Name: Jyoti Arora

Birthdate: 8 May

Academics: B.A. English Hons. From Delhi University, M.A. English Literature & M.A. Applied Psychology from Annamalai University. Comprehensive Course in Creative Writing (Diploma) from Writer’s Bureau, Manchester. (All through correspondence courses.)

Hobbies: Reading, blogging, checking out latest smartphones, listening to old Bollywood songs, collecting and sharing awesome quotations. 

1. When did u find yourself lost in the world of words? 

From early childhood. I was fascinated with books even when I couldn’t read. I loved smelling books and flipping pages to see their pictures. It must be this fascination that helped me to learn reading even before I started going to school. When I was in class sixth, I could finish three Nancy Drew books in a week. And my love for the written word has just been getting stronger and stronger.

As for writing, I was always good at creative writing. But my dream of being a novelist sprung up only when I started studying literature for my graduation course. That is when I recognized the art and skill that went into the writing of books. I was also amazed to realize how we were reading and studying the books that had been written centuries ago. Those books had made their creators immortal. I started dreaming of creating something so powerful too. And the dream of being a writer took possession of me.

2. Do you believe that self-experience is important to keep your pen flowing? What motivates you to write and just keep writing?

Yes, experience is great support for a writer’s imagination. It feeds the ideas. That is my worry, in fact. Due to health problems, I live a very homebound life. And I feel I am missing out on the experiences that could give me more knowledge of the world and lead to a greater wealth of ideas.

What motivates me to writing? It is my biggest dream and desire to one day see my name being counted among famous writers of the world. It is this dream that does not let me stop writing. Besides, I love reading what I have written!

3. For a writer, how important it is to be a good reader?

Very important. I have done a creative writing course. But more than that course, I think it’s the books I’ve read that have trained me as a writer. Good books leave their influence on your thoughts and language. I have been told that there is an influence of classics on my writing. That must be because I love reading classics and have also abridged about 30 classics for two publishers.

Being a good reader also helps writers in spotting the weak points of their own writing during the process of revisions.

4. Do you believe that writing is a therapy? What is writing for you?

It depends upon the kind of writing. If you are writing something that is heavily influenced by personal experiences and tragedies, writing can be cathartic. But if you are just creating an impersonal fiction or non-fiction, then that is a different thing.

If I look at my own experiences, my first novel Dream’s Sake dealt with fears and insecurities of physically challenged people. It was my first novel and I felt that bits of me were there in every character. It felt good to be expressing myself through my characters. My second novel Lemon Girl dealt with the issue of women abuse and victim blaming. It expressed my anger about what I was seeing and hearing on news channels. But otherwise it was totally impersonal.

 Writing for me is a ladder through which I wish to reach a golden destination.

 5.  Why do we need to sensationalize the topic of feminism? What is feminism for you? 

I don’t like sensationalizing anything actually. The truth of women abuse is already too bitter. It just needs to be met with a greater force.

To me, Feminism means empowering women to have the freedom of choice and the ability and opportunity to exercise it. And for that, education and financial independence are imperative.

 6. What is social media for you? How do you see social media? 

Social media is a means to stay connected with people whom you can’t physically meet often. Through the social media channels, even common people have found a means to broadcast their feelings and opinions. It is also a powerful tool of publicity.

Unfortunately, it has also become a means of manipulating public opinion and spreading hearsay. Fake news stories, fake images, fake videos are spreading like epidemic on our social media channels. Through these lies, interested parties are easily swaying public opinions and feelings. This is very dangerous and might end up hurting India’s social fabric.

Important links:

My website: https://jyotiarora.com/

My personal blog: https://jyotiarora.com/leaning-against-the-sun/

Dream’s Sake: https://jyotiarora.com/dream-s-sake/

Lemon Girl: https://jyotiarora.com/lemon-girl/

My technology blog: https://technotreats.com

Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/jyotiarora

Note: 12 chapters of Lemon Girl available as preview on my website from the Lemon Girl link given above. Readers can also download a free short stories collection ‘Freed by Love’ from https://jyotiarora.com/free-short-stories-collection/