How many books should a writer write in one year?

A few days back I read a writer’s interview. She said that her plan was to write four books each year and self-publish them. I was quite shocked. I felt that four books in one year is a bit too much. It takes most of us so much time to write just one book, what with life, work, social commitments and other things interrupting our writing.

The writer not just spoke about her ambition of writing four books in one year, she was actually doing it: writing one book, editing another, revising a third and outlining the fourth. My eyes nearly popped out when I read her interview. I am wondering whether I should ask her how does she do it? Maybe she has a time-turner that gives her extra hours in a day or perhaps her muse is extra generous with her. Or maybe she writes in her sleep too.

Maybe I am wrong, but I feel that when writers write so many books in one year, the quality of the writing is compromised. Good stories take time to develop and take shape. The writing improves over several drafts and revisions.

I have read that some writers take years to write each single book. Well, to each, his own. I also read that when one signs up with an agent, agents expect a writer to write one book each year.

What are your views regarding writers writing several books every year? Do you think the quality of writing suffers when writers write many books in a year? What is your personal take on this? Have you written several books in one year? What is your writing pace?

Many writing illusions shattered

When we write or type that first word, lots of writing illusions are hanging around our eyes. There are visions of writers signing glossy copies of books, agents at their beck and call, editors gushing over our stories, fat cheques in the bank, reviewers praising us and readers buying the books the moment they reach the bookshelves and ofcourse movie rights.

Its when we start going deeper into the story we realize that neither writing a book nor getting it published are easy. Every rosy illusion is shattered big time. That too into tiny pieces. Here are few:

1.     Writing is Easy. It’s anything but easy. Anybody who believes that, has definitely not struggled with  troublesome characters, tricky knots in plots, nailing the voice and  truant muses. They have not stared at blank pages and screens for long periods of time, nor have they struggled with several edits and cringed over criticism from crit partners.

2.     Getting a book Published is not Difficult.  People who think like that live on another planet. Getting a book published is more difficult than actually writing it. Manuscripts sit in the slush pile, agents are more elusive than a rainbow and editors are highly choosy about the manuscripts they accept. Even after a manuscript is accepted there are the harsh edits to wade through.

3.     Writing can be a career option by itself. This is the worst illusion because people have not seen a writer’s royalty or advance cheques. Bills cannot be paid through the income one makes from one’s book/s unless the  book wins a big prize or sells a million copies or our book is made into a movie. Most writers have a day job and writing is restricted to the free hours or late night.

4.     Once a book is out, the next one is accepted faster. This is another illusion that needs to be broken. Unless the second book is a part of a series, its not easy to get it published if the first one was a standalone book. With every book writers must prove themselves and the story must catch the editor’s and agent’s eye.

5.     Writers live a glamorous life. We wish. Most people think we writers live a glamorous life, where agents and editors are standing outside our doors waiting for our completed manuscripts, where people are hanging onto our words. If only. Writing is absolutely unglamorous. If people could see us typing furiously or scribbling hard, the mess constantly surrounding us, the irritated expression on our faces at the thousand and one distractions we have to battle, and the hundred  things vying for  our attention, they would  surely  think differently. Most people have not witnessed the tormented expressions on our faces when we deal with tantrum throwing characters and unruly muses.

Writers have a lot of imaginary friends: these people live in our minds. We have more books than people have shoes and purses.  All our free time goes into jotting down words. I know I have been guilty of shattering illusions that many newbie writers have of a writer's life, perhaps I have even marred them for life. I am just bringing them face to face with reality. Have any of your writing illusions been shattered? Did you have any illusion when you started this journey? Please share them with us.

My Sweet Blog Buddies

To be honest, I started blogging because I was told that authors had to build an online platform. So on March 22^nd 2010, I started my humble blog. The first few days saw just a couple of followers with a few comments. Those days I use to blog twice a week.

Slowly as my followers (I have always hated that term, I prefer to call them blog buddies increased) I made a good connection with all of them. Though I have only met a few of them, I think of all of you as great writing friends who are now a part of my writing life.

