Adventures of a Writer

By Jaideep Sen As an avid viewer of Kaun Banega Crorepati , I’m struck by the fact that every time a contestant praises Amitji’s (Amitabh Bachchan) glorious body of work, the reference point is always one of the two milestone films of Indian Cinema: Deewaar or Sholay . In one of my previous posts I have already mentioned that my personal all-time favourite is Sholay . Not just for its epic writing but also the sheer scale of the film: for once the powerful writing was more than backed up by an audio-visual extravaganza that had never before been seen by the Indian cinegoer. I would not be wrong in saying that it would have come as a surprise for even the veteran writing duo of Salim Saab and Javed Saab. And for this the Indian viewer will forever be grateful to the father-son combine of G.P. Sippy Saab (producer) and   director Ramesh Sippy Ji.  The tsunami effect of Sholay and the reverence that the writing of Deewaar has achieved draws me to tha...

Welcome to Week 'C' in the Authors Tips: A to Z of Writing series. And my post is about  How to Improve Your Craft.   Fiction writing, like many other creative pursuits, is an artistic enterprise that involves a combination of art and craft. Talent alone can help you come up with a great concept or idea for a story. But to translate a brilliant premise into a compelling story, a writer needs to understand the mechanics of storytelling. Or, in other words, become a master of the craft. In fiction parlance, craft generally refers to the use of techniques that aid storytelling -- plot points, subtext, a great hook, raising of stakes, building tension, exposition. Many of these can be learnt by reading extensively in the genre that you want to write. This will help you to identify the conventions of the genre and understand how different authors play around with the essential elements of telling a story. However no amount of reading can help you improve your craft....

 Jaideep Sen highlights a memorable incident between Salim Saab and the iconic filmmaker Raj Kapoor... It’s been a few days since Mrs. Krishna Raj Kapoor left for her heavenly abode. I thought this piece could be the right tribute to her since I truly believe that she was the strength behind the greatest cinema made in India by Raj Kapoor Ji which I even conveyed to their youngest son, Rajiv Kapoor at her prayer ceremony. This piece also gives me an opportunity to bring to the attention of readers the implicit, immense and unadulterated respect that Mr. Salim Khan has for the iconic Mr. Raj Kapoor whom he addressed as Raj Saab. His admiration for the legendary filmmaker was expressed through an audio tribute. Another celebrated filmmaker Manoj Kumar Ji endorsed it as one of the greatest tributes to be made by one artiste for another.   On hearing it, India’s Pride Lata Mangeshkar Ji’s eyes welled up with emotion.     Krishna Raj Kapoor Ji on...

Continuing with the Series of A to Z tips, here is my Week #2 post which focuses on Alphabet B.... B is for Background. Writing stories is more than just creating characters, developing the plot and writing scenes. To be able to do all that you have to first do the 'background' work. And it begins with brainstorming. Often times, the seed of a story just pops into your head. It might be inspired by something you read in the newspapers, a snatch of conversation you might hear, a photograph or even a long lost memory that randomly floats into your consciousness. Whatever the inspiration, stories rarely come into existence all fully developed with a beginning, middle and end. Before it turns into a full-fledged story, you need to brainstorm the idea. To me, this is the most exciting phase of creating a new story. The possibilities are endless. You can take the idea in any direction and let your imagination go wild. You don't need to set any boundaries such as...

Welcome to a new series of blog posts titled "Authors' Tips - A to Z of Writing" . Eight  authors -- Devika Fernando , Preethi Venugopala , Paromita Goswami , Reet Singh , Ruchi Singh , Sudesna Ghosh , Saiswaroopa Iyer and I -- will be posting on a multitude of subjects  related to writing.  Topics will be chosen alphabetically and each week we propose to cover at least one or more subject characterized by the Alphabet of the Week.  So, let's get started.... I've chosen to go with the topic of Authenticity in Writing.  Authenticity in Writing can mean different things to different writers. For some, it may be the concept of writing something from the heart. If as a reader I enjoy reading mysteries or romances, or as a viewer I pick horror films or supernatural thrillers, this preference will also be reflected in the genre that I choose to write in. It's highly unlikely that someone who does not enjoy reading sci-fi novels will be able to write...