From Neil D'Silva Archives

Writers, Don’t Let Yourselves Be Shortchanged

August 23, 2016

by neildsilva with One Comment Stand Up for Your Rights Writers

This is an open letter to all my author and writer friends, all over the world, who hope that one day their writings might be translated into film. Consider it as an outpouring of feelings rather than a letter. For, someone really had to say what I am saying here.

In all my days as a writer, and now as a short film producer as well, I have seen no part of the creative crew of the film being shortchanged as much as the writers are. This is thoroughly appalling because the writer is the person where the entire thing starts from.

Think about the biggest, hugest, most classic film that you know. Probably having the largest star-cast and a really, really big name director. One that has won several awards all over the world. Now, that film, that spectacle of splendor, would not have happened if a writer would not have bled his or her eyes out to create the story in the first place. It is the writer – the slightly potbellied crouched being on the computer desk, the one with the disheveled hair, the one whom family and friends look upon with strange curiosity, the one who’s probably addicted to coffee and a few undesirable things, the social introvert, the shy, soft-spoken person who is only too happy to take backstage everywhere – who has given birth to this grand spectacle.

Most grand creations of art, regardless of how much finance it requires to make or how much revenue it earns at the end of the day, begins in a small café or a similar place somewhere, where a writer turns up coyly, probably worrying about how to pay for an extra cappuccino if it is ordered, and has a “meeting” with someone better-placed than he or she is. Of course, some writers hit the bulls-eye, and then work comes chasing them, but these are few and far in between. And even then, these successful writers will never claim that they have received their fair due in the industry that’s all about translating their creations on screen.

If you think genius has a better standing in this industry, think twice. Most of the greatest writers of our times have died in penury, some of them without any relations or even friends to attend their last rites. Yes, some of them won awards posthumously, but in a few cases there was no one to claim those awards. I personally saw this at a writers’ conclave last month, where one of the greatest Hindi cinema’s songwriters was given a posthumous award, where there was no one to collect it for him.

So, why am I ranting here? My rant is targeted at the mechanics of an industry that places its actors and probably directors at a much higher pedestal than the writers who give these people the grist to work with. Most of the actors I have personally met vouch for the fact that the actor’s job is the easiest on a film set. And yet, it is always the actors who walk away with all glory. Even with beautifully written songs in Hindi cinema, not many people except film-buffs will really know who wrote the songs. The songs are always identified, even on music channels, by the name of the actors. So, we have classifications as ‘Rajesh Khanna songs’ and ‘Dev Anand songs’ and ‘Shah Rukh Khan songs’, but ask people who wrote these songs, and you will be shocked. Probably you don’t know it yourself.

Why should writers be shortchanged in this manner? Why should they not get their due compensation and credit? When they are the creators of the art, why are they relegated to the backseat, or sometimes even shoved in the bonnet? Why can’t there be a concept of show-runners here as has already become popular in the West?

It is sadly because, like the fabled Shekhchilli, the writers are cutting the very branches of the tree that they are sitting on. Every time a writer gets shortchanged, he or she paves the way for a hundred more writers to be shortchanged. It gives production houses the gumption to try their nefarious tricks with other writers as well.

As a writer, I had a sad and deplorable experience when someone told me they could buy “stock” writers off social media groups for their content needs. Are writers so dispensable? A media house that can invest 10 million rupees on a show balks when it has to pay a fraction of that to the writer based on whose work it will be created?

Disgusting!

Writers, stand up for your rights. Be cognizant of how the Western world respects its writers. There’s no fairness there as well, but the situation is a tad bit better than it is here. In our starry-eyed film industry, writers are given the weakest spot. Their ideas are copied spinelessly and when they protest their faces are blackened. It only happens because we are spineless ourselves.

Ask for your credits. Make sure you are mentioned the way you want to be. Ask for adequate monetary compensation – whether it is in terms of royalties, upfront payment, or profit-sharing. Understand which model suits you best. Be part of film writing associations because they will work for you when needed. And, most importantly, do not let anyone take you for a ride. Everyone on the film set has work because you wrote it, even the production houses who might put money into your vision. They will only do it because they have faith in it.

Let us stand up and claim our dignity in this industry.

After NaNoWriMo… What?

June 3, 2016

by neildsilva with No Comment After NaNoWriMo... What?

After

I was pointedly asked this question today and I felt it apt to speak about it in a blog post so that more people could read my thoughts.

I released my first NaNoWriMo winning novel, Maya’s New Husband, on Amazon Kindle in January 2015. Since then the journey has been fabulous. I feel I do have something of value to add to the question asked to me.

First and foremost, NaNoWriMo is more of a motivational community, or an organization if you might say that. It is a community of supercharged writers (well, not all of them, but most of them are) and they come together to write a novel of their own in the month of November.

