The blog and Hide-out of a humour writer, mom, IT professional, not necessarily in that order.
If you’re wondering why everything’s looking different, it’s because I changed the theme again! I hope it’s not too jarring a change but the theme really caught my eye and I changed it without even really meaning to. The last such transformation happened more than a year back so it was long overdue.
Do drop me a line with your thoughts on the new theme!
Last week I wrote a post listing out all the things I hate about writing.
This time let’s look at the flip side. Here’s some of the things I love about it:
I’m sure you could come up with a few more reasons why you love writing, but while this is my list, feel free to add your own in the comments!
Since my childhood it’s been a tradition for me to wake up early and watch the Oscars ceremony. When I was small, I found the entire thing spectacular – full of song and dance and comedy. I’m dating myself here but I remember recording the episodes on my little VHS tapes and then watching them over and over again later on.
As the viewership ratings show, the Oscars has declined in popularity these last few years. Even up until a few years back I’d stay riveted, glued to the screen from the moment the red carpet rolled out until the best picture was declared.
This year I had it on for background viewing while I got my daughter ready for school. Both the program and the eventual list of winners did not disappoint!
My favourite moments from the show:
Here are some of the stalwarts whose wins I was happy to witness:
Mahershala Ali for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Though I haven’t seen any of his Oscar-winning or Oscar-nominated performances, I’ve been a huge fan of his since his House of Cards days. It struck even from that time that he was star material. I discovered only later about controversy surrounding the movie Green Book.
Olivia Colman for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Though she was one of the frontrunners too, I feel like her win over Glenn Close was a big upset. I love Glenn Close too – who can forget her performance in Fatal Attraction – but this one was very well-deserved.
Rami Malek for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Despite stellar performances by all the other nominees, this one was almost ‘in the bag’ from the day the nominations were announced. I finally caught Bohemian Rhapsody on Tata Sky Showcase the other day, and it lived up to the expectations.
I did not make any predictions, but this piece of satire accurately reflects what I would have said.
Did you watch the Oscars this year? What were your favourite parts of the show?
Don’t get me wrong – I love writing, especially now, despite all the gazillion rejections streaming in on a daily basis. I am finally enjoying the process, rather than indulging in the thrills of “having written.”
However there are quite a few things I don’t like about being a writer:
This is not the fault of writing of course, but it does demand intense concentration and time. The creative gene inspires ideas but the world doesn’t grant us the time to write all of them. It also takes away time from socializing in the real word – I’ve skipped many a weekend party in favour of writing.
After stealing all that time, when I sit down to write, the words that bombard my brain at all the wrong times retreat into a shell and need immense coaxing to draw them out.
The first draft of everything is crap. It may improve with practice but sometimes it’s so bad it’s better to scrap it all and start again.
In more than five years of writing and submitting, I can count only a handful of times that a piece I sent out was accepted by the first place I sent it to. My story that won 2nd place in the On The Premises contest last year is a good example of this.
The fear of rejection and submitting makes us hold on to our creative efforts, but without sending it out we’re not really taking ourselves to the next level
Writers need supreme confidence in themselves and their work so they can pitch agents and publishers and plough through despite all the rejections
Writers also need to turn a critical eye on themselves so they can humbly accept feedback and revise their work to near-perfection
The final draft is never final and even after time and distance away from it when I see it next I feel its way below par.
The struggle to find the word that exactly matches what you’re thinking of is perpetual. A thesaurus makes it easier but not always.
This is the biggest problem with writing – the easiest writing that looks the most effortless is actually the hardest to do.
How do you feel about writing these days? Anything you can add to the above list? W
The last few weeks have seen have quite some excitement in the world of books and publishing. Each of the news pieces I’ve mentioned below are fascinating to read about.
A Suspense Novelist’s Trail of Deceptions
AJ Finn’s novel Woman in the Window became a huge bestseller last year. It followed the trend of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train. But how much do you know about the author? This article on the New Yorker tells a long and absorbing tale of a writer whose personal life offers more drama than his books. Don’t miss this – worth a read despite the length.
