On Writing a Novel!

A few chapters into my second novel, I think writing a novel, or even attempting one is a great act of faith. The very prospect of developing a story, so many characters, so many situations are daunting, if not intimidating.

So, what about those great writers: Steinbeck, Hemingway, Dumas, Turgenev, Tolstoy (I fell sick reading War and Peace), Shakespeare, Rushdie: I am awed and humbled at the effort they must have put into their works. My head lowers in shame and humbleness.

And to think that the world doesn’t think much of the author is absolutely disconcerting, and disappointing. All ye critics be kind to someone who cloisters himself/herself in an attic and writes, and writes, and writes. He/she is not the freak you might think, but is trying to capture in words what life and living is all about. John Fowles said:

There are many reasons why novelists write – but they all have one thing in common: a need to create an alternative world. John Fowles