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[itswritingtimebish]

how NOT to start your novel

Do whatever you want.

Seriously.

“Never start your book with routine! or waking up from a dream!” hmm... ever heard of The Hunger Games?

I’m really tired ofthese types of tips.

Do whatever you want.

Do whatever fits with the story.

Revise your story once it’s finished and see if the beginning fits or not.

Ask beta readers what they thought of the beginning.

Ask yourself if there is a better way of starting the story. The answer might be no. That’s okay. That’s perfect.

But don’t follow “how not to start your novel” advice blindly because its made up of generalizations that don’t always work and maybe the best way to start your story is with a foreshadowing dream. Or a routine to show how much the character’s life changes. Or maybe you need 400 pages before the main conflict because you need to stablish your character’s relationships and dynamics. 

There are ways to make beginnings better, more engaging, yes. But do not listen to those who take “advice” and impose it as if it was a rule, as if any book that starts the way they say it shouldn’t, is immediately bad. It isn’t. Each beginning is different and you should listen to your story, not sad, rancid advice that has been repeated hasta la saciedad.

This also applies to endings: do whatever the fuck you want.

[itswritingtimebish]

Me, speaking incomprehensibly about my niche interests

[itswritingtimebish]

Indian academia

Recently I have seen a lot of excellent posts in the dark academia tags which call out the euro-centrism of this subculture and also give great recommendations for non-white cultural academia. So I decided to put together works of Indian authors that I read growing up in India as a literature student. Please note this list leans heavily towards works centred on Bengal due to my own heritage, and is by no means comprehensive or meant to represent the entire, varied diaspora of India.

Historical/political fiction:

the lives of others by neel mukherjee: chronicling the rise and fall of a bengali family against historical events like the partition, the 1943 famines, the bengal emergency etc. diverse cast of characters retelling history through multiple povs, lyrical prose, incredible research providing an insight into naxalite bengal. talks about how it feels to be a leftist when you are born and brought up in bourgeois privilege.

the lowland by jhumpa lahiri: everything!! written by jhumpa lahiri!! should be savoured!! but this gorgeous book in particular made me UGLY CRY. to summarise without spoilers, it's a story about two brothers, separated by inches and then by miles, a story about student revolutionaries, bengal burning and boston beaches, and it's a story about a beautiful, brilliant, tormented woman who loves and loathes in equal measure.

the shadow lines by amitav ghosh:** intergenerational trauma, dhaka riots and the entwined histories of two families- one in london and the other in calcutta. sharp, bittersweet and sometimes rather scandalous. if you enjoy ggm's works try this.

a flight of pigeons by ruskin bond**: after her father is killed in the 1857 sepoy mutiny, an anglo-indian girl, her mother, and female relatives are given shelter by the muslim family of one of the chief rebels. set in north india near UP, ruskin bond's writing is powerful and explores found families and the price of imperialism and war. chef's kiss.

train to pakistan by khuswant singh: the horrors of post independence sectarian violence as recounted by a fictional village on the indo-pak border with a population largely comprising muslims and sikhs. a harrowing read but evocative and honest.

shalimar the clown by salman rushdie: allegorical story about the kashmir valley unrest, told through the insane, shakespearean revenge tragedy spun out by kashmiri tightrope walker shalimar who falls in love with boonyi, a beautiful pandit girl, a love that dooms him.

a fine balance by rohinton mistry**: four strangers' lives spill into each other as india crumbles under the 1975 emergency. this one has everything political commentary, social satire, depiction of economic hardships and a whole range of characters from diverse backgrounds. side note: it's a pretty heavy and tragic read, please be careful.

Societal stories

the guide by rk narayan: raju, an impoverished, street smart boy in a fictional south indian town takes to conning people as a tour guide but things spiral out of control when he has an affair with a married classical dancer. allegorical writing, funny and eccentric, and there's a LOT of satire about desi stereotypes: fraud religious leaders, scandalous village affairs, neocolonial mindsets and well, dancing. had a great read of this one. don't watch the film, it's inaacurate and the author himself didn't like it :(

malgudi days by rk narayan: set in the same town as the guide, a collection of short stories about the colourful lives of small town dwellers, from astrologers to doctors to postmen. it's funny and poignant in equal measure. there's not a single mediocre story in here, they're all just......charming.

interpreter of maladies by jhumpa lahiri: stories set in boston and bengal about ordinary indian people and ordinary indian lives which are just so, so MASTERFULLY written and in such crystal bright detail it feels all too real. I recommend a temporary matter, when mr pirzada came to dine, sexy, mrs sen and this blessed house.

em and the big hoom by jerry pinto**: a goan family in late 20th century mumbai + their experience when the mother is diagnosed with bpd. I haven't read this book but it was highly recommended by my friends + authors who are greatly esteemed by me

any and every work by ruskin bond because my man literally GREW up around ayahs and tonga drivers and lonely gardeners and sad kite-makers and friends in small places. I recommend road to the bazaar: a collection of short stories about north indian children involving tigers in train tunnels, beetle races, rooftop gardens and the feeling of being home again.

the white tiger by aravind adiga**: epistolary novel that deals mostly with the class struggle in india as told by a village boy, who travels to delhi for work and his slow rise to success through monumental obstacles. a good read to look into the lives and the plight of underprivileged workers and the persisting class disparity in globalised india.

city of djinns by william dalrymple: travelogue/memoir/anecdotes of the author's time in delhi as he researches for the detritus of history in the country capital. non fiction but every bit as riveting as a well spun story.

