Inteview with Mahtab Narsimhan

Online Interview conducted by G.A.B.’s own Gemma Kutertan with author Mahtab Narsimhan.

Gemma: Where do you start a book? With plot, characters, or dialogue?

Mahtab: Ask any author and he/she will tell you that just like people, all books are unique and are “born” differently. For the Tara Trilogy it was a combination of character and plot. I knew my protagonist would be a girl, that the setting would be in rural India and that the story would be a fantasy-adventure. And then as I wrote it, the story developed, new ideas occurred to me and old ones were discarded. It’s quite amazing to see how a story starts as a seed and then grows taller, stronger, taking on a life of its own.

At the moment I am about to start a new series for which I am doing extensive research. I know that once I start writing it, it’s going to change dramatically once the characters I’ve created come alive and tell me what they should be doing.

Gemma: How do I get inspired and stay inspired?

Mahtab: I make sure to write about things I am passionate about. If I write just to follow a trend or because something is popular and the topic does not really appeal to me, this lack of interest is sure to reflect in my story.

The key to dynamic writing and remaining inspired is to write about something that moves you very deeply; only then will you be able to go through revision after revision without being utterly bored.

Gemma: I’m a teen writer looking to get published. Do you have specific advice for teen writers? Will my age be a problem in looking for an agent/publisher?

Mahtab: For one; read a lot in the genre for which you are writing as well as books in other genres. It will give you a very good idea of excellent writing as well as not so good writing.

Good writing has no age barriers and I’m sure you’ve heard of Christopher Paolini who wrote Eragon at age 15. Though he did start with self-publishing, he was eventually picked up by a large publishing house.

Wrt publishers; read their submission guidelines very carefully and also glance through their catalogues to get an idea of what kinds of books they tend to publish or you might spend up wasting a lot of time querying the wrong houses and getting numerous rejections which is not a fun thing at all!

I am attaching a list of books recommended by the Faculty at the Vermont College of Fine Arts which has an excellent MFA program in Children’s Literature. It’s a great list to work through.

Gemma: I don’t know how to build a fantasy world in a book. How do you do that?

Mahtab: The Net is a very good resource for any information you need these days. In particular, one author, Holly Lisle has some excellent articles/mini workshops re world building, plotting, dialogue, revising etc.

http://hollylisle.com/fm/Workshops/how-much-do-i-build-workshop.html

The above is a link to world building but if you review Holly Lisle’s website you can get excellent tips on many aspects of writing.

The only other thing I will say is that all writing takes practice. The more you do it the better you get.

Here are some other books that are part of my toolbox and which I refer to, often;

• Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White

• Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

• The Art of Fiction by John Gardner

• Writing down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg



Gemma: I can’t figure out how to plot! How do I do that?

Mahtab: Plot is basically your story, the structure of your story. It takes practice to plot well.

Again, you need to read books, as many as you can get to understand what makes a good plot and which stories don’t have one at all.

The list of writing books I’ve mentioned will certainly help.

Gemma: How do you write good dialogue?

Mahtab: See Answer 4.

And eavesdrop! I know that sounds like terrible advice but when you listen to how people talk, you get the flow of good natural dialogue. Dialogue should never be forced or used to give back story. One thing to remember about dialogue is that it is not exactly the way we speak (which might have a lot of pauses, umm and ahhh). Dialogue had to be crisp, clear and if used correctly, can move the story forward as well as reveal character.

Another writer whose work I greatly admire and who had excellent tips on his website is Tim Wynne-Jones. Here’s the link to a fantastic “Eleven Things you need to know”

http://www.timwynne-jones.com/pages/eleventhings.html

Gemma: How do I take a big inchoate mess of ideas and organize them into a coherent story?

Mahtab: Most stories initially start as an incoherent mess of ideas. One way to start is to try and summarize your plot or your story in one paragraph or even a couple of lines. If you can do that, you will then be able to start organizing your ideas, chapter by chapter (a very long process) from beginning to end. If you find that you are unable to summarize your story and find yourself rambling on, then you need to re-look at the all the ideas and re-shape them.

Some writers use pen and paper, some use their computers. You can use whatever appeals to you. Also, each person’s way of organizing is different. When I presented to your school, I remember showing you a grid that I use to organize my story. It’s basically a page divided into squares with chapter headings and a summary of what happens in each chapter. When you have the story in concise form, you can see the flow of the chapters/characters/story and will be able to start writing with a clearer idea.

Gemma: How do I find my writing “voice”?

Mahtab: By writing as much as you can. This is something very intangible and cannot be learned. It comes from the person you are and the way you see the world. Keep writing…your voice will find you.

A book I have found fairly useful for this is Finding your Writer’s Voice by Thaisa Frank and Dorothy Wall.

Gemma: How do I find a good agent?

Mahtab: Write an excellent story, research agents exactly the way you would a publisher and send them queries based on their guidelines.

Gemma: How can I copyright my manuscript?

Mahtab: You could use a lawyer or go through the lengthy process of registering your own work. However, if you are a prolific writer then this can get quite tedious. When your book gets published, your publisher will copyright the material for you.

Gemma: When you start a book, what is it like? Is the book just sitting in your head, mostly formed? Where does it come from?

Mahtab: No, my books are never just sitting in my head, mostly formed. I have a character or part of a plot or just a scene in my mind and I develop the story from there. How did my character get here and where is s/he going from here?

For me, book ideas come from reading papers, watching the news, trying out new activities and generally just being alive to the world around me. Everyone (not just writers) has hundreds of ideas every day. It is what you chose to do with them that makes it into a story and makes you a writer!

Gemma: Are your characters based off of anyone you know personally?

Mahtab: For the Tara Trilogy, the main protagonist Tara does have shades of my own personality. All the other characters are fictitious. They may have a characteristic or two from someone I’ve met in my life but do they resemble a person I’ve known? No!

Gemma: I love to write, I need to write... but at the same time, I am afraid of publishers and editors and agents. Not so much about rejection letters or working with them, but sending my work to them. I know it must sound weird, or maybe not. How did you cope with it when you sent The Third Eye away? Was it really hard to let your creation out of your hands?

Mahtab: If you want to be published by a good publishing house and not go the route of self-publishing, then you will have to let your work go at some point.

Yes, it is very hard to let go of your “baby” but you have to trust and believe that the people you’re sending it to will look after it just as well and move on to creating the next one. That’s what makes you a writer.



Thanks for these excellent and thoughtful questions, Gemma. I enjoyed answering them and I wish you and other aspiring fellow writers in your school all the very best!