When life throws obstacles in my way

From the past few months, life has been throwing a whole lot of obstacles my way, and these have stopped me from working on my manuscript. I have been doing so many freelance projects that I have no time to write my own stories. I just managed to work on the second draft of my love story and it took me ages to do that and I’m sure I didn’t do a great job.

I have been so late for a book review that the editor of the newspaper had to send me a gentle reminder about it. But she was also very understanding when I told her that I wasn’t well.

My books to be reviewed list is piling up. My critique partner Mark Noce has sent me his new novel for feedback.

I have ignored my blog and blog buddies’ for days. I have no clue what’s happening in blogosphere.

I feel that to cope with all my other writing and writing related activities, I need to put aside my own manuscript for a few days. That’s the only way I’ll get any work done.

How are thing with you all? How are you managing your writing with other things?

What happens when Life Interrupts our Writing?

Life has this amazing ability and habit of interrupting and disrupting our writing schedules. For no fault of ours we find that we are unable to devote long stretches or even short  stretches of time to our WIP, as there are other important issues to tackle and problems to solve.

This interruption by life has been happening to me for  the past  two years with clockwork precision. Parental health issues are something I don’t grumble about, as health problems can crop up  anytime and for anyone, and also because   I do not want to add to the enormous guilt they lug around at disrupting their childrens’ schedules. It’s the emotional upheavel and anxiety that we ( children) find stressful and worrisome. But, other issues have me grumbling and cursing my bad writing luck.

 Now that I have started my job as a creative writing teacher in my college, my personal writing time has come down considerably. Add to that my twice a week blogging and writing for few Indian newspapers, and reading as many as 80 to  100 posts  a month, and posting comments, I  find myself struggling to stay afloat and balance it all. The stack of books:  a part of my  to be read pile is tottering dangerously; few books that have to be reviewed are sending nasty looks my way ( I have personally hated it when reviewers take their own time to review books). Perhaps this is God’s way of showing me that  I have to be more understanding and sympathetic.

But I have learnt to outsmart life. While life is busy throwing obstacles my way, I am learning to make the most and best use of these obstacles.  In every situation I look for the silver lining (I believe every situation teaches us something). Though I may not be devoting  huge chunks of my day to writing, I am learning from each situation and every person who I interact with.

From the informative posts my blogging friends write, I jot down points that I consider crucial to my growth: both as a writer, and now as a teacher. The people I interact  with on regular basis : earlier the staff in  the hospital, and now my students,  are rich sources of inspiration. I observe their mannerisms and traits for future character charts.

 Even If I am not actively writing I am constantly thinking of my book: plotting, mentally rewriting, visualizing scenes, adding unique character traits and personality quirks.  Maybe to make up for not being able to write for longer periods, my learning process has sharpened and I am able to absorb information quickly. Nowadays whatever little time I get for my own writing I am able to focus more and  with all the information and experiences  crammed inside my head,  my stories are getting  a little closer to reality and the characters  are shedding a little of their flatness.

Our writing deepens from  our growth and  experiences. Every small  incident  in our lives is filled with it’s unique experience that somehow  crawls into our stories.

What are the techniques you use, when life interrupts your writing? Please share, we all can learn lots from each others' experiences.        

            

The Many Fears a Writer Faces

Fear like self- doubt and insecurity is a constant pressure and presence in a writer’s life. Many fears surround us ( writers) from the word go. That is from the moment we decide on the theme/topic of our work, to the time we start writing, to when we start querying, to the time the book is published. Even after that we are gripped by fears regarding the reception the book will recieve.

Every kind of fear accosts us when we undertake our writing journey. Sometimes I feel these fears are obstacles created and thrown along our paths by forces unknown to us, to test our mettle, to firm our sometimes weakening determination and to strengthen our resolve to stick to the path chosen by us.

The monster of fear comes in different forms:

1.  Fear of choosing the wrong subject. A subject that will just not interest the readers, agents and editors.

2.  Fear of not doing justice to it by way of plot, characters, dialogues and style.

3.  Fear of not having sufficient time to devote to the manuscript.

4.  Fear of not being able to complete the book. Many times half way through writing we realize that certain elements are just not gelling. Should I shelve the book, or, rewrite?

5.  Fear of not getting an agent.

6.  Fear of the book not finding any home (publishing house) even though the agent is on board. (That is my biggest fear)

7.  Fear of the editor chopping parts that we considered crucial or important. That is after the book has been placed with a publishing house.

8.  Fear of being trashed by critics on whose words hang our writing careers. (If a critic is having a bad day, the result is a bad review)

9.  Fear of readers disliking the book. ( That is a major fear)

10.  Fear of the first print run being unsold. ( Another fear that haunts)

11.  Fear of not being given another chance to redeem ourselves.

12.  Fear of failure, of being unable to rise upto our own expectations.

With so many fears surrounding us, it’s a wonder we are able to put pen to paper.

Indeed it’s a brave soul that battles these fears to emerge with words that not only make sense, entertain, but also bring joy into someone’s life.

Which fear or shall I say fears do you face or have faced in your writing journey. How do you capture these fears to write day in and day out. It will be of great help to each of us if you share your experiences.

The Lonely Life of an Indian Writer

I am sometimes envious, sometimes jealous of all my writing friends abroad, especially the American ones as I am more in contact with them. No offence meant writing friends, you guys have been amazing, generous and have accepted me whole heartedly in your fold.

Why am I  envious of them? Let me tell  you all a small secret. In my last post ‘How Much Criticism to Take?’ I have written about Critique Groups, Beta Readers, and Agents. I have learnt about these from all my blogging friends. I had no prior information about any of these except agents.

In India as far as I know none of us (writers ) belong to any Critique Group who meet regularly. We are bereft of the insights offered by members of a Critique Group( people who are traveling the same road as us). The first time I heard about a Critique Group was from my  mentor and writing friend Lia Keyes. She asked me during a late night chat if I belonged to any such group. Until then I was not even aware of it.

Well, as for Beta Readers, I had not heard of them until Robyn Campbell mentioned them during one of our frequent chats. If you ask me who gets to read my manuscript first, I would say no one. The first person to read it is the editor of the publishing house I send the manuscript to. If my manuscript sucks then it’s the editor who tells me that.

I don’t think any of my writing friends in India belong to any society for writers. Another writing friend Elizabeth Varadan has been constantly urging me to join SCBWI. I beg forgiveness for being ignorant about this society that has jumpstarted the careers of several writers. It was Elizabeth who sent me the contact number of the Indian chapter of this society! I had no clue about this society’s presence in India, so did the other writers I spoke to.

As we send our manuscripts directly to publishing houses in India due to lack of agents, I have learnt a lot about them from my writing friends abroad. Lia Keyes and Birgitte Necessary have generously volunteered to Critique my work ( synopsis).

From the moment I have started blogging, the stony path of the writing life has become less lonely and more pleasant. I have picked several sweet companions along the way: Anne, Jody, Lydia, and Victoria who leave such encouraging comments that I am inspired to blog more frequently. I have shamelessly lapped up all that they have generously shared in their blogs. From time management to synopsis writing. From contests to agent information. I am waiting to share all this information with my writing friends in India.

My non writing friends in India too have been extremely generous and supportive: Anitha, Pallavi, Heera, Bharathi, Padma and Pradeep constantly urge me to give my best.

Love and hugs to each and every one of you who has supported me.

Thanks to all of you wonderful friends, we(writers) have decided to start our own Critique Group in Bangalore. As of now its all in the discussion stage. Let’s hope people join.

Are you grateful to someone who has walked alongside you in your writing journey? Who has eased the loneliness? Is there someone you want to thank?