Ask the Author: R. Sreeram
Answered Questions (3)
R. Sreeram
The sequel to Kalyug. And of course, as a literary consultant, I am also working with other authors to polish up their manuscripts...
R. Sreeram
I'm tempted to say, "Write" but it's probably a piece of advise that every aspiring author is ad nauseum-familiar with.
So I'll say something else. Write what you want. There are no rules, no templates, no freaking checklists about what your output should be. Write blogs, essays, stories, poems, songs - whatever grabs your fancy. Write on computers (I'd recommend this because the rest of the process is easy), notebooks (the paper kind!), notepads, scraps of paper, the napkin in your hand... anything.
Write in your style. Or as you want to tell your story. No matter who tells you what, as the writer, it is your baby. You decide what you want to write.
And once you've written something, anything - a word, a chapter, an entire book - be prepared to have it junked. And be strong enough to pick it up again and show it to someone else. Everyone's going to have an opinion, and that won't change for your first book and for your hundredth. So take in constructive feedback, but don't ever write for an audience. Write for yourself, and the world - or at least a small part of it - will want to read.
So I'll say something else. Write what you want. There are no rules, no templates, no freaking checklists about what your output should be. Write blogs, essays, stories, poems, songs - whatever grabs your fancy. Write on computers (I'd recommend this because the rest of the process is easy), notebooks (the paper kind!), notepads, scraps of paper, the napkin in your hand... anything.
Write in your style. Or as you want to tell your story. No matter who tells you what, as the writer, it is your baby. You decide what you want to write.
And once you've written something, anything - a word, a chapter, an entire book - be prepared to have it junked. And be strong enough to pick it up again and show it to someone else. Everyone's going to have an opinion, and that won't change for your first book and for your hundredth. So take in constructive feedback, but don't ever write for an audience. Write for yourself, and the world - or at least a small part of it - will want to read.
R. Sreeram
I take a break, think about other things, let my mind wander. In fact, one of the most frequent causes of WB is putting yourself under pressure. You start thinking "I have to write something" instead of "I have to write this..." :)
It helps to understand why you can't write. Pressure? Lack of knowledge? Bored or uninterested? Diffidence, or maybe worried about the final work? Knowing why makes a huge difference to the speed at which you can get over WB.
It also helps to have other interests that may or may not be connected to what you write about. If it's different, you might find a new perspective to write with; if it's connected, it might open up alternative streams of thought you might have missed otherwise.
It helps to understand why you can't write. Pressure? Lack of knowledge? Bored or uninterested? Diffidence, or maybe worried about the final work? Knowing why makes a huge difference to the speed at which you can get over WB.
It also helps to have other interests that may or may not be connected to what you write about. If it's different, you might find a new perspective to write with; if it's connected, it might open up alternative streams of thought you might have missed otherwise.
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