Dancing with the
enemy
Krish 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 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!
Muddling through a Manuscript by Adite Banerjie
Writers
and their processes have always fascinated me.
Especially those with a formal, almost ritualistic, approach to writing.
You know, the ones who are at their desks, come rain or shine, at a particular
time of the day. Those whose desks are so inviting and organized, they can
simply boot up their computers and tap out the words that are only too eager to
spill on to their keyboards. Those who whip out their soft boards and do the
color-coded plot development and voila…they are ready to type up Chapter One.
Sigh! Double sigh!
As
you probably have guessed, my writing process is a far cry from anything I have
just described. Honestly speaking, it’s so messy and disorganized, I often
wonder how I even manage to finish any of my writing projects.
So,
be warned, this is one writing process you would not want to emulate. And the only value this post can offer is one
of mild entertainment.
The Ideation Process: Every time I start on a new project the
intention is to create a viable process that is orderly and streamlined. So I
create a new folder and stick into it all the relevant bits and pieces of
research that I have gathered. If I have some inkling about the character or
premise of the story I scour the Internet for info, download pictures from
websites about possible locations, and so on. All’s well until I begin to process the research
material...
The
muddle starts first in my mind and then spreads to my folders. I have little scraps of half-gestated ideas
stored away in multiple folders in my computer. And in the middle of one idea
my brain harks back to some character or event or location that is tagged
‘brilliant idea’. I start scanning my
folders in my computer and find that there is some kind of mismatch between
what my brain remembers as brilliant and the notes that I’m reading. Did I really think this crappy idea was
brilliant? What was I thinking! This ‘discovery’ leads to depression and the
self-flagellation begins.
The Brainstorming Process: At some point I manage
to pull myself up by my bootstraps and beat down the depressing thoughts. After much tweaking and twisting, the brilliant-idea-that-wasn’t has been
somewhat redeemed and settled somewhere between the not-so-crappy-after-all and
mediocre ratings. Boosting my self-esteem with quotes such as “genius is 99%
perspiration, 1% inspiration”, I huff
and puff through the brainstorming process. Tweaking the plot, characters and
locations till I feel confident enough to start on the marathon course of
writing the project.
The Writing Process: No matter how much
brainstorming or outlining I do, things begin to change during the writing
process. For instance, in my most recently completed romance novel, the first
four chapters literally rolled off my fingertips on to the keyboard. It felt like I was on a journey that promised
a trouble-free ride to the novel’s HEA destination. No sooner had that thought crossed my mind
than I hit a series of speed bumps. Which
meant going back to the brainstorming process and reworking the characters
and/or turning points. After several detours into blind alleys, I finally found
my way back to the right track.
Despite
the bumps, near crashes and blind alleys, there are those moments when speeding
down the writing highway is exhilarating and makes it all so worthwhile. As I embark on my next writing project, I’m
sure the writing process for this one too will be as maddening as ever.
Perhaps
someday I will appreciate Jorge Luis Borges’ words, “What a writer wants to do
is not what he does.” Until then, I will
muddle on and dream of achieving the perfect writing process. Well, a writer
can dream, can’t she?
Adite Banerjie
Adite Banerjie is a screenwriter based in New Delhi, India. She turned
romance author when her first Harlequin romance, The Indian Tycoon’s Marriage
Deal, released in 2013 in India. The book is slated for a N. America release
under the HarlequinE imprint in June this year. Her second book, Trouble Has a
New Name, comes out in July 2014. She loves to travel, watch movies and play
with her Irish Setter when she’s not stuck to her computer struggling with her
current WIP.
Twitter:
@adite
Ah...that perfect writing process...I don't think it exists. I saw a quote
ReplyDeleteabout love recently that went something like...there is only one way
to love and a thousand ways to express it...and I think the same is
true about writing. I'm more like you, I keep a fragment file as I'm
beginning a story or poem. I add to that file constantly. I go to the
local art store and get a big poster board and put a picture I've clipped
out of a magazine for each character. Then I add any quirks/goals,etc. under those pictures. My mind is always whirling, which is why you will see post-its everywhere in my life. Eventually I pull it all together. It's a free spirited approach, I'll admit and it works for me.
Thanks for the post and giving me the chance to respond!
So true, Word Actress. Finding the approach that works for each of us is also as fascinating as putting a story together. :) Thank you for reading and commenting. And thanks, Melissa, for this opportunity!
DeleteThank you Adite for allowing us to take a peak into your creative mind. A lot of what you say I can relate to, especially the outlining process. Naysayers insist that outlining leads to formulaic writing, but it’s so far from the truth. On many occasions I had to go back and reshape the structure when a stronger plot point presented itself.
ReplyDeleteHi Eleni! the outline is always a WIP for me! Thanks for reading and commenting. :)
DeleteHi Adite,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for visiting with me today. Your post definitely strikes a chord. I've muddled through the same process myself many a time!
Hi Melissa. Great to be here.. and share notes with other writers about the 'process' challenge! :)
DeleteAdite, as usual truly inspiring. Your words have always haunted me enough to pick up my pen too. Had always wondered at your writing process. Thanks for letting us have a peek at it. Inspiring as always.
ReplyDeleteHi Rubina. Thanks for the kind words and I wish you a writing process that's better organized and smoother than mine! :)
DeleteAdite, it is the end result that matters; really, process is just a way to get there...so whatever your process, if it generates dashing Indian tycoons, and if it gives Trouble a new name, it is very very cool!
ReplyDeleteIt's perfect. How can any writer plan better than this? If that's how you've reached so far, I'm sure I'll get there if I follow you (no deadlines please).
ReplyDelete