The NaNoWriMo challenge is to write 50,000 words in the month of November. If you manage to do that, then you are through. You get the certificate and you can flaunt it to all and sundry.

But, are you ready to release your book yet? No! Definitely not! That’s where it gets a big hazy.

There are people who have not yet published their NaNoWriMo winning drafts that they had written half a decade ago. There could be a host of reasons for that, but if you wish to be a published writer and want to use NaNoWriMo to get that all-important start, then these are the things that you should take care of.

Things to Do after Your NaNoWriMo Month

First and foremost, remember that NaNoWriMo does not write your book. You write it. NaNoWriMo is not responsible for completing your book, much less getting a good book out of you. All those are your responsibilities. Treat NaNoWriMo only as a tool, an aid, to help you get that manuscript out of your head and on paper. If you win it, it plays no more role than that of a doctor helping a woman give birth to her child. That’s it. Nurturing the child is not the doctor’s responsibility.
The second thing is that your novel may not be finished at 50,000 words. So you might need to go beyond the NaNoWriMo month and complete your first draft.
If you win your NaNoWriMo certificate, then along with it, you will get a host of sponsored writing aids at low cost, mostly software, which could help you complete and organize your manuscript. You could make use of that. (I personally didn’t).
When your draft is complete, go back and check it once again. Read it from the start. Weed out all typos and grammatical issues. Tighten up your story. In effect, self-edit your book.
Once that is done, send it to someone you trust who could read it for you and give feedback on it. Do not be stingy about sharing your manuscript and definitely do not be paranoid about someone stealing it. We always value our stories a zillion times more than anyone else does it. These are your beta readers. Once their feedback comes in, use their inputs to make your story better. You need not accept all suggestions, and you definitely shouldn’t, but this gives you an idea about what’s working and what’s not in your story.
Now, send the story to a professional editor. Remember, this is a vital step. You might have been a grammar teacher for thirty years, but editing is not all about grammar and language. It is about plot inconsistencies. It is about story development. It is about flow and readability. There are so many issues. A professional editor, especially who reads your genre, will help you improve your story manifold. Editors have a sort of magic eye. They see the mistakes that others cannot.
If you are self-publishing, hire a professional cover designer. Heard that adage – Do not judge a book by its cover? Well, bury it. All readers, bar none, judge books by new authors by their covers. It is best if you can give a detailed concept to the artist so that they can make it better with their own inputs. Personally, I sit with my cover artist and brainstorm ideas. All authors must do that.
I suppose you have locked in the title by now. If not, then this is perhaps your chance to come in with a great one. Your title should have some zing to it, some factor that makes anyone in the street think about it twice. I’ve been told my first book’s title has that appeal. Maya’s New Husband. Why new? What happened to the old one? That’s the hook right there. In fact, tell the title to a few friends and gauge their reaction, not their words. Are they intrigued? Or are they just putting you on? Be flexible about changing the title if the need arises.
Now, when you get the first three chapters edited by your editor, you can start sending in the query forms to the literary agents. This is if you are looking for traditional publishing. You will also need a synopsis at this time. Make sure you have a wonderful one written. Look at the synopses of other books, great ones, to see how those authors have done it. You will usually get a list of literary agents on the Internet.
You can even send query letters to traditional publishers directly. However, this is not a method that really works. Very few traditional publishers will respond to you without an agent. And if they do, check out their deals. A traditional publisher who is really convinced in your work will ask for the rest of the manuscript, and if that works out too, will offer you an advance on your royalty.
A note here — if anyone asks you money to publish your book, run away from them as much as you can. Or rather push them away from you as much as you can. There are several sharks swimming in the wide ocean of our literary world. Be particularly wary of any vanity publishers who will ask you money to print and “distribute” your books. Print, they will do, distribute, fat chance. You could probably do a better job getting your book printed at a local printer’s outlet and selling it on the Internet via an online sellers’ platform.
If you are self-publishing, great! You have all the control. And when I say self-publishing, I mean SELF-publishing. Not going to the vanity publishers. When you self-publish, you get the book out yourself. You can do that for both eBooks and paperbacks. For eBooks, you could use a service like Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing platform, which has the widest reach by far. For paperback, you could go for any Print On Demand online publisher. And, one more thing — there is a growing demand for mobile publishing nowadays. Books that can be downloaded on apps on smartphones — that’s really growing. Check out these platforms too.

By the time you are done with all this, probably it’s the time for the next year’s NaNoWriMo, and onward for your next publication!

I hope that answers most of the doubts of the person who asked me the question, and of others too. If there are any specific queries, do feel free to contact me on the Comments section here, or on the following:-

Facebook Author Page
Twitter

‘Aspiring Writer’ – An Insult in Disguise?

March 12, 2016

by neildsilva with 2 Comments 'Aspiring Writer' – An Insult in Disguise?

