Preethi Venugopala's Blog, page 30

How blogging impacts your writing dreams

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For any aspiring writer, the easiest way to get an audience for your writing is via blogging. The benefits of blogging are many. Let me list a few of the things I felt has helped me to realize my dream of becoming a published author.
a)      Impacts the Quality of writing:
One major benefit I experienced through blogging is that my writing skills improved with each blog post that I wrote. The impact of positive feedbacks from my readers boosted my confidence. I learned to string words into sentences and pour out what was on my mind faster and with improved clarity, every time I wrote. It is also a great place to vent. If you don’t actively promote your blog content, practically no one will read it. And the provision for blogging anonymously is also available on every platform. You can perform myriad experiments with your writing, explore new avenues to test your creative writing skills and also churn out masterpieces in the form of short stories, poems or start posting your novel in a series of blog posts.
A word of caution : Internet is a place where plagiarism is common. People can easily copy your work and pass off as their own and you might not even know. So it will be better if you don’t post your complete work as blog posts. Before you even start querying, your novel might end up being published as an eBook if it ends up in the hands of a ruthless person. And most traditional publishers look for unpublished matter to be published. In case you have published some chapters on your blog, delete them once you have got feedback from your dedicated bunch of readers. Then start querying with renewed enthusiasm.
b)      Your blog becomes your writing portfolio:
It doesn’t matter whether you are a poet, a novelist, an essayist or a short story writer. Your blog becomes the showcase of your writing talent. A place where you can write and re-write your ideas, stories, poems or brag about your amazing day! You can treat it like your online journal or you can post snippets from your work-in-progress novella/ novel and look for reader feedback. It in a way becomes your creative world.
c)       Classify your writing
Another benefit from blogging is that you can classify your writing under various labels. By this way, you have various sections in your blog which will display the topics you have written about, the genres your blog posts fall under or the type of literature you excel in. So if you have written poems, by clicking on a label called poems will bring up all the post which falls under the category poems. You can classify your daily journal under a separate label called memoirs or give it a special name.
d)      Connect with other aspiring writers:
Most bloggers I know are either aspiring writers or are published authors. It is always nice to connect with similar minded people. We have many blogging communities like Indiblogger and Blogadda in India which helps bloggers to connect to each other. These platforms regularly conduct blogging competitions and also provide various writing prompts on a weekly basis. Blogadda conducted a novel writing competition for aspiring authors in 2014 called Game of Blogs which was won by the team of which I was a part of. The three top teams got a chance to get their novella published by a leading publishing house and the book 6 Degrees is now available to download on Amazon, Flipkart and other sites.




This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

A fantastico date with the planets

On the first Sunday of December 2015, we went on a mini tour— on a date with the planets of our solar system.
The trip was to the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium in Bangalore. Though we had been in Bangalore since the last six years we hadn’t gone there as we thought our kid won’t like the experience of being inside a planetarium and might create a ruckus there.
But this time, he learnt about the various planets through a YouTube video and was very interested to visit a planetarium to know more about the planets. Check the video below, it is very informative and peppy.




