My third novel, a romcom titled, ‘That Autumn in Avadh’ is going into print, as I pen this, and I need to plan for the next one, which is a sequel to the hugely successful, ‘Dating, Diapers and Denial’.
Looking back at my journey as a writer, I have learnt that one needs to watch out for the writer’s block. Sometimes,writers, sit at café sand write. It helps them ideate better, they claim.I could do the same. There is just this small complication: food distracts me. I eat with a sense of doom, believing there would be no food around the next day, like those manna-distrusting sinners.
Another thing that works is taking breaks from writing: Last week, for instance, I cleaned my cupboard, segregating the clothes into four categories:
(a) Can wear if I lose weight (b) Cannot wear even if I lose weight (c) Can wear now if I can hold my breath long enough, say, for, 4-5 hours (d) Can wear if reborn as Kareena Kapoor.

It was a depressing exercise and I could only pen tragedies after that. But, the point is: keep trying! It’s this constant quest for improvement, which should be at the core of every writer’s spirit. I’d like to share some tips for young writers as they mature their art.

Tip Number 1: Love the language: Whichever language you choose to express yourself in, be passionate about constantly improving your command over it. Consider language as a beautiful, mysterious coral reef: the more you explore, the more you will discover. I sometimes pick books that read as if penned by my driver, who sends me text messages like,
“Shel I live or you want mor weight?”
(loosely translated to : “Shall I leave or you want me to wait some more?”)
Try to be better than that!

Tip Number 2: Allow yourself to day-dream: Often, people ask me what I do when commuting those long, traffic-riddled distances in Bangalore. Do I read a book? Or write? Or talk on the phone? I do none of that. I just allow the moments unraveling around me, some funny, some poignant, to paint a thousand stories on my eyeballs.

Tip Number 3: Appoint your two angels: You should crave for feedback like cricketers crave for ads! I have noticed that budding writers, often, come with fragile egos. Do you have those one or two people who can tear your writing to shreds? Can you take hard-hitting, cruel feedback? I have always sought, and relished the dreadful feedback. Believe me, it’s the best way to grow to your full potential.

Tip Number 4: Listen to the unsaid: there is a story everywhere. For instance, on that noisy Diwali day, Enzo, the handsome retriever, complained to me a lot, in long, gibberish dog-sentences about what he had gone through. He framed long, articulate sentences ,looking at me with his sad, brown eyes. And, viola, there was a story!

Tip Number 5: Be path-breaking:Do not follow the herd, look for your own, new spaces to write in. Take a leaf out of the book of my amateur photographer friends who are always searching for exotic objects to shoot. Sunsets and beggars are passé. We are talking about truly unique, soul-stirring stuff: like rubber tyres, rotting barks of trees, and bad teeth. Once when I felt extremely left out, I disguised myself as a dog with festering wounds, and I have some candid shots as a result of that.
Tip Number 6: Build your network: This is something I have never been able to do, but strongly recommend you do it. I can’t do it because I have a poor memory for faces: I use, roughly, 4-5 categories, using basic parameters of size, shape and skin tone. So, if you have an angular, long face with ruddy complexion, I might mistake you for Sylvester Stallone.

However, on day on I am in a foul mood, I may mistake you for Danny Denzongpa. So you see, there is a small margin for error.
I realized this when I found out that I had married Alok and not Ajay Devgn as the original plan was …