When my blog buddies sign up with an agent, or a publishing house  I rejoice as much as them. When their books are launched, I celebrate. When they face rejection, I suffer silently with them.

I have completely forgotten the building platform part of blogging. It’s the connection I have made with each one of you that is dear to me. Blogging has given me much more than I asked for: great writing friends and critique partners who worry about my writing as much as I do, who go out of the way to help me with my writing.

What has blogging given you? What was the reason you all started blogging? Please share your views.

P.S.  The picture is of the sweet Kheer Kadam which is my favourite sweet. My dearest blog buddy Alex Cavanaugh had asked me for the picture when I had answered the question in the Super Sweet Blog Award Post. Please don’t blame if you all start drooling. It’s one of the most delicious Indian sweets. I wish I could send you all a plate full of this fabulous sweet.

Pic courtesy: A cookery blog TasteSpotting.

The seductive power of a story

I was stumped when a friend asked me whether I choose the stories I wanted to work upon or the stories chose me. This question is similar to asking what came first; the chicken or the egg?

 Do we choose our stories, or do the stories choose us? It’s a bit of both. The initial advances are made by the story; the plot flirts with us, the characters whisper sweet nothings in our ears at ungodly hours, the story world tempts us into further exploring it and the antagonist stalks us like a desperate lover.

After the story has successfully batted its eyelashes and tantalizingly swayed its hips and has captured our body, mind, heart and soul, it begins its game of teasing and playing hard to get. The evil temptress (read story) knows that it has captivated us completely and we are in its vicious grip.

The story then starts playing with our emotions. It starts avoiding our calls. It does the disappearing act when we fix rendezvous with it. It runs away, with us writers chasing after it day and night.  But now that we writers have been teased and tormented by its intoxicating effect, we will not rest until we have the story in our control, until the characters and plot are at our beck and call.

From then onwards with a single minded goal we nurture, obsess and develop the all captivating brief fling into a meaningful relationship. There are make ups and break ups (read revisions and edits) but we writers are a faithful lot. We don’t lose faith in our stories and cling on to our relationship with the story, even when we hit rough patches in the form of writer’s blocks or when we have struck plot loopholes. We are the faithful type, even when other stories tempt us, we cling on to our first loves.

What about you all? Do stories try their seduction techniques on you? How do you all chase the temptress? Do share your wooing techniques with us.

P.S.  This post is getting me ready to write a milder version of Fifty Shades of Grey ;)

P.P.S.  Thanks Elizabeth Varadan for nominating me for the Super Sweet Blogging Award. I will be nominating a few bloggers next week.

The invisible hand guiding our writing

Someone once told me that writers just don’t write, they often take dictation from a higher source (call it God or something else). I agree with this sentiment, as I too believe that we have an invisible hand guiding our writing from a far off place. Sometimes the stories our dictated to us. At other times key points are whispered into our ears so that we are able to build a story based on that.

Actually if we come down to it, where do we get our ideas and thoughts from? There has to be a larger source of ideas from where we tap our story ideas. The reservoir of ideas I believe is held by the power who controls us.

This super power gives us the patience and dedication and infuses in us the passion to pursue our dream of writing. Have you noticed how from a basic seed (germ of an idea) we are able to weave a tale of  hundreds of pages?

This invisible hand not just guides our writing, but is also there to ease our burden. When we are plumbing the depths of despair, in a strange but surprising way a small good news drops into our laps. It could be a critic partner’s fabulous feedback, a blog award, news about a manuscript or a story we had sent somewhere. This invisible hand is always quick to brush away our tears.

It’s this invisible hand that sweeps away the writer’s block that crops up at frequent intervals in our lives. At those times when we are stuck, he is responsible for the AHA moments that help us in crossing the big hurdles.

Several times when I am stuck big time I have seen that invisible hand coming to my rescue in different ways. Maybe a conversation with a friend helps in untangling the plot, sometimes while watching a movie I find my story unravelling in my mind. Many times story ideas pop into my mind when I least expect it.                        

