How I Write : Writers on Their Craft

by Sonia Faleiro

How I Write is a landmark collection featuring intimate interviews with poets, novelists, translators and non-­fiction writers, all of whom share a deep connection to the South Asian experience. Through candid conversations with fellow authors, these writers reveal how they transformed their passion for books into thriving careers, the obstacles they encountered along the way, the lessons they learned and the intricacies of their creative processes.

Inspiring and insightful, this volume is a must-read for anyone curious about the art of writing and the lives of those who practise it.

How I Write was created by South Asia Speaks, a literary fellowship programme empowering outstanding emerging writers from South Asia.



ALICE ALBINIA

DEEPA ANAPPARA

DIKSHA BASU

RAHUL BHATTACHARYA

FATIMA BHUTTO

MANSI CHOKSI

ISAAC CHOTINER

SONIA FALEIRO

V.V. GANESHANANTHAN

ROMAN GAUTAM

VINOD JOSE

MIRA KAMDAR

MEENA KANDASAMY

TARAN KHAN

JAMIL JAN KOCHAI

KARAN MAHAJAN

SANAM MAHER

SUKETU MEHTA

PANKAJ MISHRA

MIRA NAIR

ANUVAB PAL

NILANJANA S. ROY

PARUL SEHGAL

MAYUKH SEN

KAMILA SHAMSIE

TAYMOUR SOOMRO

SAMANTH SUBRAMANIAN

MARIAM TAREEN

MANJUSHREE THAPA

VAUHINI VARA

Genres: Writing

400 pages, Paperback

Published December 12, 2024

About the author

Sonia Faleiro is the author of Beautiful Thing: Inside the Secret World of Bombay's Dance Bars and a novella, The Girl. Her new book, The Good Girls: An Ordinary Killing will be published in 2021.
The New York Times hailed Beautiful Thing as ‘an intimate and valuable piece of reportage that will break your heart several times over.’ The book was an Observer, Guardian, and Economist Book of the Year, Time Out Subcontinental Book of the Year, CNN Mumbai Book of the Year, and The Sunday Times Travel Book of the Year, 2011. It has been published worldwide and translated into several languages.
She is the co-founder of Deca, a global cooperative of award-winning journalists. Her writing has received support from the Pulitzer Centre and The Investigative Fund, and appears in The New York Times, The Financial Times, Harper's, Granta, 1843, The California Sunday Magazine, and MIT Technology Review.
She lives in London and is represented by The Wylie Agency.

Reviews

[सरु · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a creative person, this book is for you. Feel free to define CREATIVE in your own way.

When I was reading this book itself, I realized that five stars does not mean that its a piece with out a mistake/ ............ (do insert a proper word, my mind could not at this particular time). Five starts because I felt heard, seen and represented in the book.

Idea of storytelling has specially followed a story arc but I never realized that conversations are stories, process are stories. Sometime one think that there are no books(anything) that best descibes my experiences but the truth might be that we have never been bridged to those resources. I never knew that I relate to so many South Asian writers unless I came across "How I Write". This book is not just a mere conversations but resource where you can explore about new writer to you, who exist in this beautiful realm but were not quite acquaint to you. This book is words of validation(the love language you seek) specially if you are in creative field and always worst critics to yourself like me. It had been almost six months that I struggled to write or go back to my writings, this book can debunked so called "Writer Block" to a not-a-writer-enough like me. This book shall remain as go to book when I need it.

Shout out to ANUBHAB PAL, would love to have a pot of tea with you, some day may be. Manifesting and archiving this here.

[Nusrat Jafri · Rating 5 out of 5]

South Asia Speaks is perhaps one of the most generous writing communities ever. Reading these interviews and gaining insight into the writing processes and practices of established authors is nothing short of a treasure trove of literary wealth.

Thank you for publishing this remarkable book. The fact that all royalties are dedicated to supporting the people of Gaza adds an even richer reason to read and share this book.

[Nirbhay Kanoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sonia Falero, founder of South Asia Speaks, a fantastic program that promotes South Asian literary voices, has curated and edited this wonderful collection of interviews with erudite writers from the region. I loved reading them.

This collection should really be called "How and Why I write" because you understand the motivations and driving force of each author through each piece. More than anything else, it really drove home the importance of independent and free thought and the absolute necessity of safeguarding the ability to communicate it.

While all the interviews were good, some that stood out for me were:
Pankaj Mishra and his general take on journalism.
Kamila Shamsie placing much value on grit.
Manjushree Thapa on understanding yourself to be able to write about your own community, even if you feel othered within in.
Mansi Choksi talking of the physical danger one can face when working on tough stories.
Anuvab Pal's take on understanding an audience and finding commonalities in seemingly disconnected audiences.
Nilanjala Roy reminiscing on how the fear of being read held her back from writing. Parul Sehgal on her experience of understanding what made her draw pleasure from a book - irrespective of whether it is a 'good' or 'bad' book.
Mira Nair's piece was probably my favourite, overall.

And lastly, hilariously, it turns out Suketu Mehta doesn't drunk dial (or maybe does and doesn't talk about it), but drunk-signs-book-contracts! What a lovely problem to have!

[Milan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a mixed bag. There are 18 interviews with different kind of writers. A few chapters are quite insightful about the process of writing, most are okay but a few barely get into the main topic of the book 'How I Write'. There are some veteran writers in this collection of interviews and some are so young themselves that they hardly have anything to share about how they write. Some avoid the question and go into a different direction. If you just want to read conversations with authors, this book is a enjoyable read, but if you looking for a deeper understanding of the writing process, you will have to dig through a lot of fluff.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

How I Write is a fascinating collection of candid interviews with writers, offering a unique glimpse into their creative processes. The book uncovers the varied and personal ways that authors approach the act of writing. The interview format allows each author to speak in their own voice, making their insights feel more intimate and authentic. Great book!

[Nadhia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stellar collection on writing and reading that all can learn from. You will come away with insight & inspiration + a longer reading list.