I questioned for a while whether to write about this on my blog. Would editors to whom I am, via my agent, submitting my manuscript be put off by my discussion of literary fiction and technology? By pondering aloud whether to pursue an e-book route or not would I be pushing potential publishers away? But [...]
Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category
To e or not to e: the dilemma of a so-called literary writer
Posted in Books, Writing, tagged ebooks, Faint Promise of Rain, Grub Street, literary fiction, Nathan Bransford, Paul Levy, publishing, self-publishing on February 20, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Trailers, books, stories, hooks
Posted in Books, Writing, tagged book trailers, Faint Promise of Rain, Jonathan Safran Foer, Tree of Codes on February 10, 2012 | 2 Comments »
I last wrote about the book as object. Not so much the content of books, but their physical being, their presence in the landscape of one’s life. This week, after helping K with an assignment in which she had to use a little drawing and as the starting point for a whole story, and after [...]
Someone hand me a battering ram
Posted in Being the people, Writing, tagged being a writer, goals, publishing, starting a novel, writing on January 8, 2012 | 7 Comments »
I find myself confronted with an entirely new situation. I have a story in mind, and some partially-formed characters who are gradually emerging out of the haze, like a colorful and over-loaded truck whose contours and contents take shape in the smog as one approaches them headlong on a January morning in Delhi. (Horn OK [...]
Creative life, you say?
Posted in Being the people, Dance/Arts, Writing, tagged creative life, dance, kathak, time to write, Writer Unboxed, writing, writing life on November 15, 2011 | 1 Comment »
A couple of months ago, a friend—an artistic filmmaker—asked me: how do you sustain a creative life or even a creative project in the midst of children, work, home, health and volunteering? She asked this not as a rhetorical question, but as someone who seemed truly to expect that I would have an answer for [...]
“Too literary”: compliment, kiss of death, or call to action?
Posted in Writing, tagged literary fiction, publishing, rejection on October 29, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Today I am proud to report my first official rejection from an editor at a major publisher. It reads: “Thank you for sending me FAINT PROMISE OF RAIN by Anjali Mitter Duva. Ms. Duva is a beautiful writer – her prose is evocative, and her descriptions are riveting. There is such haunting atmosphere in these [...]
Unmoored
Posted in Writing, tagged manuscript, novel, novel series, planning a novel, prologue, revisions, writing on June 16, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
For over eight years, my writing was anchored in a single novel. I wrote the first paragraph, the prologue, in 2002, after reading a factoid in a travel guide which conjured up a strong image. Here’s the paragraph, the only one which has not changed one iota in the many (MANY) rounds of revisions: In [...]
The horror of Reading Logs
Posted in Parenting, Writing, tagged books for 7 year olds, books for first graders, reading, reading logs, summer reading on June 13, 2011 | 2 Comments »
A few months ago, we traveled to India. Yes, with the kids. Of course with the kids. In packing for the trip, I put a lot of thought into what to bring to entertain K, the first grader. We were lugging a lot of baby gear, and couldn’t bog ourselves down with the usual multitude [...]
Is this really happening?
Posted in Writing, tagged agent, contract, manuscript, submission, writing on June 9, 2011 | 6 Comments »
I signed with an agent this week. It’s official. I can now say I am an agented writer. I am excited, but in a this-is-too-good-to-be-true sort of way. I have to admit, it feels a bit unreal. The agent is very enthusiastic and energetic and engaged, and I’m delighted about that. She read my manuscript [...]
Storms past and present
Posted in Moments, Writing, tagged Calcutta, memories, storm, writing on June 1, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
A powerful storm ripped through Massachusetts tonight, bringing raging winds and ceaseless, sky-illuminating lightning as well as a short but torrential downpour. Watching it from the window of my home, I was vividly reminded of the sights, smells and sensations of summer monsoon storms in Calcutta and Bombay during my childhood. The cawing of the [...]