So off we went, we three, Father, Mother and Son, expecting to hear lots and lots about the planets and the universe.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium is located in Millers Road and is mostly crowded on Sundays. The weekdays see fewer crowds. It is closed Mondays and second Tuesdays of every month.
The planetarium was founded in 1989 by the Bangalore City Corporation. It is being managed by the Bangalore Association for Science Education (BASE) since 1992. The most popular events at the planetarium are Sky Theater Shows, which according to statistics, gets viewed by more than 200,000 visitors every year. The shows are held in English and Kannada and covers various topics like ‘Our Solar System’, ‘The Sun: Our Star’ and the ‘Dawn of the space age’.
You can check out more details at the official site Taralaya.org. The model of the Rocket in the science park
When we reached the place, my son was fascinated by the model of the huge rocket that stood at the entrance of the Science and Children’s park that surround the planetarium. We took his pictures where he proudly proclaimed that he would become an astronaut when he grew up. The science park has various experimental set ups that explain some of the basic elements of science to the visitors. We did our experiments and my son walked around studying the models of the planets and reading aloud the statistics of each and adding his own comments. Board with details about planets
When he saw mercury he told me that mercury was the planet that was nearest to the sun and he wouldn’t want to visit it. When he reached near Venus he said it was the hottest planet in the solar system and hence nobody should visit it. You will get burnt! His favorite was Mars which he said he was determined to visit when he became an astronaut. On and on he went while we waited for the Sky theatre Show to begin. Near the board about Jupiter
Once inside the planetarium, we wandered about a bit reading the posters about the various planets, comets, dwarf planets and about the Sun. There was a huge model of the planet Mars and people were taking selfies near it. Once inside the air conditioned Sky Theatre, when the show began, it felt like being on the terrace watching the heavens on a cold winter night. The show we attended was ‘Our Solar System.’ The whole show was fantastico and we learned lots about the planets and our solar system in general.
When we reached home from the planetarium, the first thing my son did was to search for the reason why 'poor old Pluto' was thrown out from the list of nine planets. He felt very bad that Pluto was now just a dwarf planet.
The aspiring astronaut is now thinking whether he should visit the planets or should just become an astronomer and discover a few more dwarf planets or comets!
This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

Mysore Zoo: Fantastico

(My son watching elephants)

 On the last Sunday of 2015, we went on a fantastico trip. A trip to the Mysore Zoo with our seven-year-old son.

He had been demanding that we visit the Zoo where he had heard he could see all the animals that he had only seen in pictures or on the television. He also wanted to observe the birds towards which he had developed an interest.
Black Swan
After travelling for nearly four hours, we reached the Mysore Zoo and even I could feel the excitement, of seeing animals up close that too in their natural habitat, building inside me. The little child that hid inside the veil of a grown up was slowly peeking out. As it was very hot and sunny, we equipped ourselves with hats. I purchased a cowboy hat and my son exclaimed I looked like a cow girl! Fantastico!

Sambar DeerAs it was the Christmas vacation, there were plenty of people waiting to get inside. Long queues of school kids in uniforms were being guided around by harried teachers. Invariably my mind wandered to those days when I had gone on school trips and alongside arrived memories of the pranks, the crushes, the laughter and the punishments!

We were asked to dispose whatever plastic item that we carried at a counter as plastic was banned inside the zoo. The packet of biscuits I had inside my bag was transferred into a paper bag supplied by them. I was impressed. They truly cared for the animals.

RhinocerusThe Mysore zoo is one of the most popular and was well maintained Zoos in India. It is spread over 157 acres and hosts over 168 different species of animals. It was created in 1892 by the then King Chameraja Wodeyar as the Palace Zoo.

There are battery operated cars inside the Zoo that will take you around if walking is not your forte. We preferred walking. My son who is the laziest when it comes to walking proved us wrong. He surprised us with his enthusiasm by hopping around in search of animals reading aloud their names, habitats, food habits and sometimes even the individual names. 


White Swans
We walked around and rested in between on the benches. The cool, green canopy of trees was a pleasant experience after being huddled inside the car for hours. Unlike other zoos where the stench of animal dung and urine makes you want to puke, the Mysore Zoo was different and gave the experience of being inside a forest. The added benefit was that we could watch the animals at close range.

Giraffe
Our favorites were the swans, the deer, the rhinos, the giraffes and the colorful birds. Fun moment was when my son asked for the Rasam deer after he saw the Sambar deer. My son screamed when he saw the ‘Exit’ board and wanted to go back once again. But, our stomachs were rumbling and our legs refused to walk any further. With promises to return, we made him agree to walk out of the Zoo. All in all, we came out of the Zoo smiling.

The good Kerala restaurant outside the Zoo saw to our food needs and we were more than happy tasting some homely food away from home.

Everyday my son wakes up asking when we are going to Mysore Zoo again. And we say, very soon!

