A Writer's Challenge
As a writer, my only challenge is never just about encountering problems while writing out my story. There isn't just a writer's block to overcome or a plot hole to dismiss so that my story flows smoothly. There are characters to build, different personalities to bestow upon them and making sure their character arc is consistent.
However, the real challenge starts right after the manuscript is completed and the story has to be sent out. That is when the difficulties begin. A writer must send in their best work. No matter how talented a writer is, while submitting, we must become our own editors and look for any misspelled words, grammatical mistakes, etc that will make our manuscripts look amateurish.
Then there is the agonizing wait until the manuscript is accepted. If not, the manuscript has to be taken another look over and then sent to another batch of publishers. So many writers....so many publishers...it's easy to get lost and more seriously, to lose confidence. The struggle is real and giving up on dreams is so easy.
As if that all isn't enough, promoting books is another issue altogether. There are too many writers and too many books being sold, so making yourself stand out is nearly impossible.
It's exhausting really and more than that, it's disheartening when the story you've put so much work into, doesn't get the recognition it deserves. I could say that I'm different, that my characters are strong women who don't give up easily and that I try to create authentic characters in somewhat realistic settings.
What I can't say is that I am good at promoting my work. I've tried social media and I've tried to put my writing out there by posting samples, but what I've come to believe over the years is that to be a successful writer, one needs luck...tons of it!
Being there at the right time with the right promotional tactic is what works. I could post an excerpt anytime, but my target audience will only read it at a specific time. What that specific time is? That is hard to determine.
As a writer, I cannot keep track of exams, tests, family commitments or doctor appointments of my readers. They will keep away time to read only when they are free. As an individual, I do have other commitments as well and there will be days when I cannot avail myself for some writing or promoting time.
Those days end with regret on my part and an empty promise to write the next day.
Then there are days, when I walk around bookstores, dreaming about a day when I write a successful novel and see it on the 'bestsellers' shelf. It is for me, as a writer, a time well spent. reminding of my goal helps me stay motivated. However, picking up books from the best sellers shelf, always fills me with despair.
Because here are books, written for young adults in mind, yet deviating from the actual problems a teenager faces. It's not all boyfriends and girlfriends and new dresses. It's also about facing new challenges everyday, learning to cope with family and friends and schoolwork. Not all love stories in school end up in marriage and not every girl finds her prince.
That is one of my peeves- when young girls are made to believe that a prince will come rescue them and take them away from all their problems. Of course now, it's sometimes rock-stars, movie stars and billionaires who have taken the place of princes.
Young adult books are usually filled with hackneyed plots about a shy girl whom nobody notices except for this one guy who is destined to save her from her misery. After that the girl transforms into this bubbly and stylish girl who no longer resembles the girl she used to be.
These stories don't bother with how the challenges are poised and overcome, it's all about someone dropping from the sky (metaphorically) and banishing all your problems.
When I was writing 'Aadita', my main concern was that though the story dealt with paranormal factors, I didn't want my protagonist to just find an easy solution to her problems. I wanted to show that obstacles she had to face, both in school and at home and the friends she made eventually, didn't just happen. It wasn't just 'Hi' and 'Sure I'll be your friend'.
My protagonist was a difficult girl who had a challenging life. She had to react to experiences in her own way and not transform into someone perky when the whole world was crumbling around her.
The same was with my characters in 'The Ensnared'. I made sure none of my characters broke their 'act'. They felt sad, betrayed and physically hurt, but none of them turned into superheroes in that one night. The situation I had put them in was a fantasy, but their reactions had to be real.
If one was scared, the other too was scared given the circumstances they were given. My protagonist showed courage gradually through a process that I made sure was close to reality- that such a person would behave in such a way in that situation.
Those are the stories I love to write and will continue to do so. Yes, it is tempting to give in and write about fairy-tales, but as cynical as it sounds, I don't believe that someone comes out of the blue and solves all your problems. Sometimes, you have to become strong all on your own, even if it is a scary process. It is that stage of transformation that fascinates me and it is something I want to include in all my stories.
