Our #ReadersNest book reader’s club launched its first event #BooksAndBeyond by inviting the critically acclaimed and best-selling Indian author Anita Nair. She not only shared interesting background from some of her famous works like Ladies Coupe, Mistress and Lessons In Forgetting, but was also kind enough to graciously share some tips for the wannabe and the first-time writers. While she was careful to remind — by way of simple back of the envelope calculation — that economics of being a writer aren’t all that great so don’t you leave your day job just yet!, the key learnings that resonated with me were (with my own perspectives in terms of learnings in leadership and life in italics):
1. Power of (lack of) encouragement: Right from the childhood, she always wanted to write. When she was 7, she wrote a poem but no one believed she wrote it! So, she was told to write another one for them to believe that she actually wrote that! She literally stopped writing after that (did continue writing secretly though). After graduation, she would get happiness from writing, even though it was still not being published.
In leadership too, we can’t emphasize enough on the power of encouragement — great leaders make it a point to acknowledge and recognize the potent and latent power of encouraging the staff — and not just on them, but also in building a culture of high-performance.
2. Power of purpose: In 1990, she consciously decided to become a writer. She wasn’t sure who will read or even what she will write, but didn’t want to get into the commercial writing but focus on literacy-worthiness.
It is extremely important to identify one’s purpose, or the inner calling, and then pursue it regardless. In any meaningful journey, there will be ups and down-perhaps more downs than ups, but hopefully, more meaning ups than the down, that will test your resolve. If you are not clear on why you want to undertake a mission impossible, you are likely to give it up at the first sign of struggle.
3. Hone your craft everyday: After writing for over 20+ years, she feels it doesn’t get any easier or simpler! The bar keeps going higher, and per her words- if I can’t be honest, I might as well not right!
Great craft is the labor of love, and great artists and leaders know that there is no finish line. In fact, the more you devote yourself to learning something, or honing your craft, the more you realize that you know less and less. It is such a humbling — and yet liberating and rejuvenating — feeling when you practice your craft everyday.
4. Learn from the masters: Take your favorite two pages from a book and key them in on your computer. You will know how they handle pauses, punctuation, character, etc. You will also see the difference between how you think and write versus how the great writers write. To be a write, first become a good reader. Read all kinds of writing — fiction, non fiction, biographies, etc. Get familiar with what writing is all about.
As Bertrand Russell famously said — The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts! A key trait of passionate learners is that they never get tired of learning from anyone — definitely from the masters, but even no sparing anyone whom they could learn from!
5. Creativity is often serendipity: The creative process can sometime result in things very different from planned.
If we already know the outcome, or set the expectations for what is the required or the expected outcome, then we prematurely close the door on any form of creativity. While a truly creative process needs to be separated from the fixed-outcome processes, it should also
6. Five tips for first-time writers: She shared five tips for first-time writers, that I found very practical and useful:
a. Separate writing from editing: Often, we look at a book without realizing that what you see in your hands is the final book that has gone through multiple rounds of editing. We never get to see the first draft, which is not quite the same as the finished product! So, don’t see perfection in the first draft. Write down first and then take a step back, and then go again.
b. Don’t overthink: Often writers get stuck in the so-called “writer’s block”. This is nothing but overthinking. Best is to don’t overthink and just write from your, express your true feelings without thinking about it. There will be multiple drafts that will take care of it.
c. Know the subject: You need to do lot of research, and while most of it might be pointless or useless, but some of the points will strike the right chord or trigger some thoughts. I find the whole research process so joyful. However, too much of research could make the topic dull because it might pull down the main story. Striking the right balance is key.
d. Make it interesting: Publishers get many manuscripts and most of them end up in their “slush file” where they keep the unsolicited scripts. They might see them later eventually, but you need to make it interesting. Work on making it very crisp or an interesting beginning — if they read first 100 words and don’t get interested enough, that’s the end of it.
e. Be very careful about the characters: In any story, there might be more or more protagonists, and also one or more antagonists. But watch out for the “unplanned characters” — there is no place for them even if the character itself is brilliant.
Finally, she shared an interesting tip: An average book might be around 80,000 words. Start writing 400 words each week, then take a break and next week write another 400 words. Don’t edit, just keep writing. Within eight months, your manuscript will be ready! That perhaps could not be made any further simpler.
