How Do Story Ideas Strike You?

Story ideas strike me at the most unexpected times and in the least expected way. Whenever, anyone asks me how  do I get the Inspiration for my stories (in this case I am talking of the short stories I have written; around 60 stories ranging from 1000 words to 4500 words, which have all been published in newspapers and books), I wonder how do I explain to a non-writer how does this happen.

The Inspiration for my first book ‘The Lion Who Wanted to Sing,’ jumped into my mind while I was meditating. In that brief moment of calm, an image of a Lion gazing at the sky flashed into my mind.  The title too just popped into my mind as though someone had whispered it into my ear. The story idea just unspooled from that brief vision. And that vision became the book cover image.

Sometimes, I just see an image of a character or maybe two characters and the story starts frothing in my mind. Many times, I even start with a title which acts like a prompt and the story starts building around the title. I know it sounds strange, but that’s the way my brain gets its dose of Inspiration.

At times even a conversation with a writing friend on Facebook can trigger a plot point or unleash a story idea hiding in the back of my mind. At those times I am extremely grateful for the distraction provided by the internet; it becomes a blessing more than a nuisance. And I secretly bless the writing friend for her indirect inspiration.

Most of my chapter outlines fall into place with chapter titles that just pop into my mind as though someone was urging me to write about it. I just adore these flashes of Inspiration moments. I just wish they were more frequent and occurred at least once a day.

That’s why veteran writers talk about jotting down everything that is churned out by our mind: both the conscious and the Sub-conscious mind. We never know when these nuggets of gems may turn out to be the cues that can propel our writing to greater heights.

I know it’s different for every writer. We all have our unique ways of tackling our writing. Many writers I know see their stories in their dreams. I would love to know how story ideas approach you? Do characters come begging at your doorstep pleading with you to write their stories? Or do the story ideas fall into your head fully formed and you all just start writing? How do ideas strike you?

               

               

Lessons I have Learnt from My Spiritual Master

This post is very different from my usual writing posts. Today, I will talk about my spiritual master:  Amma or Mata Amritanandmayi Devi as she is known as. I will also share with you all the things I have learnt from my Spiritual Master. Amma is from Kerala. This Divine Saint has made it her mission to uplift humanity and help the poor by constructing free houses for them as well as providing them with basic education, medical care and jobs. Amma’s Ashram runs one of the largest charitable institutes in India.

Though, India has many saints, Amma is different from other saints. Her difference arises from the fact that she is accessible to all her devotees, irrespective of caste, financial background and age.

Amma travels all over the world, meeting people and giving her unique darshans, which consist of a hug, a candy and few holy and loving words whispered in each individual’s ear. It’s not surprising to see young students getting their hall tickets  for exams blessed by Amma, or engineering students getting their projects blessed by Amma or excitedly telling her their exam results.

I met Amma  nearly 19 years back. Amma visits Bangalore every year in February. I eagerly wait for 364 days to spend a few seconds in Amma’s arms and feel that divine bliss and experience that radiant energy.

I have a unique relationship with my Spiritual Master. Amma treats me like a baby. Amma is very encouraging where my writing is concerned. It’s due to her encouragement that I started querying for my MG fiction. She constantly urges me to write more books and not worry about big publishers.

Amma has taught me many things. Patience, something I am not famous for, is Amma’s best known quality, as well as humility. As writers we need both these qualities in abundance. We need truckloads of patience to see a completed Manuscript. As for humility, we are after all taking dictation from a higher source when we write. So, the question of pride just does not arise.

Another thing Amma has taught me is the act of practicing detachment, the ability to stand back and just witness what is happening in one’s life. This is extremely difficult. The moment I started querying exactly one month back, I would check my mail every few hours to see if any agent had replied. From the past few days, I have shed that habit and I am much more at peace now. I have performed my actions (writing the book and querying) and now it’s up to God to do the rest.

Amma constantly urges her followers to embrace the Indian philosophy of karma: performing one’s actions without any expectations. We writers embrace that philosophy in a big way. When we write our books and stories we have no idea of the reaction it will garner from the readers.

Amma is the source of my Inner Strength and it’s because of her Divine Grace that I am able to do all the things I do. I have felt her presence during the most stressful situations in my life.

Today, 27^th September is Amma’s birthday. I wish her a very, very Happy Birthday. I pray that she blesses all of us in every sphere of our lives.

Here is the link to Amma’s website for those who would love to know more about this Divine Saint. 
http://www.amritapuri.org/

Why are Publishers Interested in Series?

My editor in India who has been interacting with me for a story I am doing for an Anthology brought out by the Publishing House, tells me that most publishers (in India we don’t have agents, we submit directly to publishing houses) are looking at series. Stand-alone or one off books, especially in the Children’s category are not a good proposition.

Her belief is that single books have a tendency to get lost or disappear inside bookshops. Whereas a series has a great marketing potential. Series are great for attracting visibility. Series also have an advantage of allowing the main character to create a bond with the readers. It also has a better recall value. She told me that though writing is a passion for writers, publishing is a business and publishers look for the market value of the book as at the end of the day, they do want to make a profit. Series have better profit making abilities than single books. A series also ensures that  a writer does not disappear after writing just one book.

Her words resonated with me. A series has many advantages. Once a character is created and a setting is built, and both have struck a chord with readers, a major burden has been lifted from the writer’s shoulders. Now, it’s up to the writer to capitalize on this advantage by upping the stakes and increasing the tension and ensuring that the reader do not move away  and stick to the next lot of books featuring the same characters.

Another advantage of a series is that once a reader interest is invested in both the character and story, then the chances of them picking up the next  few books in the series are very high.

Though  series are my editor’s firm favourite, she is of the opinion that the series should not be a long one: a trilogy is most preferred. As for long series of 5 or more parts, it’s difficult to keep a firm grip on the plot and characters.

I have noticed this trend every where. Most writers are either writing or planning a series. What about you all? Are you of the same belief as my editor? Do you believe that series have better chances of being published than single books?Are any of you planning a series or have written them?