Okay, so the next time someone calls you an ‘aspiring writer’, you have every right to take offense.

This is a term that has really caught on, mostly in the ads and posts that are put out by a few of the publishing companies and even – horror of horrors – a few editing services. It is one of those harmlessly-wrong-but-annoying terms like ‘widow remarriage’ that is used so commonly even in our academic textbooks. I have always had an exception to this term. I feel it should be ‘widow marriage’, because after the said woman becomes a widow, she marries. Not remarries. We actually had a debate about the rectification of this term when I was a college student and at least for as long as I was in college, the professors had corrected themselves to ‘widow marriage’.

So, why do I say ‘aspiring writers’ is wrong? Keep reading, please!

Let us break down the term ‘aspiring writer’ into its two separate words. ‘Aspiring’ refers to someone who hopes to achieve something but yet has not. Now if you couple that with ‘writer’, the term means you hope to be a writer but yet are not.

Do you see the problem here? You will if you realize what ‘writer’ means. Writer means anyone who can write something. It does not matter whether you write that professionally or not. Even when you wrote that essay in school, you were its writer. The smallest thing that you write makes you a writer, and you certainly do not aspire it anymore because you have achieved that status.

Perhaps it would be right to call a baby who hasn’t yet learned to write an aspiring writer. But I am sure none of us reading this are babies here.

Now, there is a correct term for this, and that is ‘aspiring author’.

See the difference?

An author is one who writes professionally. That could be a book, a blog post, some copy for a website, an article, anything. Yes, one could aspire to be that.

But again, once your first professional work is out, and you are mentioned as the creator of that writing, then you are no longer an ‘aspiring author’.

You graduate to being an ‘author’.

So, be careful what people call you! They might be insulting you and you might not even be realizing it.

Looking to Get Self-Published in India? Here Are Your Options

March 11, 2016

by neildsilva with 13 Comments Looking to Get Self-Published in India? Here Are Your Options

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In my interaction with several aspiring authors, I have of late come across a sordid truth – not many people know what ‘self-publishing’ really means. As in any field, ignorance leads to being scammed and cheated, and hence this post is a humble attempt to clear the air.

Basically, self-publishing is when the author puts in their own resources to get published, apart from the writing itself. These extra resources can be in terms of:- (1) time (2) marketing efforts (3) money.

The most important element to know about self-publishing is that the author needs to do everything to not only publish the book but also market it and sell it. There is little or no outside support for the actual sales, and even if there are, they are paid services.

So, let us get to the meat of this article and see the three types of self-publishing platforms that are available to Indian authors.

(Note that I am not including the option of getting the books printed at an individual level and sold on sites such as Flipkart, though that option exists as well. I am only talking of organized methods here.)

Self-Publishing on Amazon

This has gotten really huge in recent times and with Amazon’s zest for world domination, that’s hardly a surprise! Publishing on Amazon goes two ways too.

Publishing eBooks on Kindle Direct Publishing: KDP is a service that allows you to upload eBooks with a front cover page and a blurb. You can price your own book. Your book goes live on the Amazon marketplace, and you can choose the territories you want to make your book available in, internationally. To some extent, you can also price your book for each marketplace. The minimum amount for Amazon India is INR 49, and you can get two types of royalties – 35% and 70%. Visit the site for more details.
Publishing paperbacks on CreateSpace: CreateSpace is an Amazon service that allows you to print paperbacks. You submit your manuscript in its finished – edited, formatted, typeset – form and then it goes live on the Amazon marketplace. There are specific size instructions here and the cover page has to be a full cover page, which includes front, back, and spine. Again, you can price your book above a minimum.

Note that CreateSpace has a huge drawback for India currently. Since their printing offices are located in the US, the books are printed there. So, if an Indian reader orders this book, they might have to spend a huge sum (upward of INR 700 for a 250 page print book). However, if some inside dope is to be believed, CreateSpace is setting up its offices in India soon, maybe by the end of this year. When that happens, it will be a boon to Indian self-published authors as the MRPs will be quite feasible.

Print-on-Demand Publishing

Print-on-Demand (POD) publishing essentially means that the books are printed when the orders are placed. Hence, there is zero initial investment. All the author has to do is to upload a finished – edited, formatted, typeset – manuscript on the site with a full cover page. There are specifications and even templates to do this on the sites, due to which even a complete rookie can master the craft of uploading in under an hour. All you need is patience to read the instructions.

Currently, the most respectable site that provides free POD in India is Pothi. Apart from this, there are paid POD services as well.

Pothi is an award-winning service with an amazing print quality. It also has a royalty calculator, where you can put in the number of pages in your manuscript, and you get an estimated MRP that you can price the book at. With extended paid service options, you can sell your book through Flipkart and other portals as well. Find out more information on the site.