P.S: all photos used are mine.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

Impact of food memories

( Photo: My own)
“Sometimes a man needs something to keep him going. I am not talking of lofty ideals or the thought of jannat awaiting him in the hereafter. Sometimes it is only a meal that he needs to propel him into the next day… a meal that to him is representative of home and comfort.”--- Idris, Anita Nair.       How rightly said. Food often brings in nostalgia. A sumptuous feast goes a long way in deepening friendships, in creating bonds that last a lifetime. Sometimes it is food memories that you associate with a person or thing. Sometimes the smell or taste of a particular food brings in a flood of fond memories of a time long gone. The smell of coffee from college canteen, of fish fry from your favorite restaurant, of cakes baking in the oven in your aunt’s kitchen…
For me, the taste of dal curry brings in memories of my Grandmother. The taste of her simple dal curry still has the capability of making me drool. Whenever I make Rasam, I remember my father, because it was his favorite. I still remember how he used to flood the rice with Rasam and mash it before savoring it with relish. I love Rasam because it reminds me of him and his love. Whenever I feel down, I make Rasam or Dal. They have become my comfort food just because they remind me of people whom I loved and who do not exist in my world anymore. Yet, they appear before me as these ephemeral visuals whenever my taste buds recognize the taste of their favorite food.
There can also be food memories that leave the worst impact on us. Some foods which we tasted while we were undergoing harrowing times often leave a bad taste in our mouth. Even if the food was tasty and something which we loved over a time, we would never be able to eat them with the same fondness. I have a friend who witnessed a horrible accident while she was eating panipuri by the roadside. She confesses she cannot eat panipuris without remembering the blood and horror of the accident that she witnessed; the cries of the desperate mother who had lost two of her kids to a speeding car. The same food that she once cherished is now the bearer of her worst horrors. She hasn’t eaten a panipuri ever since.
There are also some foods that we become averse to during a certain period in our life. Egg omelets were my favorite till I got pregnant. Once I conceived, I couldn’t stand its smell and would vomit if I were to stand in the kitchen where it was being prepared. I used to run outside and wait till it was cooked, eaten and the vessels cleaned. Nor could I tolerate eating any non-vegetarian food. I would immediately throw up. Rice flakes of red rice or Avil became my favorite food. My husband used to joke that maybe I am having a noble soul inside my womb who could not stand non-vegetarian food and loved Avil.Do you have food memories that have left an impact on you?


This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

Loneliness

Image Source: Magpie Tales 
Fate had laid her bare,Her chase for wealth,Ended in a chasm so huge,She resisted the pull with all her strength.Her sweaty palms held tightThe rope of hope with all her might.
Her wishes, her tears,Added to the fears,She let go at last and fell,She fell too deep.
Darkness, it was darkness all around,And loneliness, That devoured her body and soul.Her distressed soul decided to call it quits,Enough was enough.It left her yearning and whining body,In search of pleasant pastures,And cheerful minds.
Her body, it pined alone,Loneliness feasted on it bit by bit.Her heart had ceased to beat,The lips sang no more.No more tales of tears or happy sojourns.
Her eyes, they refused to shut,Stubbornly hoping to watch another morn.Her hair, still raven black, joined the eyes in her wait for the morn,A rogue wind blew the hair on her eyesAnd closed it shut.
Her hair continued to rebel,Fluttering in the breeze,Swearing at time.Till a roaring rain came in,Burying it in a mudslide.Only loneliness remained.