Retellings/Biographies

rajkahini (transl: stories of kings) by abanindranath tagore: stories about the rajput rulers of western india and their glorious, semi-mythological histories of battles and heartbreaks and visions. the author was often termed a lyrical artist because his descriptive prose is so good it feels like a painting put into words.

empress: the astonishing reign of nur jahan by ruby lal: a feminist biography of my favourite figure from history, nur jahan, and her deliciously satisfying ascent as the sole female sovereign in the line of the great mughals. but wow, what a woman.

the palace of illusions by chitra banerjee divakaruni: retelling of the great epic mahabharata but from draupadi's point of view. poetic and magical, and her descriptions of female rage and the unfairness of society even in mythical canon is SUPERB.

Poetry!

sarojini naidu: patriotism, society, feminism, romance

nissim ezekiel: postcolonial, satire

ak ramanujan: society, classical retellings, folktale inspired poetry

agha shahid ali: socio-political, ghazal inspired poetry

tishani doshi: feminist, contemporary

eunice d'souza: contemporary, gender politics

Pure self indulgent recs

hayavadana by girish karnad: a ridiculous, criminally hilarious play-within-a-play about a love triangle and accidental body/torso swaps and a goddess who couldn't care less and a man with a horse head. yeah.

devdas by sarat chandra chattopadhyay: pls stop shoving the movie down my throat it's the cringiest depiction of bengali culture ever but yeah the novel is 💗💗 and it's about childhood sweethearts dev and paro, the cost of obsessions and lusts and an enigmatic courtesan chandramukhi who keeps loving the wrong things.

any and every work by rabindranath tagore should be considered academia but in particular his short stories, like the kabuliwalah and the postmaster.

the byomkesh bakshi series by sharadindu bandyopadhyay: written in the vein of poirot but in colonial bengal, follows one (1) sleuthy boy and his sidekick as they unravel psychological crimes and murder mysteries. some stories are just genuinely scary and all have eclectic casts. sharadindu said homoerotic/feral women/immoral genius people rights!

Like I said this list is not comprehensive!!! But I tried my best!!! I think we should really try to decolonize our reading tastes. And yes I purposely left out Arundhati Roy (because she is literally the only Indian author ever recommended in lists) Vikram Seth (because I do not like him) and Roshani Chokshi (because any one of the above)

I hope you guys get some good picks from this list :)

[** has heavy trigger warnings]

[itswritingtimebish]

Victoria Schwab Tweets:

“This just in: you can love writing and also find it hard.

“I was once on a panel and another author essentially said, ‘if you don’t enjoy every moment, then why are you here?’ and I was…exasperated. Creativity is a complicated beast. You don’t have to love every second to be a valid participant.

“I love the ideas. I love brainstorming, and problem-solving, and I love making this better, fine-tuning language.

“I also hate drafting, claw my way through self-doubt, crawl on my hands and knees through the frustration of the unrealized.

“I’m not here because I love every second.

“I’m here because the parts I love are worth the rest.”

[itswritingtimebish]

Hi, could you reblog this if you're a writeblr (main/sideblog). My dash doesn't seem to be full of them at the moment. :) thank you!

[itswritingtimebish]

Write.

[itswritingtimebish]

telling a fic writer their characterization is good is the god tier of compliments, and the fastest way to find someone who will commit murder for you

[itswritingtimebish]

Focus on one project at a time? Finish a project before starting another? Blasphemy.

[itswritingtimebish]

I made an authortube channel! I don’t know if you guys would want to follow me over there but there’s the link if you want to! (I’m definitely more articulate when I’m writing so you wont be losing much if you don’t follow me ahhahah)

[itswritingtimebish]

when you lose the plot halfway through your own WIP

[itswritingtimebish]

me, going to bed at 1am: okay so we can fit the plot twist into chapter fourteen and introduce the love interest a couple chapters before that, and their first line is also going to be the last line of the book but in different context as mirroring, and we’re going to switch perspectives halfway through

me, opening my laptop in the morning: what is a Word

[itswritingtimebish]

[itswritingtimebish]

AU where everything I start writing actually gets finished

[itswritingtimebish]

i am a:

⚪️ man

⚪️ woman

🔘 writer

looking for:

⚪️ men

⚪️ women

🔘 the perfect dialogue i thought up while i was in the shower that i didn’t write down because i thought i’d remember it

[itswritingtimebish]

Being a writer is writing 3,000 words at 4 in the morning and then not touching your work for a month

[itswritingtimebish]

When writing always remember… a character flaw is only a flaw until becomes useful. 

Is your protagonist manipulative? Well that’s awful… until they manipulate the antagonist into making a decision that saves the lives of their friends. 

Is your protagonist a skeptic? Well that’s not good… until someone tries to lie to them. 

Is your protagonist overprotective? That sucks… until someone they love is in danger. 

Is your protagonist remorseless? Well that makes them pretty unlikeable… until a hard decision has to be made. 

[itswritingtimebish]

this is actually super cool. just imagine all the inconveniences that you would come across. 

guys, think of this…

conditional superpowers, where you have a superpower that only works under specific conditions. 

Superstrength? Only if if it’s more than two hundred pounds. You struggle opening a pickle jar, but not with throwing a car a few blocks. 

Elementalist? You can only control water when it’s raining, don’t even think about the humidity in the air. 

Flight? You’ve got to drop at least twenty feet, before you can even think about flying an inch.

Super speed? You need to run a flat mile, before you can travel at supersonic speeds.

X-ray vision? Only works on places you’ve never been before.

conditional superpowers, dudes.