Ask the Author: Anuradha D. Rajurkar
Answered Questions (3)
Anuradha D. Rajurkar
To spend dedicated time digging deep into all the things you obsess and wonder about. Writing through imagined worlds, characters, and storylines helps me find answers to those questions that don't seem to let go. :) I also love being able to work in a solitary way, to be left alone with my thoughts and ideas while I snack at my computer for long stretches!
Anuradha D. Rajurkar
Ever since I was a teen, I longed for a story that explored the balancing of two or more cultures, the way many first-generation teens of the diaspora navigate, the nuances of cross-cultural relationships, and the role that race plays in our everyday experiences in America. Though there are so many amazing stories out now featuring teens of color, I've yearned for more contemporary stories that depict South Asian families, ones that felt honest and true to my own personal experiences. So I set out to write a raw, layered story about the way friendships and relationships shape our identities, along with the excitement and complications of forbidden first love. Rani, her charming but problematic boyfriend Oliver, Rani's hilarious best friend, Kate, and Rani's loving but strict Indian immigrant family roved my mind for years, their experiences slowly taking shape during the decade it took to draft and revise the story amid the juggle of life. One upside to taking loads of time to write a book is the way the story deepens alongside your expanding worldview and life experiences. I truly took advantage of those years of writing as I sussed out what it is exactly I hoped to “say” with this story, and I'm grateful that I can say that I'm truly happy with the result!
Anuradha D. Rajurkar
Writer's block usually signifies to me that I haven't yet solidified, mentally, the motivations of one or more of my characters. In other words, I don't know my characters well enough to write what they would do next. When this happens, I sneak off to run or meditate, keeping my characters tucked in the corners of my mind. Or, I'll take a walk through a forest or along Lake Michigan, pondering and muttering, stopping to scribble down random thoughts about "my people" in my pocket-sized notebook, like mad scientist. :)
Reading widely can spark new ideas as you're writing. Sometimes if I'm stuck, my "writing" time will temporarily take the form of reading other works closely, examining how an author handles structure, pacing, characterization, mood, tone, voice and setting...all these elements can elevate my own writing, and provide fresh inspiration to return to my desk.
Finally, talking to my writing group members or a close, trusted friend about the characters and their struggles/goals can help me work through blocks, as does seeing a movie in the theater or watching a current, new show on Netflix (yes, Netflix!): Often a nugget there can light you up, provide a missing puzzle piece in your work. So... yay for movies and T.V.! :)
Honestly, though, the most important thing to do when you're blocked is to continue writing--even if that means beginning a side project, character sketch, or writing prompt. I write even when I feel like it's garbage. Because sometimes you have to write through garbage to unearth the good stuff.
Reading widely can spark new ideas as you're writing. Sometimes if I'm stuck, my "writing" time will temporarily take the form of reading other works closely, examining how an author handles structure, pacing, characterization, mood, tone, voice and setting...all these elements can elevate my own writing, and provide fresh inspiration to return to my desk.
Finally, talking to my writing group members or a close, trusted friend about the characters and their struggles/goals can help me work through blocks, as does seeing a movie in the theater or watching a current, new show on Netflix (yes, Netflix!): Often a nugget there can light you up, provide a missing puzzle piece in your work. So... yay for movies and T.V.! :)
Honestly, though, the most important thing to do when you're blocked is to continue writing--even if that means beginning a side project, character sketch, or writing prompt. I write even when I feel like it's garbage. Because sometimes you have to write through garbage to unearth the good stuff.
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