Partridge India claims to be a POD as well, but it does not really fit into the definition here as it requires authors to buy a package first (see vanity below). However, it provides additional services in the package cost also, including editing.

However, there are a few drawbacks as well.

POD can be expensive to the buyer. The reason is that copies are printed singly and not in bulk. This increases costs.
POD attracts a significant shipping fee. Pothi is currently shipping at INR 70 per book, even for the authors themselves.
If you go for their extended services (optional) of marketing, editing, cover page designing, etc., you might find they are not reasonably priced.

Vanity Publishing

Vanity publishing is the elephant in the self-publishing room that no one wants to talk about, but we cannot ignore it either.

This is the kind of publishing where you pay upfront for getting published. These are small publishing houses that provide printing (and sometimes distribution) services, and their business model is simple – “Pay us a sum of money for printing your book, and we will print them for you.” Usually it is a bundle of 200 or 300 books. Essentially, vanity publishing is a “safe” option for the publishers as the entire risk is borne by the authors. Due to this simple aspect, the vanity publishers do not do much (read: anything) in terms of promotion, distribution, or marketing.

At closest count, there are about 35 vanity publishers in India. These are the houses that charge money upfront for publishing.

It is a mystery why authors go for vanity publishing when other options such as POD and Amazon publishing provide almost the same services, and the onus of marketing in any case lies upon the author. Perhaps it is because vanity publishers have a stronger advertising voice on social media due to which new authors, who are usually quite vulnerable and gullible, see the lure in getting vanity published.

On the international publishing scene, vanity publishing is meant only for people who are looking to circulate some writing between family and friends, such as a family member’s memoir or a child’s collection of stories that has some significance for the family and no one else. It is undoubtedly strongly looked down upon in the literary world. People who get published through this mode are not even considered authors. Vanity comes from the word ‘vain’ as in ‘to be vain’. People who go in for this are generally those who wish to see their names in print as soon as they can.

As a closing word, I’d like to say that none of the forms of self-publishing mentioned here have any checks for quality. They print anything and everything that comes their way. They might have editing and proofreading services, but those are optional and paid. Hence, many authors don’t opt for them, which is why we see a lot of slipshod work in the self-publishing arena.

Better knowledge will help this world to improve. Self-publishing is definitely the new mantra of the publishing world but it can only stay if authors inform themselves better and become sticklers for quality.

Start This Now to Save Tomorrow’s World

March 10, 2016

by neildsilva with 3 Comments Start This Now to Save Tomorrow's World

time-1178121_1280 Have you ever noticed the structure of the word ‘reading’? I am not talking about the meaning of it; I am talking about its pure grammatical structure.

Consider this sentence: I love reading.

In this sentence, ‘reading’ functions as a noun – I love what? I love reading! But it is a strange noun ending with -ing, isn’t it? The -ing forms are usually occur in verbs to indicate a progressive or continuous activity.

Such nouns that end with -ing are called gerunds. But, technicalities aside, why is the action ‘to read’ accorded with an -ing noun form? (Think about it; there is no other noun form of this verb!)

Is it because the grammarians of old, or those people who made up the English language, wanted to give us the subtle message that ‘reading’ is something that has to be progressive and continuous, a never-ending activity?

I’d surely like to think so. Reading is something that cannot be done away with. It needs to always be an ongoing activity.

I stumbled across a clip of a famous movie recently in which a student asks a teacher, “Sir, why do you read?” And the teacher looks at the student with longing fondness and replies, “My son, I read because I am human.”

We talk a lot about ‘being human’ nowadays. But I don’t think wearing T-shirts with ‘Being Human’ printed on them is really being human. Instead, I strongly feel that one of the most essential elements of ‘being human’ is ‘reading’, regardless of what you wear. Or don’t.

Reading exposes us to the larger world that’s outside us. It tells us what kind of differences exist among cultures, civilizations, communities, countries, cities, and makes us more accepting. As a teacher, I often come across situations in my classroom when there is a mention of a foreign name or a tradition, and that usually elicits sniggers or derision from the adolescents, but seldom appreciation, let alone acknowledgment.

It usually goes like this: Chuwamba – what kind of a name is that? She leaves her parents to fulfill her ambitions – how selfish can she be? The man eats beef – he’s the worst sinner; kill him. The French eat cheese with worms and the Chinese eat fried insects – blech! That is what I get to hear whenever there is any mention of any foreign culture, and it does get woeful after a time.

But at least there is hope for these students. We are reading out to them. Maybe they will pick up the reading habit on their own after a while and come out of this frog-in-the-well and my-nation-is-the-best-and-rest-all-suck attitude. Maybe we teachers will be able to prevent another generation of illiterate and uninformed religious and nationalist jingoists from being created. Maybe reading is the solution that all of us are looking for.