What about the invisible hand guiding your stories? How have you felt that divine presence? Do you think writers are taking dictation from God? I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Are you reading enough books?

We constantly hear that reading is like doing homework for writers. That the more we read the more we learn about writing. What works and what doesn’t work in terms of plot points, character development, story arc and several other aspects of writing.

Every editor and agent advises that to write well one must read, read and then read some more. Reading widens our writing horizon. It exposes us to a wide range of writing techniques.

I think my love for writing was fuelled by reading. As a child I was a voracious reader. Summer holidays would see me devouring large piles of books like a book monster.  Somewhere deep down, this intense love created a desire in me to write my own stories. The only time I don’t read much is when I am writing the first draft of my manuscripts. This is a deliberate attempt so that I don’t subconsciously copy or get influenced by another writer. But, once the first draft is done then I am back to reading big time.

In the last few months I have read several books: Hunger Games Trilogy, the first book of the Divergent series, Millenium Trilogy,  Anuja Chauhan’s ‘Those Pricey Thakur Girls’,  Ashwin Sanghi’s ‘Chanakya’s Chant’ and now ‘The Krishna Key’ (both of which I found simply amazing), Anita Nair’s ‘Cut like Wound’ Sarita Mandanna’s ‘Tiger Hills’, Amish’s ‘Immortals of Meluha’ and ‘The Secret of the Nagas’, Randy Boyagoda’s ‘Beggar’s Feast’.

I have noticed that I am hardly reading any Middle Grade books. All the books I am reading are YA or Adult fiction. I need to get some MG books.

Like me are you all obsessed with reading. Any suggestions for good MG books? Do you make it a point to read books? What are you all reading now?

How to handle the flood of unsolicited mails?

From the past several months, I have been inundated with emails from writers; both published ones and aspiring ones, to either carry their book reviews, let them guest post on my blog or to host them on my blog or to critique their books. One guy even went to the extent of telling me a story idea he had and he expected me to write it for him. I wanted to tell him that I don’t have the time to work on my own ideas and write my own stories, how does he expect me to write his. I advised him to write the story and then hire a professional editor. Needless to say, he never replied back.

Another guy sent me his ebook and asked me to review it for him and also do an interview with him. All this without doing the basic courtesy of asking me first. I politely declined.

It’s getting very irritating to reply to all these emails. There are all kinds of people who approach with offers of carrying their advertisements. Then there are writers who have no claim to any kind of connection with me, but they want me to read their stories/chapters.

Then there are the writers on whose blog I may have commented once, they have saved my email id and now send me all kinds of newsletters, promotional offers and alerts. I am getting so irritated, I just don’t know what to do with all this.

Yes, my blog is about me, but it’s also about my blog buddies who make an effort to visit me and leave their thoughts in the form of comments. I have no problem hosting my close blog buddies on my blog, helping them during their book promotions, doing guest interviews with them or helping publicize their books. But people who don’t know me just cannot expect me to go out of my way to help them.

How do you all deal with these issues? Do you review all the books that you are offered? Do you host all the people who want to do guest posts with you? Any advice for me?

My Fourth IWSG post - anxiety over book reviews

 It seemed just yesterday that I joined IWSG (Insecure Writers Support Group).  But, three months have flown by and now I am posting my fourth post.  IWSG started by Captain Ninja: Alex Cavanaugh, meets on the first Wednesday of every month.  it’s a writer’s support group where we share our anxieties, doubts, fears and worries and help and support each other.

Two of my main writerly concerns are book reviews. I do a few book reviews on my blog and also for an Indian Newspaper for which I am doing the Literary Review for adult fiction. My first concern is that I would hate to have my review come across as harsh or over critical. I try to be honest about the reviews I do. I neither go into raptures nor do I tear the book or the writer into shreds.

