Awards, Awardees and Secrets

I know that I have been a hoarder as I have received few awards and have not passed them on. Its time to do that now. Few months back Elizabeth Mueller gave  me the Honest Scrap Award and few days back Lynda Young  gave me the Sweet Friends Award. I would like to  pass  both the awards.

The rules of the awards are to thank  and link back to the person who gave you the award and share few things about  yourself. Thank you Elizabeth and Lynda.

My Awardees for the Honest Scrap Award are:

Kim at Dragonfly Scrolls

Tabitha at Through My Eyes

Alexis at Finding Prose in the Laundry

Melissa  at What I Saw

Gargi at Gargi’s World

Samuel at Samuel Park’s Daily Pep for Writers
N.R Williams at N.R Williams, Fantasy Author

My Sweet Friends Blog  (Happy 101) Awardees are:

Ellie at Ellie Garratt

Dayana at Writing from the Wrogan

Meika  at Waiting on the Muse

Kathryn at Kathryn Jankowski

Hemant at Children’s Heaven

Elizabeth at Elizabeth Varadan’s Fourth Wish

I will share 6 things  related to my  writing:

1. I like the power  of a writer’s imagination: the wonderful worlds our words create.

2. I  like to explore different themes in my short stories and books.

3. I like to create believable characters: my characters must resemble real people.

4. I  like being haunted by my characters when I am writing about them.

5. I like to incorporate subtle messages in my stories.

6. I like a hint of mischief in my characters.  

 Now its time to tell you 6 (secret) things unrelated to my writing. I think its time we all get to know each other a little better.

1.      I  am  prone to CGS (Continuous Giggle Syndrome). I have giggled continuously for an hour and half in the company of my sister and nieces.

2.      I am extremely  attached to my  Parents and Spiritual Master. They are my strength as well as weakness. 

3.      In my mid teens I wanted to be a model. My best friend and  I bunked college to go for an audition, but chickened out at the last minute and returned back to college.  

4.      I am  addicted to the 3 W’s (writing, workout and worship). If I miss even one of them, then my grumpiness is to be avoided at all costs.

5.      I  believe that Destiny is all about choice and not chance. It’s the choices we make that determine the chances we get. I believe If I  have to have regrets, then I would rather have the regret that I tried and  failed, than the regret that I didn’t try at all.

6.      I  am a complete chatterbox. I am always ready for long chats. Strangers at airports end up confiding their life stories to me, as do most people.

 What about you all? Any secrets you would like to share. I promise not to tell anyone.

Getting the Writer Noticed Before the Book is Published

I have already done a post on giving our books visibility,  refer to post  Effective Marketing Strategy to Give  Books Visibility. But there are a lot of writers who are unpublished. This post will cover the points on giving a writer visibility, though I prefer to call them aspiring authors rather than struggling writers.

 As writers there are many ways we can ensure that atleast some people are familiar with our names before our books are published.

                                           

    1.  In India most writers take the newspaper route: we (including me) start our writing careers by  contributing to newspapers and magazines that accept freelancers. This is one of the best ways to get visibility: contributing regular features, articles  and short stories ensures that we write often, our regular bylines make many people familiar with our names and ofcourse  when a cheque arrives in the mail it’s a wonderful feeling and seeing our work in print is sheer joy. All the newspapers and magazines accept email submissions. I have noticed  that few regular contributors have ended up with columns.

2.      Participating in short  story, poetry, haiku and flash fiction competitions is a    

      wonderful  way to get noticed. Even if the writer does not win the top prizes, 

      but gets just a special mention or  comes in the top ten, editors,   

      publishers and agents  take notice. I have seen several writers who win

      prizes, bag  book deals from publishers. Nowadays there are several online

      writing  competitions  that one can join without worrying about postal

      issues. Many don’t even have an entry fee and one can submit from any part

      of the world.