We talk of tolerance? Tolerance comes through reading. A person who does not read becomes intolerant because, for them, only what they know is right. And because they haven’t read much, they do not know much. Everything outside their myopic line of vision is alien and therefore unacceptable and – most often – even a threat. Which is what makes them retaliate, often in brutal savage forms, leading to riots and aggressive protests that should hold no place in a civilized society.

Note also that there is no unique past tense form of ‘read’ as well, at least as far as the spelling is concerned. ‘Read’ is the past tense of ‘read’. Another subliminal message there, methinks – reading never gets into the past. It is always present, it is always continuous. What you read stays with you for a lifetime, shaping you, molding you, improving you bit by bit.

Just the right material for human progress.

So don’t keep that book away. Don’t skip that chance to enter the bookstore. Get reading. Be a part of human progress. Be human in the true sense.

Review Ramblings (Part 1) – What Reviews Should Mean to Authors

October 28, 2015

by neildsilva Review Ramblings (Part 1) - What Reviews Should Mean to Authors

All authors hanker for reviews. Truth be told, to a lot of us, reviews mean much more than book sales. As an author who has received more than 200 reviews for my debut book Maya’s New Husband on major portals such as Amazon, Goodreads, and on several personal blogs, I can vouch for that. I am happier if a day ends with a helpful review on my book, even if the sales chart isn’t exactly rocking.

Here are a few of my personal observations vis-à-vis reviews, just a few things that I think authors might want to note.

Every review is important, but no single review can be a reflection of your book’s overall performance. Do not be much affected by reviews individually, whether they are good or bad. It is best to take reviews in bulk. Authors get a much better indication of their work if they see how they are performing on average instead of looking at one particular review that praises their book sky-high or molests it. That’s the reason both Amazon and Goodreads have average star rating mentioned at the top. Most readers base their buying decisions on this rating. Books from some of the greatest authors we know often settle somewhere between a 3.5 and 4.5 star rating. If your book lands within this spectrum, you should be proud of it.

If there is a 1 star rating and there is absolutely no explanation for it, then don’t fret about it. There could be zillions of reasons, including something as simple as the person simply did not identify with the genre. Even the best of classics have several 1 star ratings.

If there is a 5 star rating and there is absolutely no explanation for it, then don’t go over the moon about it either. This is probably a “well-wisher” who is simply proud of their author friend. These reviews mean nothing. They don’t even look good on the page because they look rigged. In most probability, these people haven’t even read your book.

If there is a pretty short review from an unknown person, just a few sentences, then that has probably come from someone who has been strongly influenced by your book but isn’t quite articulate with words. This could be a positive or negative influence, but your book did something to that person such that they were compelled to review. Such reviews should make you feel rewarded, unless they are bad reviews speaking about the quality of your writing.

Reviews that speak about the story and theme rather than the craft of writing are always the best ones. We authors are storytellers, so we feel really happy when a story affects someone. If you write about a social theme and it makes the reader think, there’s nothing better than that, irrespective of the fact whether they agree or disagree.

The longest reviews are usually from professional bloggers. These are to be cherished. You could frame them and post them on your walls, even if they are just 1 star! The very fact that a professional blogger, who typically reads two books a week, picked your book to read and review means something, doesn’t it? And since they are so well-read, they will be able to tell a lot of things about your book that general readers won’t. Then again, you might agree and disagree with the review because it is, after all, one blogger’s personal opinion.

From a marketing point of view, the professional blogger reviews have the greatest impact. They will be put up on their blogs too, and they will share it on their own social network timelines, which adds to your book’s viral presence. And that’s why it pays to be polite to professional reviewers!

Most books will have a high rating when they are newly released. This is because the initial reviews come from the author’s known circle. As the book spreads out though, the reviews will become less flattering and more practical. Some might even be brusque or downright rude. That happens with all authors; it’s part of the process.

Never, never ever, respond to a review on a public platform, even if it is the friend you shared a beer with last night, and especially not if it is a negative review. There is only one way these things can get — ugly. And since it will happen publicly and be there for posterity, you don’t want that. There’s no quicker way for an author to commit professional hara-kiri in my opinion. Here’s a definite example of how not to handle bad reviews.

One more related point — Make it very clear to potential buyers what your book is about. Be specific about genre and theme. This is to ensure that your book is only bought and read by people who would appreciate that particular genre. If you are not specific, you are baiting for bad reviews. Even if a classic is given to someone who only reads and understands pop literature, they might review it badly.

Coming soon:

Part 2 of the Review Ramblings series: What Reviewers Must Keep in Mind when Reviewing

How NaNoWriMo Helped Me Come Out of My Shell

October 19, 2015

by neildsilva How NaNoWriMo Helped Me Come Out of My Shell

Come September and most people who can write start talking about NaNoWriMo. There are prep sessions, writers’ interactions, writing sprints, outlining and plotting sessions, and so many activities in the prelude to the big event in November. To the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It is a nonprofit global online community where thousands of people from all over the world come together and write. The writing clock begins on November 1 each year and ends on November 30. Those who can write 50,000 words within this timeframe are adjudged winners and they get a spunky certificate from the NaNoWriMo organization.