I follow the middle path. I talk about the story (without giving away the ending), pace, writing and the main character and other plot techniques. These I feel are neutral topics. So even if I didn’t like the main character, I don’t feel the author should take offense.

I read a review, wherein the reviewer called the author a moron, who should never have written the book in the first place. In another review, the reviewer was glad that the author did not plan to write more books.

Now I come down to my second fear/anxiety. I hope my books don’t get such reviews. Where it’s mentioned that people are celebrating the fact that  I am not planning to write more books or the fact that they fear being tortured by my writing.

What are your writing anxieties? Have you ever received a bad review or given one to a book? How do you handle reviews? Please share your review fears and anxieties. I would love to know.

What are Literary Agents looking for?

More than a year back, when I was searching for an agent for my Middle Grade Novel, I spent a lot of time on Literary Rambles trying to get familiar with agents’ tastes. In this post I am sharing what I have now realized about agents.

They all are looking for fresh, unique voices. For characters who by the end of the book are more flesh than fiction. Practically every agent’s requirement is upmarket, high-concept, character driven, well-plotted books with fast pacing, emotional resonance and beautiful writing. Most of them are on the lookout for books with literary spark as well as commercial appeal.

In both Young Adult and Middle Grade, the emphasis is on the unusual and unforgettable characters with vivid settings. Many agents stress that they are eager for stylized voices which sound authentic.

Quite a few of them advice that writers should not chase trends as trends change by the time books are completed.  Just write what comes to you, is their advice. Make your story the best it can be. Rewrite, rewrite and rewrite some more. Polish, polish and polish.

One of the best pieces of advice I came across was,  “A great voice is paramount; whether first or third person, I need to fall in love with your voice. Your characters must be memorable and you need to make me root for your protagonist right from the start. Show your protagonist's journey, through the use of dialogue, the senses, actions and reactions, rather than tell through the use of narrative. Finally, a great opening is absolutely essential. You need to grab me immediately, and keep me turning the pages. If you can make me laugh out loud, cry, or keep reading late at night, you may have a winner!" 

Practically every agent’s pet peeve was pages of exposition, dry description, flat writing, lack of tension and dramatic conflict, clichés, banalities, lack of a striking voice and dialogues that didn't sound right.

Most of the agents said they were looking for stories that grabbed them and kept them reading all through the night.

I read lots of books last year, by authors who had chosen to either self-publish or go with a smaller press or publishing house. And almost all the books I read were what I called great books.  I wonder what was the reason they were turned down. Most of these authors told me that agents (and not just a few, but several) had turned them down.

Do you feel getting an agent is as much dependent on luck as on writing? What’s your take on this agent scenario? Is having an agent a big deal? Can writers get published without an agent? I would love to hear all your opinions.

How Critiquing improves our Writing

One of the best ways to improve our writing is by critiquing other writer’s work. There are several benefits involved. One is that we get into an analytical mode. We analyze the cause and effect sequence when we read someone else’s story. If something jars (maybe it’s a description, a scene, a resolution, a character detail) we catch hold of it immediately. We also transfer this skill to our own stories. The more we critique, the better writers we become.

  

I find it easier to see the mistakes in someone’s elses work (my mom would remark that I have this genetic fault of being extra critical, we will discuss that in another post). With my own work I tend to be biased. I also end up overlooking my flaws and mistakes. It’s only when my crit partners point it out that I realize it, though that shortcoming in my writing would have been under my nose all the time.

Everytime I critique my CP’s work I end up getting more than I give. I think I benefit more from it than they do. For one, I become aware of the errors housed in my own writing. I also know what mistakes to avoid. I also know why certain scenes work and why others do not. When I critique I feel like I am looking into a writing mirror.

 My take is that critiquing is a simple and effective way of honing our skills. And another fact is that a new pair of eyes is beneficial. We get a fresh perspective on our writing. Someone unconnected with a story can bring fresh insight into it. As long as our comments are not harsh or unjustified, it’s a win-win situation.

Do I need to add the loads of good karma we accrue when we help out another writer/person?

