small village of India, I did not have any English then. When I discovered that famous novelist George Orwell was born in Motihari, it made me wonder if I could be a writer too. That day, it became my ____1____.
My father opened up the world of books for me. I must have been seven or eight, when he first ____2____ me a Hindi (印地语) storybook. When dad was reading the book for me, I was ____3____ by the stories. By the time I was in Grade 10, I had finished reading hundreds of novels. Also, my private tutor made me ____4____ that it was possible for me to learn the language. After 10 months with her, I started reading picture books in English.
Two years later, I began to read my first English novel. Then I ____5____ that I should try writing newspaper articles, improve my skills and then progress to longer forms. I approached a couple of Hindi newspapers with my writing but was promptly ____6____. They said my article didn’t live up to their standards. I was so ____7____ that I doubted my ability. At this time, I met kind-hearted Daniel who ____8____ my first article after heavy editing. It was an important turning point for me, my ____9____ as a writer began.
After writing a dozen articles and reviews, I knew it was finally time to plan my novel. ____10____ the plot was really tough for me. I managed to write the first ____11____ of my novel! Full of ____12____, I sent it to Mary Mount, a famous editor right away. My submission was ____13____ again, but I was still grateful just to hear from her.
One year later, I finished my writing work again. I ____14____ another editor. A month later, the feed-back landed on my table, but it was desperate, to put it mildly. I ____15____, believing I’d never get published.
When I shared it with my friend, she ____16____ me a lot. Her feedback and support helped me improve my manuscript further. Then I submitted it to a few publishers and a few days later, I got a ____17____ from a publisher. To my ____18____, he informed me that my book would be published. What surprised me was that a few production houses had expressed interest in my novel. One of the directors ____19____ intended to adapt it for the screen. It is because of my ____20____ and the encouragement from my family and friend, after 21 years struggling, that eventually I fulfilled my dream.