 Linking this to Magpie Tales 302

Why you should not speed read if you are an aspiring writer

I have been a story lover ever since the time I began to understand words. Be it the bedtime stories I heard or the occasional cartoons on TV that took me to a magical world, stories were what gave my imagination wings.
They taught me to believe in fairies, about the dangers that lurked around in disguises or how an ugly duckling could turn into a beautiful swan. They also gave me glimpses into different worlds that I might never see. Some allowed me to peek into a civilization that existed eons ago and some talked about a different culture that existed in a far away corner of the world. Some made my heart fill with dread while some others taught me that every dark cloud has its silver lining.
I savored books slowly and steadily over the years. I valued quality over quantity. Some writers I learned to love, some I avoided.
Later on in my life, I started to pen down my own stories. The words, the phrases from those books subconsciously aided me to narrate the tales the voices in my head were trying to say.
After I got published, many aspiring writers contacted me through social media, to ask for tips. I repeated to them the age old advice that most writers believe in--- “Read books in the genre that you want to write in.”
But I do know of bibliophiles who cannot string together a few sentences properly to tell a tale. So does that mean that the age-old advice about reading is wrong?
The culprit, in this case, I believe, is speed reading. The highest speed that has been registered in speed reading competitions around the world is 1000 words per minute. But the comprehension rate was just 50%.
Speed reading if done correctly is good. But what often goes in the name of speed reading is skimming. Skimming is a process of speed reading that involves visually searching the sentences of a page for clues as to what is happening. Comprehension rate is very low.
Do you speed read?
Maybe then, you are reading books the wrong way if you aspire to be a writer. You need to comprehend a story better if you wish to write in a similar manner. Image Source
If you go for in-depth reading, your reading speed can vary between 200-250 words/minute. It is almost like reading out loud to yourself. You hear the words internally and comprehend better.
You can hear the audio version of a book. This is also faster than normal reading and comprehension is definitely better than speed reading. But if your attention wavers in between, God help you!
When you skim through a book you can read up to 700 words/ minute. More if you train yourself to do it faster. But again, the comprehension rate is very low.
So why should you not speed read if you intend to be a writer? You should not speed read because you miss out on the details that go into the creation of a novel or a story.
When you speed read,
1)      You do not notice the inciting incidents, the rise and fall of action in the scenes or the way the climax was written
When you sit down to plot a novel, what is most important is the sequence in which the things happen. Even if you are penning down your own life story, there are inciting incidents, rise, and fall of action or what might be termed as a climax. If you treat a book like a study material for writing your own story, you will notice how the writer has used a particular scene to bring about suspense in the story. How the writer has written a particular scene making you live the life of the character. Or how the way he described a character made you visualize him/her in a three-dimensional manner or understand him as a person.You miss out on all these if you speed read a book.
2)      You skim through sentences, paragraphs which you find uninteresting.
What happens when you do this is that you miss how the writer brings about a twist in the tale or builds the anticipation of what is about to happen. Some writers use a single sentence to bring about a twist. Some evocatively describe a transition. Classic literature has many grand examples. You might want to go re-read a few; this time thoroughly.
3)      You don’t study the turn of phrases, new words, the dialogue rendition or the scene transformations.
When you speed read, you are interested only in the story outline. Not the details. In the end, all you have left is the thread of the story. There are no memorable dialogues that you remember. You don’t remember how the writer had sketched the characters or how the plot twists were accomplished. You might remember what caused the twist, but not how the writer had written the scene.You will not also have a clue as to how to punctuate a dialogue or what dialogue tags to use.
4)      You miss out on vital details
When you speed read an 80K long novel within a span of two hours or less, which I have seen many readers claiming to have done, you get so many details wrong.For example, you might be confused as to why a certain character did what he/she did. Dear speed reader, it was clearly explained in one of those paragraphs you had skimmed through or skipped. In your haste to ‘finish off’ the book, you conveniently ignored them and then complained vociferously about the lazy writer who created a faulty character.
5)      You miss out on the beauty of evocative descriptions
What makes a book memorable for me are the evocative descriptions or the scenes that tug at my heart. When we speed read, we miss out on all of these as our main aim is to finish the book rather than enjoy the journey that reading a book is.
I believe that summarizes the reasons as to why one should not speed read if writing is your passion. Reading and writing are soul sisters. One enriches the other.
But, if you speed-read through this article as well, God bless and Goodbye!