Does doing a critique of someone else’s work  help you become a better writer? Does it make you aware of your own writing mistakes? What’s your take on critiquing? I would love to know if critiques are like staring in the mirror for you too?   

Sharing some writer pictures

Friday crept up on me and I realized that I had not written a blog post. Recycling was not a viable option as for that I would have to go through 227 posts. My post muse has gone on a extended weekend with his girlfriend of the moment, leaving me alone without a single blog idea in mind.

That's when the idea of keeping it simple crawled into my mind. I decided to make it  a pictorial post today. So, I am just going to share a few writing related pictures. Hope they will make you all laugh.

Hope you all liked the pictures. Have a great weekend.

P.S.  Picture courtesy. The pictures belong to the following people. Tom Gauld. Bizarro.com. Jasonlove.com. Debbie Ridpath.

Why is it important to write more than one book?

A few years back when I had around three books (a MG book and 2 collection of linked stories) to shop around to Indian publishers, I was slightly hassled thinking that I have 3 unpublished books lying around, not to mention another earlier one which I had given up on and another one which I had left halfway.

When I started blogging  two years back, I realized that writers all over the world have written plenty of books before they get lucky. There are very few writers who strike it lucky with the first book they write. I am wondering whether we can call all our unpublished books our practice books. Afterall, we do need to practice our writing, hone our craft and skills on something before we unleash our stories to the world.

And last September when I started querying, I read on many agents’ websites that they wanted to know what else the writer has written. No agent wants a writer who may just write one book and then do the disappearing act. Agents have reiterated time and again that they are investing in a writer’s career and not just one book.

Even for writers it’s advantageous to keep writing different stories and trying various themes to see what they are good at. And then there is always the advantage that we can always return to our previously unpublished work and rewrite it with our newly acquired skills and submit it after we feel it’s in a polished state.

What do you all feel about writers writing more than one book before they are ready for publishing? What is your personal take on this? Do you think the earlier books can be categorized as practice books? How many books did you write before you were ready for publishing? I would love to know all your opinions about this.

The winner of  Samuel Park's book This Burns my Heart is Kristen Wixted. I will get in touch with you regarding the prize.

           

Why its Important to Critique another Writer’s Work?

Two years back, I critiqued a lot of picture books and short stories for my online writing friends. Actually I nearly ended up rewriting a few short stories. The person whose story I rewrote was pretty cool about it. Thank God for that. Else, I would have had an angry writer chasing me with her sharp pen.

Initially scared, as I had no belief in my critiquing abilities, I hesitantly agreed to the job. But once I started, I realized that critiquing was something I enjoyed doing. As they were short stories, they got done fast. For one I love reading and the second point is it’s easier to get critical with someone else’s work as there is a distance involved and it’s easier to be objective about it.

My critiquing abilities sharpened when I started teaching in college two years back. Reading my students’ home as well as class assignments has helped me analyze someone’s else’s work better. When I correct their mistakes, I return home and look at my own mistakes. It’s easier to spot my mistakes after critiquing someone else’s work. I feel critiquing is the best way to improve one’s own craft.

When we see what is not working in another person’s story makes us more alert to things that will slow down our own stories. It makes us more aware of the mistakes that stand out in our manuscripts, errors that our crit partners will be looking for.

And then ofcourse there is the good Karma involved when we help someone. We not just acquire a grateful friend, we also acquire a life-long supporter who will help us improve our craft through the easiest way involved by reading. Reading someone else’s manuscript is one of the best, fastest and also the most effective way of becoming a better writer. So, it’s a win-win situation for all of us.

What have you all learnt through critiquing someone else’s work? Have you felt that it has improved your own writing abilities? What’s your take on it? 

The Many Fears a Writer Constantly Faces

We writers are constantly facing fear. The ugly monster of fear is a perpetual pressure in a writer’s life.  These fears hound us from the time we chose a topic or decide on a story. Even after we finish writing fears continue to accost us.