 3.  Starting a Blog is  one of the best ways of expressing oneself and building

      relationships  with other writers and learning and sharing knowledge, all

      from the comfort of our homes. I have read that many editors and agents  
     ( in India we don't  have agents) search for an  online presence for the writers
      whose manuscript lands in their  inbox. And of course it’s an amazing platform
      and hones our writing skills.

4.  Building a Website is one of the best thing writers and authors can do.

     Though I have been toying with that idea I am not sure I will go for that right

      now. Writers can even put up samples of their previously published
      work for editors, agents and publishers to go through. But, don't ever make the
      mistake of  putting anything from unpublished books or stories. As once its
      read  no one will be interested in publishing it. Both the blog and the website
      looks good in the Writer/Author bio.

5.  Almost all publishers bring out anthologies where several writers (yes even

     unpublished writers are invited) and authors are  asked to contribute a story:

     sometimes based on a theme. If the publisher is big then this turns out to be a

     prestigious thing to mention in the bio. I have been a part of several Penguin

     Anthologies. Many times writers  contributing in anthologies  are offered      

     book deals or commissioned to write on different  topics by  publishers.

6.  Contributing articles in prestigious Journals that have a reputation in the 

     literary world is a wonderful way to get noticed. Such mentions in our bios   

     do make the agent and editor sit up  and take notice. To write a book takes a

      long time, so if in the interim a few publishing credits roll out it’s a good thing.

Do you think its important  for writers to get noticed even before their books are published? What are all the things you are doing to get yourself visibility? What do you all  think writers should do to get noticed. Please share. It will be of great help to everyone.

Surrender to the Soul of the Story

Surrender is  a part of Indian  spirituality. It’s  the first lesson a disciple is taught when he enters spiritual life and trains under his spiritual master. The only advice given to the disciple by his Spiritual Master is  “Surrender”: go along with the flow of things.

Surrender in spiritual life simply means  bowing down to the inevitable, shedding  all desires  and expectations and just enjoying the experiences that   life/fate throws in our paths. The experience may be good, bad, sweet, bitter, small  or  big, but each experience  teaches the disciple something and adds to the disciple’s spiritual growth. The surrender  done  with utmost  humility and childlike innocence  hastens the disciple’s   spiritual  progress and all obstacles are overcome.

Before you all shake your heads and wonder whether this post is about spiritual life, I hasten to deny it.

Have you all realized that as writers  we  follow  the philosophy of surrender while working on our manuscripts.  When we start  writing our stories, don’t we surrender completely to it, bow down to the inevitable. The story  not only consumes us,  but chucks everything it has in our paths. Our characters throw  tantrums, our muse often plays truant, mental blocks hamper the progress of our stories, there is criticism galore from various sources. But,  like spiritual aspirants we continue on our chosen paths  with dreams of the published book in our eyes.

When we try to force the story or impose our rules upon it, it turns hostile and unnatural. The only way we can  do justice to  our stories  is by  surrendering completely to it: we should write the story with our heart,  pour our passion into it, be true to its theme, allow it to lead us where it wants to be taken, let the characters have the freedom to do what they want. There will be sufficient time later to summon the inner editor and spruce up the story and chop the undesirable parts.  

 Every story  has  a soul; it’s the essence of the story; the fragrance  emanating from the story that touches the readers’ souls. This soul to soul connection  is  responsible for its success. This is possible  only when we succumb all our senses to the story  without asking ourselves any questions.

Many times writers write with an eye on the commercial  market (at times I do too)  they forget to be true to the story, but start pandering to the current trend. The stories in their hearts  are suppressed by the stories that the market wants: stories that are the current flavours.  The essence of the story is diluted and the soul weakened. These stories  never achieve any amount of memorability. The  success they achieve is temporary.

Have you at any time surrendered to the soul of the story?  Given in completely to its pull  without asking questions?  If yes, where has it lead you? If no, where did you end up with the story? What are your views on it?