On Writing: Adite Banerjie

Today on 'On Writing' we have Adite Banerjie, who writes romances that win over your heart with ease.Adite Banerjie is a screenwriter and published author. Her book 'The Indian Tycoon's marriage deal' was first among the harlequin romances by Indian authors that I read. And I absolutely loved it. 


Let us welcome to 'On Writing', Adite Banerjie.




Follow her on: Facebook  Website Twitter Amazon Author Page

How did writing begin for you? Was becoming an author always your dream or was it a particular event or incident that gave birth to the author in you?
I have always wanted to be a writer. After I finished my graduation, I did a diploma course in journalism. That led to a long and fulfilling career as a journalist. However, novel-writing happened by accident when I shot off a short story for the Harlequin India Aspiring Authors Auditions.  My entry was selected, which later became a full novel, titled The Indian Tycoon’s Marriage Deal.
How important are the names of the characters in your books to you? Do you spend agonizing hours deciding on their names?
I enjoy picking names for my protagonists. I tend to go for names that are easy to remember and pronounce but have something unusual about them.  In The Indian Tycoon… my protagonist’s name is Maya and I chose it because it gelled with her goal of revenge against her enemy. Would it all be an illusion? Or would she get what she wanted?
What is your least favorite part of the publishing/ writing process?
Marketing, without a doubt! Now, with two books out (The Indian Tycoon’s Marriage Deal and Trouble Has a New Name) and the third one coming up in May 2016—a romantic suspense titled No Safe Zone—I have come to realise that it’s an integral part of the writing business. Sigh!
What is ‘The Indian Tycoon’s Marriage Deal’ all about? How long did it take to complete writing it?
The Indian Tycoon… is about the feisty young Maya whose quest is to bring down the man who destroyed her family. When Krish Dev, the son of her most hated enemy, proposes marriage to her, she agrees. But can she hide the truth from herself—that she is falling in love with Krish? And how will she reconcile her heart’s desire with her need for revenge?
It took me about six months to write the first draft. But it went through several iterations and then the editing process kicked in. So all told, it took about eight months.
Who is your favorite character in the book and why?
I loved creating Maya’s character. She is a strong-willed, independent  young woman who is determined to find justice for the wrongs done to her family. But despite the hardship she has faced in her young life, it has not made her hard and bitter. I hope I have been able to bring out her strength and her vulnerability in a convincing enough manner in the book.

Do share a snippet/ Quote from your book.


‘This marriage would be strictly in name only. Or the deal is off.’
 Krish laughed. The sound waves reverberated inside her, making her feel all warm and fuzzy.
 ‘You mean leave sex out of it?’
 Krish’s dark eyes seemed to pick out her body vibrations even before she could.
  ‘Are you absolutely sure about that?’
  Maya seethed. She wished she could wipe that all-knowing look off his face. If only she didn’t feel this strong surge of attraction for him—but that was her secret to keep…just one of many.
 ‘I’m sure you can find a discreet way of taking care of that side of things for yourself.’
 He clicked his tongue in mock disapproval. ‘You haven’t been paying attention, jaaneman.’
 Maya was back to worrying her lower lip and Krish leaned across the table to run a finger across her mouth.
‘I’ve told you before that I’m a one-woman guy. And I don’t share what’s mine.’
 Her lips tingled at his touch even as his words held out a deep, velvety promise that made her breath catch.Breathe, Maya, breathe! 
She pulled away and stuttered, ‘I…I mean it…No sex or the deal is off.’