I have always felt that these fears are obstacles and road blocks 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. This is one of my biggest fears.

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

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. It’s a fear that has gripped me now in a big way. 

6. Fear of the book not finding any home (publishing house) even though the agent is on board. (That is my biggest fear). Once I overcome no.5, I will be caught by this 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. For one of my earlier books the illustrator made a blunder and I had to bear the brunt of it by changing one of my main characters.

  

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. I always worry about this one. 

    

     10. Fear of the first print run being unsold. This fear has bypassed me for a change as my

            first lot of books have gone into several reprints. Thank God for that.

    

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

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

I suffer from quite a few of these fears. It varies at different stages of my writing.  Sometimes I wonder how I am able to even write with so many fears surrounding me. But the urge to get my story out keeps me going. The vision of my books in a reader’s hands propels me forward.         

Do any of you have any such fears? Am I alone? 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.

What does Blogging Mean to me ?

When I started blogging, nearly two years back, I barely knew what blogging was all about or what I would blog  about twice a week. Infact, I always thought I would stop blogging a few months down the line.

But, it’s my 23^rd month and I have continued with my blogging and have gathered a vast number of amazing writers in my friends circle.

Blogging for me initially was a platform building tool as I was advised by someone who I consider a writing mentor that agents looked for a writer’s online presence. So, reluctantly I took the plunge.

I was extremely nervous for the first few weeks. I would spend days planning a post. I am sure I could have written a manuscript or two in the time I took to plan and write posts. Slowly, I gained confidence. I started scheduling my posts.

But, as time has passed, I have completely forgotten about the building a platform part. I have connected with a whole lot of wonderful writers and bloggers from all over the world. Many of who have gone out of their way to help me. I even met my two crit partners through my blog.

Blogging for me is also a way to discuss all things writing related. I just cannot discuss this with my non-writing friends who all find excuses to do a million things they have left halfway through, when I mention plots, characters, humour, resolution, edits or revisions.

Blogging has taught me more about the craft of writing than the three craft books I possess. Every blogger is an angel in disguise, eager to help out, support, encourage and promote another writer. We have all shared whatever we are learning in our writing journeys. Bared our hearts, exposed our fears and frustrations, shared our good news with each other.

Over time Blogging has become a way of connecting with other writers from all over the world.

Nowadays, I feel I am kind of addicted to you all wonderful people who live inside my computer. If I don’t get visits from you all, I feel kind of low. If I don’t drop in to your blogs, my day is incomplete.

Why did you all start blogging? Was it just to build a platform? Or was there another reason for it? What does blogging mean to you? Have your views about blogging changed with time? We all would love to know your views.

                                                                                                

P.S. Is anyone else having a problem with certain websites and blogs (Samsung mobiles, Nokia and few florists) leaving their ads in the comments section? Does anyone know how to get rid of this problem? As none of these blogs are my followers, I can't even block them.

Why do we Writers need a Day Job?

Writing as a career option is not a very lucrative profession; the hardships are many and rewards few. Unless one is working as a journalist in a newspaper office or a magazine establishment and is assured a regular pay cheque at the end of the month, writers by and large do not make a good income from just their writing. Unless and until they have received a huge advance or movies are being made from their books.

Many people assume that as writers we are flooded with advances and royalty cheques. But that’s not the case with all of us. For most of us in India, there is no question of advance, very few publishers endorse that, for most it’s a royalty at the end of each financial year. And we do gasp when we see the royalty cheques; gasp more in shock than surprise.

 A writer’s life comes with its fair share of frustrations and a lot of struggle, that’s why it becomes important for writers until they make it big to cling on to their day jobs or atleast have a part time job. This assures a regular income and security while one is struggling to establish a writing career.

Money is indeed a great boost to a struggling writer’s ego and self-respect. Atleast one aspect of life is taken care of while we struggle to establish our writing careers.