I did not know about NaNoWriMo until last year. I began hearing of it since about April 2014, which is when I was intrigued. Now, the thing about me is that though I have always been writing since Grade 7, I have always been too busy with other things to commit myself to write a full-fledged novel. Over the years, several plots formed in my mind and fizzled out for lack of commitment.

When I became a part of several Facebook writing groups last year, the buzz about NaNoWriMo was too strong to be ignored. I became a part of the local (Indian) NaNo community as well as the larger global one. And people in both places vouched for the way it had influenced them.

So, I jumped head on. I used the months prior to NaNoWriMo for plotting out my novel. And when the calendar turned to November 1, 2014, I began writing. I hit the ground running because I already had a plan in mind, writing over 3000 words of my well-formed novel (in my mind) on the first day itself.

Then began the interactions. Though I did not participate actively in NaNo camps last year, I did communicate with people in my close-knit group. It was interesting to check out how everyone’s manuscript was shaping up. Some of them were real pros, one with even nine wins under her belt, and it was a highly inspiring environment to write in.

To cut a long story short, the daily determined approach enabled me to finish 50000 words on November 22 itself. I put it up proudly on my NaNo dashboard and won the certificate!

But it did not end there, of course. Though the word count target was achieved, the novel was far from over. I continued writing, and it seemed easier now because I had gotten into a groove. I knew how to commit myself to a daily deadline. I wrote for a couple of weeks more and brought my book to the finishing point. The final outcome was close to 82000 words.

As many of you might know it, this book is Maya’s New Husband. I edited it for close to a month, and finally released it as a self-published book on Amazon. The book hit the Hot New Releases rank #1 on the first day itself, and went on to hit #1 on Amazon India (horror) several times over the next few months. Today, almost ten months after its release, it still stays within the top 20, and occasionally hits #1, and is on its way to be translated into a larger format, i.e. a movie.

If it hadn’t been for NaNo, Maya’s New Husband would have been just another plot that occurred to me and vanished without a trace. It was this global sparring (a healthy one, of course) that helped me bring it to fruition. There is no doubt that I owe it entirely to NaNoWriMo for being a partner in my writing career, almost a mentor, and helping me touch the finish line.

Since this first NaNoWriMo win, I have published two more books, which are short story collections. My next full-fledged novel will be The Birth of the Death, which is the sequel to Maya’s New Husband. I am taking up the NaNo challenge again this year, and will finish the sequel to my last year’s winner.

With NaNoWriMo by my side, I am confident of scoring a win again!

Join me in my challenge at NaNoWriMo.org. Look me up if you wish to; my handle is neildsilva.

Crafting a Villain that People Will Remember

October 11, 2015

by neildsilva Crafting a Villain that People Will Remember

When I start plotting a story, I do not think of the protagonist first. For me, it is always the antagonist, the nemesis, the villain who needs to be characterized to their fullest extent before I begin writing. Most of you will agree with me when I say that it is the villain that is the backbone of any tale. In fact, without the villain, the protagonist wouldn’t have anything to do! The hero’s bravery is only justified by how well they can vanquish the bad guy (or gal).

Here I shall be talking of a few things that can help create a memorable baddie. This is mostly the way I tend to go about it, and everyone is welcome to have contrary thoughts.

Come Up with a Nice Snarky Name for the Villain

The name has to be perfect. Authors spend a lot of time thinking of their villains’ names, and that is an absolute must. See the hidden (and not so hidden) meanings behind some of these wonderful villains:

Voldemort (from J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books) — This breaks down into vol-de-mort, which could be construed as ‘flight of death’ or ‘theft of death’ in French. There’s an immediate connect between the name and the character.
Dolores Umbridge (from J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books) — Another Rowling gem. We know that ‘dolor’ means pain and ‘umbrage’ means an expression of utter anger. Perfect character fits, right?
Bellatrix Lestrange (from J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books) — Rowling is sheer genius when it comes to christening her characters, without a doubt. Just look at how many words are put in this name to establish the character — ‘tricks’, ‘strange’ — and these are interspersed with ‘bella’, which means ‘beautiful’!
Hannibal Lecter (from Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs) — There is no way anyone can miss out on the ‘cannibal’ reference here, and this is smartly juxtaposed with ‘lecter’, which immediately has a scholarly vibe to it. In fact, this oxymoronic name was what gave Sir Anthony Hopkins a reference point to play the character on screen. Subsequently, Hannibal Lecter became not only one of the top villains in the literary world but also the movie world.
Professor Moriarty (from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books) — This name starts with ‘mort’ which refers to ‘death’ and then we have ‘art’ which displays a kind of intelligence. It fit the character to the T, who was indeed the archenemy of Sherlock Holmes, eventually leading to his death.
Duryodhana (from Veda Vyasa’s Mahabharata) — In Sanskrit, ‘dur’ is a prefix for anything that’s bad, and ‘yoddha’ means ‘soldier’, which is exactly what this brave but terribly misguided cousin of the Pandavas was.