What is your method of writing? Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I have always been a plotter. I tend to outline my stories a great deal before I start writing. But during the course of writing this book and also my second one, I realized that I need to give more space for my characters to grow and be themselves. Perhaps, it makes life more difficult for me as an author but ultimately it does help the overall story and the growth of the characters. 
Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad?
Initially, I would be devastated by bad reviews and would fret and fume—totally in private—about them. Though the general wisdom is that you should never respond to reviews, good or bad, I normally send a line of appreciation to those who give me a good review. Recently, I read a wonderful quote about reviews which said, “Bad reviews are an author’s battle scars”. And that has resonated big time with me.  What are the three tips you have for readers who are aspiring writers?
1) Read a lot. 2) Write everyday3) And most importantly, never give up.
Thank you, Adite! It was wonderful chatting with you. All the best for all your future endeavors.
Thank you Preethi for hosting me on your blog. Happy Writing! 
About 'The Indian Tycoon's Marriage deal:
Blurb:  Kindle Edition
Dancing with the enemyKrish Dev needs to find a bride—and quick! With a marriage arranged by his father looming, Krish finds the key to his freedom in Maya Shome. But is this dazzling beauty really all she seems…?Maya has only one thing in mind: revenge. But when the host of the most exclusive high society party asks her to dance what is meant to be an innocent tango, it leads to an engagement to Krish—her enemy's son!Arranging their own marriage could work to their advantage…if they can resist mixing business with pleasure!

Read what readers think about it at Goodreads:  Purchase it Amazon Purchase link: 

Do buy her book folks. It is a great read.
That is all for now.
Until next post,Much Love,

Where are you?

Image Source: Magpie TalesWhere are you?Do you remember me?
My flowers are wilting,
My hair is unkempt since long,
My eyes no longer yield any tears.


I was a dead log,
Life began with your arrival,
It ended when you left me for another.
Why did you make promises that you never intended to keep?
Why did you allow my dreams to bloom?
Sweet blossoms, they wither with every passing breeze.


The wind whispers tales about you,
Of another wilting rose,
About another dead log,
Of unkempt tresses,
About another pair of haunted eyes!


In those days of cheer,
I had chided the wind,
Called him a liar,
A jealous lover.
The time now tells me how blind I was!


But my stubborn heart still prays for a miracle,
For a day when all the whispers would die a shameful death,
When you will arrive again,
Like the long-awaited drop of rain.
New shoots, new leaves will surround me again,
I will wait for that dawn,
 Like a fool, I will await you.
Linking this post with Magpie Tales

Unforgettable First Stars of 'Without You'

First Review from a friend:

For every writer, the reviews they receive for their book is always special. Not only does a positive review boost the confidence of a writer, it becomes their source of inspiration to pen down more. So, I decided to honor some of my star reviewers here on my blog.

The first ever review I received was from Shrruti Patole Clarence. I 



A few days after 'Without You' was released, I woke up to a review on my Facebook timeline. It was from Shrruti. It went like this.

"It is 2 am now and I have just put down 'Without You'. 
I just couldn't put down ur book until I completed it!!!! U are an awesome story teller! I have laughed n cried wz Ananya, traveled thru Sreepuram wz her n even fallen in love with Arjun, with her!!!!!
The description of Dubai was so real that I felt I was there wz Ananya!
Colonel R. S. Nair was a pleasant surprise!!!!

The pace of the story is nice and keeps the reader wanting to know more!
I am smitten by this love story and it has surely been added to my 'favorite book list'!!!!
Well done! Looking forward to more!!!! God bless.

Shrruti is a writer versatile writer herself and her review made me shed a few happy tears. Her book 'Love Again' is a best seller and you can buy it HERE . Her stories are also part of many popular anthologies like The Second life, Crumpled Voices and Drenched souls: Moonlit matinee-2.

You can follow Shrruti on GOODREADS   TWITTER    FACEBOOK

I received many other reviews post that, but Shrruti's remain the sweetest, being the first that I received.

First Review from a stranger:

One day, a few weeks after the release of my book, I received an email from Sandipa Sucharita Rath from Odissa. It was the first fan mail and I was excited. 



 She particularly told me how much the book created a difference in her life. I was over the moon. I tried to search for her on Facebook, I couldn't succeed as the spelling I typed in of her name was wrong. She later searched me out on Facebook and has remained my friend from then on. A loving wife, mother, and friend, she is a source of inspiration to me. 

A beautiful soul, I wish she remains my friend throughtout this life. 

