Name : Archana Sarat
 
Birthdate: 19^th October 

Academics: Chartered Accountant
 
Hobbies: Apart from reading and writing, I love playing different musical instruments like the veena, casio and mouth-organ, though I’m an amateur in all. I enjoy drawing, sketching and painting. I love exploring little-known places.

1. Your journey as a writer...

I have always loved to read and write. Thanks to my parents, my home was filled with books. I wrote a lot of poetry during my childhood. My school teachers encouraged me and published many of them in my school magazine. Later, I started writing fiction too.
I earned my first pay as a writer during adolescence. Handwritten love letters were the norm then. We had no FB or Whatsapp. So, I had this secret love-letter writing business going on. Payment was in the form of Dairy Milk Bars. That was my first freelance writing pay.

2. Do you believe that self-experience is important to keep your pen flowing? What motivates you to write and just keep writing?
I don’t believe self-experience is necessary to write. My debut novel deals with the theme of child abuse. My mother was disturbed after reading the book. “We kept you safe. You had such a happy childhood. How did you write such a disturbing story?” I don’t need to experience abuse to write about it. I immersed myself in the life of my characters. I researched about the mindset of such victims. I met many such victims too. This is what lends authenticity to the tale.
What motivates me to write is this gnawing feeling within me. The days that I don’t write are filled with agony. I am like this cranky toddler who has not been to the playground. As long as I can write, I am a happy and pleasant person to be with.
My wish is to always keep my pen flowing. I don’t believe there is a scarcity of ideas in this world. I am a firm believer in their abundance. I find it funny when writers blame each other, rightly or wrongly, for stealing ideas. While the Intellectual Property laws provide there is no copyright on ideas, I don’t think there is any need for any writer to steal another’s ideas. There are millions of stories out there waiting to be written. Even if each of us write every single minute of the day, we will not be able to explore even half the stories around us. As long as there is life, there is something distinct to write about.
Many writers find it difficult to write when people tear apart their works through reviews and criticism. If people pull you down, remember Elizabeth Gilbert’s words in Big Magic,
“Recognising that people’s reactions don’t belong to you is the only sane way to create. If people enjoy what you’ve created, terrific. If people ignore what you’ve created, too bad. If people misunderstand what you’ve created, don’t sweat it. And what if people absolutely hate what you’ve created? What if people attack you with savage vitriol, and insult your intelligence, and malign your motives, and drag your good name through the mud? Just smile sweetly and suggest—as politely as you possibly can—that they go make their own fucking art. Then stubbornly continue making yours.”

3.  What do you think about Indian publishing industry?

The Indian publishing industry is undergoing significant change now. In my opinion, this is the best time to be a writer. The gap between the writer and the audience is shrinking every single day due to multiple modes of reaching the reader.

4.   What are your views on social media?
Social Media, like any other tool, has various pros and cons. While it gives you an instant connect with an audience, this can tend to make you feel lazy. You might never go in search of more. There are many ardent readers who have no presence on social media. So, how do you reach them? How do you make sure they know about your book?
Another disadvantage is the way social media can suck up your time. You log on to FB to put up a post and you have estimated it would take five minutes. After one hour, you realize that you have wished ten people for their birthdays and anniversaries, watched fourteen videos of cats and babies, vociferously supported the views of some political party and have still not put up the post that you were meant to.

5.  Do you find any difference between a female writer and a male writer? 

I don’t find any difference between a male writer and a female writer. Now days, there are many male romance authors and female war correspondents. Anyone can write on any topic, from any character’s point-of-view, if the topic/character is close to their heart.

6.  Tell us something about your book/s.
My debut novel, Birds of Prey, is a psychological crime thriller. Readomania is publishing my novel, by the end of this year. The hue and cry against rape gets silenced when a child is abused, within the supposedly safe confines of her home, by a person responsible for her safety. What happens to these children and who is to blame for it? My book attempts to look at these difficult questions but the message is subtly weaved into a thrilling page-turner.

7.  A message for budding literature enthusiasts...
Write for the love of writing. Have no expectations from writing. Writing need not get you laurels. It doesn’t have to make you money. If you have such expectations from writing, it is better to stop writing immediately because for every successful writer, there are thousands of unsuccessful, unpublished, languishing ones. Usually, it is not because there was something missing in their manuscripts but rather because Lady Luck has still not kissed them. Hence, keep writing. Keep working at your craft. One day—as you keep scrawling out words with your pen, you might feel a wet kiss on your forehead. You would look up and see that angelic-looking Lady Luck smiling down at you. Smile back at her, thank her for everything and continue writing. Best Wishes!