The regular day job also diminishes the frustration that our writing career throws up as we are assured that atleast we have a job and there is money in our  bank account and that we are not  spending time pursuing a career that’s just not taking off. Just imagine the scenario if writers were to live solely on the income provided by their writing.  It would be one stressed human, tearing his or her hair out and  struggling financially.

How important do you think a day job is for writers? Do you think having a steady job helps a writer. Ofcourse with a day job there is less time for writing, but the financial worries and fears are taken care of in a big way and there is also the option to leave the jobs whenever our writing careers take off. What are your views on this? Please share your opinion with us.         

Books are a Writer's Best Friend

"If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot…reading is the creative center of a writer’s life…you cannot hope to sweep someone else away by the force of your writing until it has been done to you."

–Stephen King

  I completely agree with Stephen King’s words. It’s important for writers to read a lot, not just in the genre that we write but also other books that pique our interest. One of the best ways we can hone our skill is by reading.  Reading familiarizes us with different styles of writing, plots, characters, and how other writers use dialogues effectively. Good books are of course great teachers who teach us how to write well. Reading in one’s own genre is advantageous as it makes us aware of what kinds of books are currently selling.

I hate to use the words bad books, so I will just say that books that are not all that great too teach us by highlighting the shortcomings of that particular story, by making us aware of the faults in the story: weak characterization and plots with large holes in it. We know what to avoid in our own writing, we know what can bore readers and turn off editors and agents.

The best way to put all that we have learnt while reading into practice is by writing like there is no tomorrow. As we write more and more, we do tend to get better and better. Our critiquing abilities are sharpened when we read lots of books.

I seriously don’t understand when some writers tell me that they just don’t have the time to read. It’s like an athlete saying that he doesn’t have time to practice. It’s our passion for reading that propelled us into writing.

I just finished Amish Tripathi’s Book 1 of the Shiva Trilogy: The Immortals of Meluha.  I have just started Book 2: The Secret of the Nagas.

What kind of books do you all read? Is your reading restricted to your genre or do you read all kinds of books? What are you all currently reading?

Are you in Favour of Pen Names?

A pen name  or a nom de plume is a pseudonym adopted by an author. Its sometimes used to make the author’s name more distinctive or to disguise their gender (as in the case of J.K Rowling, her publishers were worried that boys may not read books if they realized they are written by a female), to distance an author from all of his /her works, to protect the author from retribution for their writings and for several other reasons either related to marketing or for aesthetic reasons. Most of these author’s real names were known only to the publishers.

Many times authors used pen names when their real names were likely to be confused with that of another author or a notable individual. Some authors who regularly write in more than one genre use different pen names for each. Romance writer  Nora Roberts  writes  erotic thrillers under the pen name J.D. Robb, and Samuel Langhorne Clemens used the aliases "Mark Twain" and "Sieur Louis de Conte" for different works. Similarly, an author who writes both fiction and non-fiction (such as the mathematician and fantasy writer Charles Dodgson, who wrote as  Lewis Carroll) may use a pseudonym for fiction writing.

I have never been in favour of pen names. I would always wonder why some writers adopted pen names. For me its always my full name that is a part of my byline ( for the newspaper articles) and books, and stories that have appeared in anthologies.    

          

 There are several reasons for using pen names. Occasionally a pen name is employed to avoid overexposure. Prolific authors for pulp magazines often had two and sometimes three short stories appearing in one issue of a magazine; the editor would create several fictitious author names to hide this from the readers. Robert A. Heinlen wrote stories under pseudonyms so that more of his works could be published in a single magazine.  Stephen King published four novels under the name Richard Bachman because publishers didn't feel the public would buy more than one novel per year from a single author. Eventually, after critics found a large number of style similarities, publishers revealed Bachman's true identity.

Sometimes a pen name is used because an author believes that his name does not suit the genre he is writing in. I find this reason very strange. What do names have to do with genres. A reader would pick a book depending on the blurb or review and not because he/she liked the sound of the author’s name.