Her Review:

The novel"Without You" has created a great difference in my life.
Earlier I enjoyed reading only short stories because it takes less time to reach the climax of a story. But once I started 'without you' I forgot about reaching the climax, the journey with this book was amazing.This book made me feel that novels can change your personality, your point of view towards life. Ananya and Arjun, two different personalities could create such an eternal bonding of love that whatever storm came in their path, the love sustained its essence. It has been beautifully described in this book. Looking forward to reading many more books by Preethi Venugopala.

Thank you Shrruti and Sandipa for all the love!

Wait for my next post where I acquaint you with a few of my other star reviewers.

Until then,
Much Love,

On Writing: Ritu Lalit

Today on 'On Writing', we have the versatile and talented Ritu Latit who talks about her book 'Wrong for the Right reasons in this interview.
Ritu Lalit is the author of five books. A Bowlful of Butterflies , her first book was a coming of age story about three fast friends in school. HILAWI is a fantasy thriller. Chakra, Chronicles of the Witch Way , again is a fantasy adventure. Wrong for the Right Reasons is a story about a young divorcee bringing up her children. My Father’s Mistress is a murder mystery.
Welcome to ‘On Writing’ Ritu Lalit.
Follow her: www.ritulalit.com                   Twitter @phoenixr2
How did writing begin for you? Was becoming an author always your dream or was it a particular event or incident that gave birth to the author in you?
It was always my dream to be a writer.  The dream became stronger when as a child I read Alcott’s Little Women and Johanna Spyri’s Heidi.
How important are the names of the characters in your books to you? Do you spend agonizing hours deciding on their names?
Oh yes.  Often I select names and then as the story progresses I end up feeling that the name and the character don’t match.  Then I change the name.  I must say I love the 'Find and Replace' function in MS Word; such a useful tool.
What is your least favorite part of the publishing/ writing process?
Finding a publisher is the hardest part of the publishing/writing process.  So is editing.
What is ‘Wrong for the Right Reasons’ all about? How long did it take to complete writing it?
Wrong for the Right Reasons is a story of how a divorcee with two kids finds her feet in society.  It is about the growth of this sheltered woman, her challenges and triumphs.
Who is your favorite character in the book and why?
That has to be Ketaki or Kitty, the daughter of the main character.  She is bold, vibrant and rebellious.  For Kitty I took her mother Shyamoli’s boldness and added angst and rebelliousness.  It brought the girl to life.
Do share a snippet/ Quote from your book.
"The hardest lesson to learn is not that people you think you can't live without can live without you. The hardest lesson to learn is that sometimes to stay sane you have to give up the people you love. You have to cut them out of your life ruthlessly or they will destroy you."
Is there a certain type of scene that is harder for you to write than others? Did you face such an issue while writing ‘Wrong for the Right Reasons’?
I can’t do love stories.  I find romance over-rated and boring.  So I simply don’t write conventional love stories.
What is your method of writing? Are you a plotter or a pantser?A mix of both.
Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad?
I am obsessed with reviews of my books.  Writing is a solitary profession, and we are often out of touch with our readership.  I love getting feedback that reviews provide.  It really helps me improve my craft.
What are the three tips you have for readers who are aspiring writers?
1) Read great authors, they’re masters of the craft.  It will help in your writing.2) Write at least 500 words every day.  Save it on your computer.  Read it after a month.  It helps you improve your style.  3) Observe how people behave.  It helps bringing depth to the characters you write about.
Thank you, Ritu! I wish you success in all your future endeavors. 
Wrong for the Right Reasons:
Click here to buy from amazon
Blurb:
Shyamoli Verma’s timing is wrong. In her late twenties, she finds that her marriage is irrevocably broken. She comes back to her parents with her pre-teen son and an infant daughter, only to find that she is unwelcome. 
Independent and brash, she decides to bring up her children and also get a divorce without any support from friends and family. 
Written with wry self-deprecating humour, this is the story of a divorced woman's quest for love and security.
Do pick up her book, folks.
That is all for now.Much love,