Even in my own book Maya’s New Husband, the name of the villain, Bhaskar Sadachari, is a play on words. This character, who has a bit of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality within him, is as gentlemanly as he can be in the daytime and monstrous at nights. Hence, ‘bhaskar’ which means ‘the sun’ and ‘sadachari’ which means ‘good behavior’. At first glance, the name evokes a noble character, even a pious one perhaps, but it brings to mind a question — what does he do when the sun goes down?

Give the Villain a Setting of Their Own

It could be a lair or a prison cell or a hideout, but a villain does need to have their own sanctuary, a place that is different from the rest of the world around them. Make this place fit their character. You could choose to make it bleak and dark or not, depending on the nature of your story. However, if you do make it dark, it will add to a brooding quality to your villain. It will right away demarcate the fact that your villain lives in an atmosphere of their own, which is different from the rest of the world.

When I chose an abandoned garage that could only be accessed by climbing up a pile of cars and jumping down a hole in the roof, I built a personal sanctuary for my villain for his dastardly acts. It instantly set him apart from the rest of the world outside and painted him as different.

We know of a particular real-life villain who lived in an underground bunker and the terrors he committed there. Even a mere thought of that can send shivers down the spine.

The hideout of the villain also plays an important plot role, especially whenever unsuspecting people stumble into it. The very fact that someone who doesn’t know a thing has stepped into the spider’s web can keep the readers glued to what happens next.

Most of the James Bond movies are about the master spy trying to infiltrate into such villain domains. Why do you think they work so well? They do because everyone wants to in on the thrill of stepping into forbidden territories.

Give Your Villain Typical Mannerisms

Villains, especially the arch-villains, are not like ordinary people. Their mind behaves differently and they have quirks that most of us won’t have. I would highly recommend everyone to get acquainted with the multitudes of villains in the D. C. Comics series, especially in the Batman stories. Right from The Riddler to Scarecrow to Penguin to the quintessential one, The Joker, every villain is laden with layers and layers of typical mannerisms. Some people might call this exaggerated villainry, but it is good to seek inspiration from.

The mannerisms are also what set your villain apart from the rest of the crowd. You could use them for an added thrill in conversation and can also incorporate them in major plot points. Once you have these behaviors pat down, there is no end to how you could use them.

Give Your Villain a Shady Past

A secret is always interesting. It makes people sit up and take notice when it is revealed. By secret, I do not mean a flashback which justifies the villain’s actions. That is something we must avoid as much as possible. If you justify your villain’s actions too much, you are watering them down and reducing the impact drastically. But, it could be a secret that could add to the character more. Remember how the world reacted when Voldemort’s secrets of the Horcruxes came tumbling out? Yes, we need such wow moments in our work!

Now, what past you create depends on the nature of your villain. But I strongly suggest creating this backstory before you start writing your book. The backstory, even though it is revealed much later in your book, it will help you drive the plot forward in the most plausible way.

As an endnote, I would like to say that though you keep these points in mind, it is necessary to keep your villain unique. Work with the elements and come up with something original. Steer away from cliches, because that will kill your villain before the hero can.

Why I Never Have a Writers’ Block

September 7, 2015

by neildsilva Why I Never Have a Writers’ Block

I often hear my dear writerly folks speak about the dreaded writers’ block. I see discussions on this affliction, and complete websites and even books devoted to it. Well, there’s definitely no writers’ block in writing books on writers’ block, is there?

But I find all these discussions a bit exaggerated. For me at least (and it has been often remarked how I might be of another species altogether), writers’ block seems to be like the pandemic that I’ve been immune to despite living in the same world as the others. Either it is that, or it is the fact that I am somewhat of an unconventional writer.

Let me take up this space (and hopefully your time) to state why I haven’t succumbed to this blight so far. Kindly bear with me.

I write intuitively.

Intuitive writing is when you become your characters and write the story as they would react to the situations. In short, you detach yourself from playing god to your characters and let them flow of their own free will. So, if I am at a difficult point, I ask myself, “How would this person react? What character attributes does she have? If I were her, what would I have done?” These are the questions that carry the story forward.

I realized only recently that a lot of people who write for long-running television soaps practice intuitive writing. They create characters and scenarios and then let them out to play. And it always helps them to build those large volumes of highly interesting content.

I plan in advance.

