The write path

Fiction, drama, romance, self-help, non-fiction… today’s young authors have left no genre unexplored in their quest to write a book. In their teens and 20s, they represent a new breed of writers who strive to pen something out of the ordinary. Anusha Parthasarathy talks to a few first-time authors

February 24, 2013 06:29 pm | Updated February 26, 2013 06:52 pm IST

The Inevitable Bond.

The Inevitable Bond.

Isha Nagappan (13)

Alisha – The Beginning

Teenage Fiction

Inspired by Adora Svitak’s Flying Fingers (which Adora wrote when she was seven years old), Isha began writing her first novel Alisha. The book, which is to be released next month, is a teenage fiction that traces Alisha’s life, her journey through school, the friendships she creates, and so on. “I plan on writing this as a series,” says Isha. “And may take it to three or four books.

I’m writing the second now. The first book will introduce the characters, her friends and her life in school. The second book will be the dilemma she faces about changing schools and the problems she has with her friends.” Writing the book wasn’t that easy, she says. “I realised I couldn’t write whatever I wanted to because it was going to be published. So I sat and edited and rewrote till I was satisfied with the story.”

(Alisha is available on her website >www.alishaseries.com , and is priced at Rs. 170)

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Kirti Krishna (23)

Piece Of Mind – Pun Intended

Self-help

Lawyer-turned-author Kirti’s book aims at enabling people to redesign their lives. “People like to self-victimise and complain. When you go through a rough patch, you immediately think how alone you are, which doesn’t make sense in this world of social networking. You are never really alone. You just feel that because the person you want attention from isn’t giving you any. I’m trying to tell you, ‘focus on people who care about you’,” he says. The book, which hit the stores this February 14, talks about everything from karma to spirituality and bucket-lists. “I drew inspiration from people I’ve interacted with and how they’ve dealt with certain issues. I put these points across through two characters I created and help people draw conclusions from them.” Kirti’s biggest challenge was clarity of thought. “The written word can be interpreted any way. How do I know if my message is getting across the way I wanted it to? My writing isn’t rhetoric and so I faced this problem,” he says.

(Piece Of Mind – Pun Intended is available at bookstores for Rs. 199)

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Mansi Soni (22)

The Inevitable Bond

Fantasy

Mansi Soni was inspired by the five-elements theory and decided to spin a story out of it. “There’s been a lot of research on how people can be empowered by the elements. I create a parallel world where people have elemental powers. It is also a story of a cricket fan, who meets a popular cricketer, falls in love with him and how she helps him from danger,” says the author. It took seven months to write, many more to edit, and faced a few rejection letters. “Publishing teaches you patience. I sent my manuscript to the top 10 publishing houses, and I did get a few rejects. You just have to learn to face it. I knew it was a good subject and someone would eventually pick it up.”

(The Inevitable Bond is available at bookstores for Rs. 150)

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Arya Rajam (26)

B l ood, Sweat And Tears

Romantic Drama

You’d have thought Arya Rajam’s protagonist would be a Bharatanatyam dancer, considering her mother is dancer Anita Ratnam. But this author’s book explores the life of a young ballet dancer, half-Indian half-Russian. “There are so many books by Indian authors on the arts. I wanted a different subject and found this new. To make sure I got my information right, I read autobiographies of two well-known ballerinas, learnt ballet for a couple of months and spoke to a few insightful people and read many books on the subject,” says Arya. The book, which took three years to write, was released on February 1 and is said to have been well-received. “People liked the Indian-Russian blend and the main characters. It’s got good reviews from youngsters and older people,” she says. (Blood, Sweat And Tears is available at bookstores for Rs. 295)

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Varun Agarwal (25)

How I Braved Anu Aunty And Co-founded A Million Dollar Company

Non-fiction

Entrepreneur, filmmaker and author, Varun decided to pen down his experience of starting a company when his blogs on entrepreneurship became popular. “Someone suggested I write a book. The thing was, I had never written in my life and writing a book was something I didn’t think was possible. When I fell ill for a week and didn’t have much to do, I thought I’d give it a shot. I kept writing and penned down 60,000 words!” he exclaims. His book about following dreams seems to have inspired many. “I never thought so many people would like it. About 15 people wrote to me saying they started their own companies after reading the book! Also, I thought the book would appeal only to youngsters, but there was an 83-year-old woman waiting to get her copy signed at (The Hindu) Lit For Life festival.”

(How I Braved… is available at bookstores for Rs. 140)

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