I want to write but I can\u2019t write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m going through a writer\u2019s block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to overcome a writer\u2019s block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If these are sentences you have thought of or have Googled, then you\u2019re not the only one. Samit Basu novelist, film director, screenwriter, comics writer and columnist says writing block exists! We had occasion to chat with him in March 2021 and here\u2019s a recap of our discussion with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Samit, who has been writing speculative fiction for 2 decades, says that an \u201cunconventional\u201d genre is a matter of perception. For anyone who reads a particular genre; that for them is literature and if you don\u2019t read that genre, it becomes unconventional for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every genre, irrespective of whether it\u2019s conventional, speculative or niche, has its own expectations. These expectations are derived from what classic books have done with a genre and what the current trends are. So either you fulfil those expectations\/tropes or you subvert them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Indian publishing industry is chaotic and no one really knows what will work, says Samit whose recent novel, Chosen Spirits, was shortlisted for the JCB Prize for Literature 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So in that sense, Samit finds the Indian publishing space interesting and challenging because there is a lot of room to experiment. And since no one can say you have to stick to this because it has worked in the past, Samit recommends that you take advantage of this freedom and do what you like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is no single definition of what literature is \u2013 it\u2019s completely a matter of opinion and personal choice, he further adds. Genres are usually a matter for sales and marketers and less for readers and writers \u2013 do you agree?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your sense of how well you\u2019re writing will depend on your taste and preferences. The things that thrill and disappoint you when you\u2019re reading a book, will thrill or disappoint you when you\u2019re reading your own work. So, as a writer who is just beginning to write, a good rule of thumb is to write what you enjoy reading most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Follow your instincts and write in the field you\u2019re most comfortable in. Figure out who you are as a writer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Motivation is a combination of external and internal factors and it can be difficult to create consistently in the face of rejections and self-doubts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t take rejections personally. In almost all cases, rejections are a factor of the publishers. They have their own business goals defined for a year and if your book doesn\u2019t fall into that goal, they will not take it up. So it\u2019s not that your book is bad. It\u2019s just that it\u2019s not the right book for that particular time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And don\u2019t let anyone tell you otherwise! Here are some tips from Samit to get past them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well that\u2019s all from us for now, if you want to see the entire conversation with Samit Basu, you can check here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Header image: Photo by\u00a0Anthony Shkraba<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0from\u00a0Pexels<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I want to write but I can\u2019t write. I\u2019m going through a writer\u2019s block. How to overcome a writer\u2019s block. If these are sentences you have thought of or have Googled, then you\u2019re not the only one. Samit Basu novelist, film director, screenwriter, comics writer and columnist says writing block exists! We had occasion to","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1271,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[135],"tags":[142,141,143],"class_list":["post-1270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-publishing","tag-samit-basu","tag-writing-block","tag-writing-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theblogchatter.com\/BeStorified\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theblogchatter.com\/BeStorified\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theblogchatter.com\/BeStorified\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblogchatter.com\/BeStorified\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblogchatter.com\/BeStorified\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1270"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblogchatter.com\/BeStorified\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1272,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblogchatter.com\/BeStorified\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1270\/revisions\/1272"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblogchatter.com\/BeStorified\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theblogchatter.com\/BeStorified\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblogchatter.com\/BeStorified\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theblogchatter.com\/BeStorified\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}