I don’t always participate in blog tours.

Translation: This is my first ever blog tour where I answer questions about my writing process and then tag two more authors to do the same.

And I wouldn’t have been part of this rather interesting virtual trip, if it had not been for one of my favourite new authors Roopa Menon

Her first novel - Pyar aur Poetry, published by Indireads, (who incidentally published my latest book A Newlywed’s Adventures in Married Land) was a delightful multi-layered read.

Read my review here.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


And here are my ramblings on my writing process.
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What am I working on?

I’m currently dividing my time between a number of projects. Jostling for mind-space and time is a collection of short stories, my first book of poems and a screenplay.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

My work is different from others because I wrote it, just as every other work in the genre is different from mine, as other authors wrote it. I believe that the DNA of every piece of fiction is composed of all that which ever influenced its maker. My experiences, joys, sorrows, the places I’ve been to, the people I’ve met – everyone and everything flows into my writing making it unique just like everything else in its genre, irrespective of the author.

Why do I write what I do?

It was never a conscious choice to write in a particular genre.
I have found that when I write about the things that I know and have experienced, the story seems to flow with a life of its own.
While all my books are slotted in the genre of Urban Fiction, my first two books are also specifically on Indian Broadcast Journalism.
All the books I had come across on Indian television journalism, both fiction and non-fiction, were penned by famous journalists or celebrity reporters. There were no books that told the story of the ones at the bottom-most rung. There were no stories on what exactly happened when you first stepped into the industry. It was these stories I wanted to tell through my books. And as I had worked in the industry as a news trainee doing everything from keying in tickers to cutting headlines and later on as a desk editor and then as a bureau reporter, it is was as if I had lived through the research required for the factual aspects of the books.

How does my writing process work?

I always start with a working title. I have found that I cannot write on an unnamed document. Once the book has a name, I work on rough character sketches and put down the number of chapters I want the book to have. Next, I jot down a skeleton plot for each of the chapters and once the last one is in place, I start from the beginning. While I always end up writing the story as initially planned, I often find myself adding incidents and other details that I had not thought of in the beginning as I write. After finishing the first draft, I usually let the document lie for a month or two before approaching it with fresh eyes for the first edit. Meanwhile, I also send out chapters to my biggest critics and supporters – my mother and my husband, for their inputs as well.
I usually take around six months for the first draft and a whole year to bring the novel to completion – edits and all.
However, with my short stories and poems, I just go with the flow.

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Now it’s my turn to tag two very talented authors, whose books are already causing quite the ripple amongst readers.

Meet
Neelima Vinod author of the eerily beautiful Unsettled: The Search for Love and Meaning

Read my review here
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

And also
Satyarth Nayak Author of the intelligent mystery thriller -The Emperor's Riddles.


Read my review here.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Take it away guys!