Being an avid reader-cum-reviewer, a blogger and now an author there are many instances where I have loved some books to death and hated some to the extent where I didn’t even want anyone to know that I have read them. Well, maybe hate is too strong a word, disliked is the right word, for hating a book is never possible. Like I always say, books always teach you something. If a right book teaches you the do’s, the wrong books teach you the don’ts. I had come to believe that perhaps the world doesn’t need another writer.
Gradually I moved onto being a beta reader, a manuscript reviewer and an editor for manuscripts, which gave me the opportunity to see things as they were much before they finally took the form of a book. The initial euphoria of being surrounded by books all the time soon became a full-fledged affair when my days were spent only in two ways. I was either reading or writing. Over a period of time, I observed that there is a void in between these activities waiting to be filled in with wonderful writers. As I continue to aspire to be one, here’s sharing with you the most important 5 things I learnt in my journey till now:
1. The Makeover
The most important thing in a novel is that the central characters or the main protagonist should go through something during it. He/she must be different in the beginning and should come out as a changed person by the end of it. That is when the entire novel will make sense.
2. Love Affair
Breakup – Kiss & Make up – Have a love affair with your story, fall in love with it, flirt with it, tease it and finally make love to it before breaking off. In simpler terms, be obsessed with your manuscript till you are finished writing it completely. Let the whole story come out of your system at once and then take a break from it for a few days. Have a break up. After a few days take it up again and rework on it. That is when you will be able to see it the way others see it. Kiss and make it up the way you like it to be and cover up the flaws.
3. USP
Always remember what is a story-to-be-told for us is a novel-to-be-sold for a publisher. When you are working on a plot or a story, think about it from a reader or a publisher’s perspective and question yourself – what is new that I am offering here? That is when you will be able to think of an idea to make it an outstanding novel.
4. Un-follow Idealism
Okay you idealize the latest best-selling author. We all do, we all have ideals that we hero-worship at the altar of our dreams. But when it comes to becoming like them, the question we need to ask ourselves is does the world really need another him/her? The answer is a huge NO. The world needs you, a genuine honest version of you. Not a second hand version of him, for if they need him he is there! Be unique in your writing and that is when you make yourself unique.
5. Write What You Love to Read
We all love adulation, fans and those moments when we are told how amazing our book is. But when you write a book, never keep in mind what the reader will love for it is difficult to guess that. Rather, write something what you will love to read for that will bring out the best in you making readers fall in love with your words.
Image credit: Shayan Sanyal on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://writingtipsoasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Namrata.png[/author_image] [author_info]Namrata is the author of Metro Diaries and a contributing author to various anthologies. She is the editor for Writer’s Ezine, a columnist at Estrade and a reviewer for various publishing houses. You can reach her through Facebook: (www.facebook.com/wingstomywords)
Twitter: (@privytrifles) and her Website: www.privytrifles.com.
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