Western novelist Pearl Gray dropped his first name and changed the spelling of his last name to become Zane Grey because he believed that his real name did not suit the Western genre. Romance novelist Angela Knight writes under that name instead of her actual name (Julie Woodcock) because of the double entendre of her surname in the context of that genre. Edward Gorey had dozens of pseudonyms, apparently for his own amusement, each one an anagram of his real name.

I think I am too much in love with my name to use another one for writing. What do you all feel about pen names? Are you in favour of them?  Have you ever used them? What would you have wanted as your pen name? Please share your views with us.

The Benefits of a Break

Hope the holiday season has rejuvenated and refreshed everyone. And I also hope that 2012 will be a great year in each and every way, for all of us.

The two week break that I took from blogging as well as other things in life has refreshed me in several ways: I have come back with a renewed vigour to tackle the onerous task of querying a new bunch of agents, with a query that I think is quite decent. I utilized the break to research  more agents (aren't I funny).

During my break I caught up with family and close friends, went out for lunches ( as the college was closed for the Christmas holidays) and read and read. Reading is one pleasure that I would hate to give up in life. The relaxed pace of life has helped me quite a bit. It has literally lulled my writing stress to sleep. Thank God, for that.    

                 

I am also excited about the book I am writing. I have finished one-third of the story (though this is just the first draft). The remaining two-thirds has me excited beyond measure. I hope to finish the first draft by the end of this month. Another thing that I am enjoying is going with the flow for this current story.    

           

I think putting away the Middle Grade Paranormal Trilogy and moving away from it: both mentally and physically, has done me a world of good. I am fretting less and my stress level too has come down. Perhaps it was not the right time for that story. Maybe, God meant for me to write that story later.

I also connected with two awesome writers; one from Canada and the other from America. In one of my emails with Angela Ackerman, while we were discussing my submission process, Angela volunteered to help me polish my query.  Dear Angela has been simply awesome with her insight. Gosh, just by going through my query she has grasped my story. With Angela’s help I have managed to write a decent query. My fingers are crossed.

Another awesome writer from America, Mark Noce has volunteered to read my collection of stories (Mark sure is a brave guy). I am sure that he will come up with an amazing insight where my stories are concerned.

I also want to thank each and every one of you for all the support you all have extended to me and my blog and for being a part of my writing life. Just wanted to let you all know, that I missed you all a lot.

Now tell me, what did you all do during the holiday season and what are your plans for this year. I am eager to hear it all.

                                   

The Greatest Gift for a Writer

The greatest gift that anyone can give a writer is to read her/his work. Readers are absolutely important for writers and by readers I don’t just mean the Beta Readers, but also the other readers who go out and buy our books or perhaps borrow them from the library.

 My first contact with my readers came about when I started writing for the newspapers. These initial readers went a long way in encouraging me and egging me on to continue writing. In those days, every where I went people who would have read my articles, features and stories in the supplements of the newspapers would come up to me and mention how much they liked my writing or how it appealed to them. During those days I wrote a lot of features and articles in the weekly supplements. For several minutes I would bask in the warmth of their praise.

This hasn’t changed even a little bit. I still crave feedback from my readers. Sometimes I wonder whether it’s these words of praise that fuels a writer’s writing.

One of my all time favourite reader: an old gentleman, would make it a point to walk up to me in the club I visit, and tell me how much he loved my story/feature/article. He had never missed any article I had written for the newspapers. Infact, he even told me that the moment he received the morning’s paper, he would look for my byline and if he saw an article by me, he would read that first and then move on to the other news.

When I started writing children’s stories, he followed me into that territory faithfully. Its readers like him (he is no more) that I cherish and it’s their comments that motivate me to keep writing.

Do you all have any favourite memories where readers are concerned? Any reader or any particular reader comment that has stayed in your mind forever? No, we all won’t think you are gloating or indulging in self-praise. I am sure we all are interested in reading about what your readers think of your writing. It’s practically the end of the year and we all badly want a little cheer and smiles to light up our faces. Please feel free to write about your readers.