Rituparna Ghosh's Blog, page 2

In the times of Corona..

Yes, we are in middle of a crisis. I’ve not faced something like this before and managing this from a strange country has been tough. But I think what’s been most difficult is the feeling of helplessness. The inability to take charge and do something to help tide it, except just letting it play its course. Being at home is the norm for me, I work out of home, but having the husband and the son meant a rise in my load by at least 40%. It’s not worrying about sharing the load here, it’s just being responsible for more than yourself, it’s ensuring that everything is done and met so that we can sail through this pandemic as easily as possible. And then there is the shift in routine, and my neat, boxed life has taken a good shaking. I am a creature of habit and the uncertainty is creating complete havoc with me. In my other role as a Life coach, I work with clients who are also dealing with the sudden low energy and fear. So, till things calm down and I can go back to my neat boxed life, these are the few things that I could come up with which could help manage the times. Take charge – Your routine has changed? Find a new one. Plan your day, work time, household chores time, recreation time and family time. Block time in your calendar to remind yourself. Find a task that lets you check in and check out from the activity. A simple task of opening your diary could be symbolic that your workday has begun. Stay away from the news – Unless you are in a decision-making position, otherwise restrict the channels to a limited time in a day. A research article claimed the people who saw the 2013 Boston marathon bombing and subsequent manhunt on TV showed more signs of PTSD than the people who were present on site. Talk and communicate – Take a moment to have a chat with your family, play with your kids. Do Video calls with people who are away, play online interactive games, my sis and her mum play online scrabble. Social distancing doesn't mean not interacting with people Doing something you always wanted - Bring out those tools, that easel, that guitar, read a book, play with your kids, binge-watch Netflix the list is endless Earn brownie points - Senior citizens are in self-isolation, offer to get their Newspapers /groceries, get their prescriptions. Often check in on them (Maintaining Social Distancing). Kindness goes a long way. Build your strength - Building up immunity is a good way to battle the virus, focus on healthy living and choices. Having a Workout buddy is the in thing! Few gyms/ dieticians are also offering online sessions. Take time out for yourself - Very important to keep aside some time in the day for yourself, doing nothing often leads to brilliant ideas. Newton reportedly discovered gravity when he was home in isolation during the 17th Century plague, Shakespeare wrote King Lear A client told me she was feeling under stress because she felt responsible for the world Maybe, this is a time for us to reflect and review, is the world in this place because of our choices? Where are we headed? Are we on the path of becoming who we wanted to be? What can we do differently if this responsibility is thrust upon us again?

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This journey is different for each writer, some have it smooth and complete a book in 45 days (seriously no kidding check Nora Roberts ) others like yours t...

This Valentine's celebrate Love!

15 steps to being a published writer

This journey is different for each writer, some have it smooth and complete a book in 45 days (seriously no kidding check Nora Roberts ) others like yours truly takes close to two years to get the damn thing out. But what all writers swear by is - writing the first draft. Step 1: Write. Whatever idea you have swirling in your mind, put it down on paper. Doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect, doesn’t matter if the language is not crisp. Just keep ploughing through till you have the first draft ready. It is called the first shitty draft for a reason. Step 2: Go back to the drawing board, create character outlines, draw each character out. Who are they? What do they like? What makes them happy? What makes them sad? How would they react in situations? What makes their world go around? Get into their head, get under their skin! Step 3: Relook at the first draft with the newfound confidence on your characters. You’d be able to see the conflicts straight away. Go through each chapter, see how the characters behave and look for opportunities where you can show their traits instead of just telling about it to readers. For e.g. She rolled her eyes and drummed her fingers. That gets the reader to imagine the protagonist being impatient. Creates a visual for them and they feel close to the character Step 4: Carefully construct the timeline, nerd that I am I made an excel sheet with important occurrences in each character’s lives this help plug any loopholes. These are important especially if your story spans a few years. Make sure it’s consistent across all of them Step 5: Time to get groovy with draft 3, look at the timeline. Each scene and each chapter should move the story forward if it doesn’t then maybe it is not required. We call it ‘Kill your darlings’ in the writing world. You might have a scene which is written well, is powerful but doesn’t say anything new about your protagonist. Well, kill it! Every paragraph should move your story forward. Step 6: Beta reading! Find people who read the genre, who can give you feedback? Who’d be honest about it and help you make it better? Step 7: Ambience, scenery, visualisation. Can the reader imagine the carnival your protagonist went to? can the reader feel the fear as they walk through dark alleyways? Did their heart break looking at lifeless trees? It’s a good idea to create a vivid picture for your reader, draft 4 should beef up the imagination. Step 8: Plug in the Beta suggestions, is there a way to make the villain more evil? Is the end predictable? Are the characters not likable enough? Step 9: Second Last draft before sending it to the publishers, relook at the plot. Are their plot holes? Has anything not been closed well? Are there any scenes that can be written better? Often in the excitement to nail a scene, I use the word ‘like’ a lot. Hair was dark like a raven, his face lost colour ‘like’ a sheet of paper. Are there any such words that you tend to repeat? Another example is emotions - He ‘felt’ sad. Do not tell the reader what the character is feeling, it should come out of the story – ‘Getting up in the morning was an effort for him’ Step 10: Take a break. Read something new, even better write something new. Have another idea? Now is a good time to start pounding that shitty draft. Write articles, blogs, long-drawn social media posts, anything but the manuscript Step 11: Go back to your manuscript, re-read. Check the grammar, punctuations, cross your t's and dot your i's. Look at it from the reader's eyes, would you be excited to pick it up? Don’t worry, the urge to rewrite some portions are perfectly normal, but if the changes are cosmetic and not critical then it’s time to put some feelers out. Step 12: Find a good editor or proofreader who can correct any language or grammatical errors in the book. A good book goes a long way in being accepted. Step 13: Contact the publishers, a google search will show results of the ones that are in your radar or that give new authors a chance. Another option to look at is to create an amazon KDP login and self-publish your book. Step 14: Only valid if you enlisted a publishing house. It takes anywhere between 1- 3 months for them to get back to you with a publishing date if your book is accepted. Then there are plot edits that their editors suggest. That could involve anything from rewording a scene to changing crucial plot points. You’d had worked on the draft some more in the interim. Step 15: Pray/ talk to the universe/ whatever it is you do to make it a success :-)

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