YA author pulls debut novel due to accusations of racism
Author Amélie Wen Zhao had to pull her YA Fantasy novel after early reviewers dismissed the book as racist. This and other instances has created the need for sensitivity readers, though their impact on books and publishing is something we’ll observe in the years to come.
Jeff Bezos exposes Dan Pecker before he exposes him
I think everyone must have read about this one by now. The news was hardly out when McSweeney’s had a riposte ready. Check out I Am Jeff Bezos: Man Of Principle, Champion of the Exploited
Using Literary Techniques in Narrative Journalism
Not a news-related piece, but an excellent one nevertheless on livening up your nonfiction using storytelling techniques.
If all that wasn’t enough, here’s something to tickle your funny bone:
Eat Your Feelings at These New Restaurants for Writers – “From the Memoir Bistro to the Rejection Café, we’ve invented 8 dining establishments for the literary”
All these articles gave me more than enough food for thought over the last few days. Anything else that caught your eye but missed mine? Let me know in the comments! ac
I joined a readers group on Facebook last year. It’s a very active group that has a vast number of well-read and articulate readers. A recent post on this group lamenting the lack of good science fiction in India inspired this post today. Allow me to present the science fiction books I have read that have come out of India:
There are a few literary journals too that publish SF with an Indian or Asian influence.
Sadly this site has gone defunct but the quality of stories published was quite high and the archives are worth browsing through.
This is an international science fiction and fantasy magazine that often features stories with an Asian influence.
Papercuts by Desi Writers’ Lounge is not focused primarily on science fiction/fantasy
Published by the renowned Kitaab Publishers, and featuring a story by (ahem!) yours truly!
Science fiction and fantasy is picking up in India in a big way. Here are a couple of links I found interesting:
The unbelievable meteoric rise of Indian SFF
3 Indian works of Science Fiction
Have you read Indian science fiction? Please do recommend some of your favourite stories/books in that genre! �0
The internet has been abuzz with Marie Kondo and her Tidying up, and especially the part most relevant to writers and book lovers all over the world has them in a tizzy.
Her philosophy of ‘spark joy’, i.e. pick up an item (in our case we will consider a book) and if it doesn’t spark joy, then dispose of it.
The suggestion to throw away books that we will cherish forever even if they don’t tantalize us in the moment is what caused the controversy. Twitter, the blogosphere and a number of thinkpieces have erupted on it, essentially outraged at the seemingly sensible advice.
She clarified later that you don’t really need to toss your books, you can also donate the ones you don’t want to keep anymore.
Over on Writers Digest, Robert Lee Brewer has issued the “30-book challenge” in response to Marie Kondo’s tidying up advice.
I already declutter as much as possible and have, several times a month, stood facing my bookshelf with a critical eye, trying but failing to home in on titles I don’t mind disposing. I don’t ever throw away my books – I don’t know any reader who would do that – but I donate them to the library near my house who always accept the bounty gratefully.
Even if I tried to keep only 30 books and give away the rest, I don’t know how I would go about it.
Here’s just a tiny snippet of the books that sit on my shelf:
Harry Potter – 7 books
Artemis Fowl – 7
Agatha Christie – 14
Georgette Heyer – 12
Alexander McCall Smith’s The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series – 9 books
Alexander McCall Smith’s 44 Scotland Street Series – 9 books
Alexander McCall Smith’s Corduroy Mansions Series – 3 books
Jasper Fforde – 3 books
As you can see, that totals to way more than 30 (64 if you’re counting), and this is apart from the all standalone books I’ve acquired, and the nonfiction titles I cherish like Houdini’s biography, Eat Pray Love, Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, and even Capote for that matter. This also doesn’t take into account the 100-odd books lying on my Kindle, some read, some (ahem!) unread.
So, 30 books? Make that 300 and I’d still be wringing my hands about how many you’re making me throw away. Make it 3000 and then maybe I could consider the matter.
What’s your take on Marie Kondo’s “30 books” advice?