I don’t plot. I plan. Now there’s a difference in the two. When you plot, you sit down and storyboard everything, even the minutest details. Some authors even go as far as to plot details such as the color of their characters’ dress, which may not even be mentioned in the book. However, I don’t go that far. Instead, I have the basic outline of the story in my mind, or if I’m not too lazy, written down somewhere. I know the turning points in the story. I know the climax. Then it only becomes a matter of carrying my characters forward till there. Coupled with intuitive writing, this becomes an interesting way to propel the story forward.

Remember, what you write at first is only your rough manuscript. It is going to get edited several times. So it doesn’t really matter what flies off your mind the first time. It will be polished to perfection later on.

I have multiple WIPs.

I know many eyebrows are going to be raised for this one. This is definitely a most unconventional way to write. I do flirt with several stories at one go. (But each story feels I am only with them when I am with them — hallmark of a Casanova). I don’t even have specific time slots as to which story I should write when. I just take up one at a time, the one I am thinking the most strongly about, and then unleash my fury on it. If I have a difficult time with it, I have no qualms in keeping it aside and picking up another one. Even as we speak, I have at least four stories in various stages of completion.

Do this only if you are good at compartmentalizing things. It works for me because I never work on two stories on the same day. If I need to switch, I’ll always do it on the next day.

I walk. I have long baths. I go to bed early but sleep late.

A writer needs all of that. Free time. Me time. These are the times when you are doing nothing else, when your mind is cleared up to think. Usually it’s what you think in those few minutes before you sleep that becomes your best written work. Many wonderful stories are created in the bathrooms. (Okay, that came out wrong!) Anyway, you get the drift. Try finding time for yourself to think. Not write, not plot, just think. You will be thankful you did that.

So, these are just some of the ways. There are several others that might be escaping my mind now. But, one thing’s for sure — I am not going to let a writers’ block hamper my productivity.

8 Reasons Why Horror Works in India

July 8, 2015

by neildsilva with No Comment 8 Reasons Why Horror Works in India From Neil D'Silva

Many people ask me during my book events why I chose to write horror, and I can understand their “concern”. Most of the contemporary literature in India is drama or romance. Now, I haven’t got anything against romance per se. It is certainly a wonderful genre to write on, but I feel Indian authors must explore other genres as well. There are so many genres that Indian authors can write on, such as mytho-fantasy, epic fantasy, sci-fi, satire, and, of course, horror.

Yes, indeed horror. This is a genre that must find its place in Indian writing soon. Here are the main reasons why I think this is a really great time to be a horror author.

It is a relatively new genre to explore. Check out the bestseller lists in the popular bookstores and you will find no horror! (Please note that I am not talking here of unintentional horror that some books evoke due to their content.) We need more writers here, provided they are good at their craft. For horror doesn’t take much time to delve into comedy if it is not done correctly.
We have a vast repertoire of all kinds of entities that can be used for creating horror. What about the daityas and the rakshasas and the pishachas and the vetals? Of course, the good old chudails and daayans and bhoots are still there, but the movies have done them to death. These characters are plot bunnies that are just waiting to be taken.
That brings me to my third point. The movies. Just look at the kind of excitement the horror movies generate. Everyone wants to know more about them, whether or not they have the courage to actually enter a cinema hall that plays it. The haunted houses in the malls are always full of people waiting to get in. We love to hear horror stories in the lonely evenings sitting with our friends. Thus, there is definitely a demand. It will work out if the literary world caters to this demand.
The foreign horror authors are a hit in India. Stephen King and Neil Gaiman are almost always among the bestselling foreign authors of any genre across the bookstores. In fact, some publishing houses have inundated the stores with horror anthologies containing works of writers from all over the world. See all the anthologies by foreign authors foreworded by Ruskin Bond and you will know what I mean. Why is that? Because we want to read horror but don’t have our own authors.
Readers are willing to experiment nowadays. They are tired of the same stories packaged in different ways. They are trying out the bookshelves in the stores they haven’t done before. Even those who aren’t inclined to horror on the face of it would be compelled to pick up a good horror book if it piques their interest.
Publishers have become more open to accepting horror. Even literary agents are prioritizing horror stories. The moment the writer says ‘horror’, these people want to read the story at least once. In their attempts to bring out something new for the reader, this genre ranks highly nowadays.
There’s less competition. If you can find your niche readers, you can be assured of a moderate success at least. Even on self-publishing platforms like Amazon Kindle, horror ranks well because there are few other authors in that category. However, as more horror writers join in, this is going to change.
Horror is fun to write. Trust me. It is quite something to use your words to create a scare. Working with sights, smells, sounds, that’s what a horror writer does all the time. And there are few kinds of writing that are as interesting as that.

So these are my reasons. What do you think? Do let me know in the comments below.

Neil D’Silva

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