Bethany
asked
Sandhya Menon:
I just finished "When Dimple Met Rishi" and have started reading "From Twinkle, with Love"! I looooooooove your books! Do you have any tips for writing stories? I've been a "story writer" since I was 6 or 7. And do you have any tips for making characters? Thank you very much!
Sandhya Menon
Thank you so much for your kind words, Bethany! :)
Here are my main writing tips:
1. Learn how to finish what you start. Whether you're writing a short story or a novella or a play or a full-length novel, see it through from beginning to end. That's a practice; it won't come naturally. All published writers--me included--had to struggle through this!
2. Learn when to give up and when to keep going. Some writers spend ten years polishing away at the same manuscript, and if that makes you happy, go for it! If you find that you're doing that as a way to procrastinate working on something new, unfamiliar, and therefore scary, set that old project aside. I truly believe great art happens when we're scared/intimidated and push through it anyway.
3. Find your tribe! It's so important to find people who are on the same journey as you and at the same stage in that journey. Are you at the stage where you want to complete your first manuscript? Find writers who are there, too. Want to find an agent or a publisher or even self-publish? There will always be others in the same boat as you, and connecting with these people will make your journey seem a lot more fun and a lot less lonely!
I hope all of that helps! :) Good luck and keep writing!
xoxo,
Sandhya
Here are my main writing tips:
1. Learn how to finish what you start. Whether you're writing a short story or a novella or a play or a full-length novel, see it through from beginning to end. That's a practice; it won't come naturally. All published writers--me included--had to struggle through this!
2. Learn when to give up and when to keep going. Some writers spend ten years polishing away at the same manuscript, and if that makes you happy, go for it! If you find that you're doing that as a way to procrastinate working on something new, unfamiliar, and therefore scary, set that old project aside. I truly believe great art happens when we're scared/intimidated and push through it anyway.
3. Find your tribe! It's so important to find people who are on the same journey as you and at the same stage in that journey. Are you at the stage where you want to complete your first manuscript? Find writers who are there, too. Want to find an agent or a publisher or even self-publish? There will always be others in the same boat as you, and connecting with these people will make your journey seem a lot more fun and a lot less lonely!
I hope all of that helps! :) Good luck and keep writing!
xoxo,
Sandhya
More Answered Questions
My Abdellah
asked
Sandhya Menon:
Can't help but notice that two of your books share the name with some popular Bollywood divinities : Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia heroes of the immortal movie 1973 's Bobby, and then Twinkle Khanna (Daughter of Dimple by pure "coincidence") .. Easter egg much or I am reading books of a huge Bollywood lover (Waiting to insert Dharmendra in a title , if so !! ) ?
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Oct 25, 2018 08:29AM · flag