Jan 24
The Stories Around Us
Everywhere I look there is a story. They are everywhere. These people, their stories. Sometimes they come looking for you. Most times you stumble upon them. Every person I meet has something to tell. They all have been part of their own stories, characters that were born and grew with age. Some lead remarkable lives. Others an ordinary existence. They have made compromises, choices. Now they live their stories every day. I see it in their faces, the way they talk, their walk, their clothes. They are the characters of my life as I am in someone else’s. Not all characters are human.
The tree in front my window has a story of its own…
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Jan 16
Learning from Rejection
A writer’s life is one of rejection. In 2002, on a whim and an afterthought, I started writing Where the Rain Falls. It was a tedious process, full of self-doubts much like the peace that was never final in Assam. I finished WTRF in 2006 and spent another year editing and rewriting. At the end of it, the book was shining like a beacon in the literary world. So I thought. How wrong I was.
I started querying. In batches of five or six I sent out queries and to only those agents accepting electronic submissions. Can you imagine the cost of couriering a letter to London or New York? And the normal post? I was better off throwing my query in a bottle into the Brahmaputra. The first agency I queried requested a partial, and a week later, the full manuscript. There were more requests…
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Dec 31
Read to Write
Books are the spice of my life, as it is for many. I read everything. Newspapers are daily fodder. Nothing escape my clutches; old magazines at the barber’s, paper bags made from old newspapers and magazines from the grocers’, wrap-around old newspapers from the vegetable vendor, old books with the pavement seller. To read is to breathe.
I took to writing. What I wrote was influenced one way or the other by what I was reading. Books gave me knowledge. Life experience. I had my opinions. It all showed in my writing. I had stories to tell. Because I was reading, I was learning how to tell them. I was no longer racing through the pages…
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Dec 26
The Year That Was
The sun is setting. Already it grows dark. It is that time of the year when another year gives way to yet another. In four days time we will bid adieu to 2011 forever. For so many it was the last year of their lives. For so many others, it marked new beginnings, of hope, togetherness and renewal. The world will welcome the new year with fireworks and merrymaking. Many will be waiting to start something anew. Many will make promises to themselves they will not keep.
Twenty eleven was a landmark year in so many ways. Things changed. The Apple is no longer the same. It’s a year since J D Salinger died. For the first time…
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Dec 22
The Perfidy of Piracy?
This week, award-winning Spanish novelist Lucía Etxebarria announced she will quit writing since more copies of her book have been downloaded illegally than sold. She said she could no longer justify devoting three years of her working life to producing a book. Agreed, she may have a point. Agreed, after China and Russia, Spain has the highest number of per capita illegal downloads in the world. Agreed, loss from illegal downloads and e-book piracy costs writers and publishers close to $3 billion in the US alone. But what if the writers themselves advocate file sharing?
Many authors claim making their work available online increases book sales…
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Dec 18
Honestly, how much can you read in a year
Here I am. It’s three in the afternoon. Already it grows cold. My toes are numb in the slight chill. The sun peer weakly over the fronds of the coconut tree across the road, its light weaving cobwebs in my sight as the weak light pricks my eyes. I have a book on my lap, my last of this year. Michael Ondaatje’s The Cat Table. There are so many more of them cluttered around the house in small piles that will have to wait their turn. And I have failed yet again.
Last year, I set myself a target to read a book every week. Correction – I said I’d finish a book every week. I failed. Badly. I ended up reading about half of that. I bought twice as much, about ten books a month. I am asking myself now, so late in the year…
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Dec 18
6 Gifts for the Debut Novelist
The debut author is slightly better off. He has less needs than the struggling writer. He sees light at the end of the tunnel after a long struggle. His days of rejection slips are over. His book has been released. He now eagerly awaits reactions from the reading public and critics. In this holiday season, what could be the best gift for him? Here is my list.
1. An honest review, and a fair review, which will establish his standing amongst his peers. It will tell him where his book stands in the milieu, and might give it the necessary fillip to make it to a bestseller list, when his joy will know no bounds…
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Dec 15
9 Gifts for the Struggling Writer
The struggling writer is the worst off of all. He stares at a dark future, fumbling for a sliver of light in a dark tunnel of words, and not sure of what the uncertain future held for him. He is alone in his struggle, writing from his heart, not knowing whether his work will be appreciated one day, or whether he will be stuck in the doldrums forever. In this holiday season, what could be the best gift for him? Here is my list.
1. A critique of his work, preferably free (for they are expensive), which tells him what he is doing right, and where he needs to park his words or where his plot is going all awry. It will push him in the right direction…
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Dec 11
Things You Can Do with Books
So you think books are only for reading. Think again. Books have been put to good use by mankind for as long as they have been in existence. Books are the creation of imagination (and research), but the use they have been put to belies imagination. From keeping warm (remember the movie The Day After Tomorrow) to their use as weapons of self-defense (again, lots of movies) to … well, the list goes on and on. Here, in a nutshell, are my list of nine interesting things you can do with books.
1. Use as a pillow, though it may be uncomfortable, both for the book (especially one with a bad back), and you, unless it is face down…
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Dec 10
Book Drum & the World’s First Literary Map
Book Drum is a web community for book lovers, which combining images, background information, maps, videos and music to bring alive the books we love. It calls itself the ‘the perfect companion to book, bringing them to life with immersive pictures, videos, maps and music.’ Anyone can join to build a profile on a book they know well. All you need is spare time, some enthusiasm, reasonable writing skills and an internet connection. While a book is being profiled, it cannot be worked on by anyone else. Once the profile is complete, other registered contributors will be able to add to it.
According to author Hector Macdonald who is Editor at Book Drum, what makes…
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