However, the real challenge starts right after the manuscript is completed and the story has to be sent out. That is when the difficulties begin. A writer must send in their best work. No matter how talented a writer is, while submitting, we must become our own editors and look for any misspelled words, grammatical mistakes, etc that will make our manuscripts look amateurish.
Then there is the agonizing wait until the manuscript is accepted. If not, the manuscript has to be taken another look over and then sent to another batch of publishers. So many writers....so many publishers...it's easy to get lost and more seriously, to lose confidence. The struggle is real and giving up on dreams is so easy.
As if that all isn't enough, promoting books is another issue altogether. There are too many writers and too many books being sold, so making yourself stand out is nearly impossible.
It's exhausting really and more than that, it's disheartening when the story you've put so much work into, doesn't get the recognition it deserves. I could say that I'm different, that my characters are strong women who don't give up easily and that I try to create authentic characters in somewhat realistic settings.
What I can't say is that I am good at promoting my work. I've tried social media and I've tried to put my writing out there by posting samples, but what I've come to believe over the years is that to be a successful writer, one needs luck...tons of it!
Being there at the right time with the right promotional tactic is what works. I could post an excerpt anytime, but my target audience will only read it at a specific time. What that specific time is? That is hard to determine.
As a writer, I cannot keep track of exams, tests, family commitments or doctor appointments of my readers. They will keep away time to read only when they are free. As an individual, I do have other commitments as well and there will be days when I cannot avail myself for some writing or promoting time.
Those days end with regret on my part and an empty promise to write the next day.
Then there are days, when I walk around bookstores, dreaming about a day when I write a successful novel and see it on the 'bestsellers' shelf. It is for me, as a writer, a time well spent. reminding of my goal helps me stay motivated. However, picking up books from the best sellers shelf, always fills me with despair.
Because here are books, written for young adults in mind, yet deviating from the actual problems a teenager faces. It's not all boyfriends and girlfriends and new dresses. It's also about facing new challenges everyday, learning to cope with family and friends and schoolwork. Not all love stories in school end up in marriage and not every girl finds her prince.
That is one of my peeves- when young girls are made to believe that a prince will come rescue them and take them away from all their problems. Of course now, it's sometimes rock-stars, movie stars and billionaires who have taken the place of princes.
Young adult books are usually filled with hackneyed plots about a shy girl whom nobody notices except for this one guy who is destined to save her from her misery. After that the girl transforms into this bubbly and stylish girl who no longer resembles the girl she used to be.
These stories don't bother with how the challenges are poised and overcome, it's all about someone dropping from the sky (metaphorically) and banishing all your problems.
When I was writing 'Aadita', my main concern was that though the story dealt with paranormal factors, I didn't want my protagonist to just find an easy solution to her problems. I wanted to show that obstacles she had to face, both in school and at home and the friends she made eventually, didn't just happen. It wasn't just 'Hi' and 'Sure I'll be your friend'.
My protagonist was a difficult girl who had a challenging life. She had to react to experiences in her own way and not transform into someone perky when the whole world was crumbling around her.
The same was with my characters in 'The Ensnared'. I made sure none of my characters broke their 'act'. They felt sad, betrayed and physically hurt, but none of them turned into superheroes in that one night. The situation I had put them in was a fantasy, but their reactions had to be real.
If one was scared, the other too was scared given the circumstances they were given. My protagonist showed courage gradually through a process that I made sure was close to reality- that such a person would behave in such a way in that situation.
Those are the stories I love to write and will continue to do so. Yes, it is tempting to give in and write about fairy-tales, but as cynical as it sounds, I don't believe that someone comes out of the blue and solves all your problems. Sometimes, you have to become strong all on your own, even if it is a scary process. It is that stage of transformation that fascinates me and it is something I want to include in all my stories.
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