What I am

I am a Sine Curve when I'd like very much to be a Tan Curve

PS: I never thought I'd use maths to describe myself. Those of you who know me, go have a good laugh at my expense.

Writing for the movies

When I was a teenager, I firmly believed that movies made out of books were doomed to failure. There were few exceptions to the rule of course - The Silence of the Lambs, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. But every time I saw a Harry Potter movie, my belief in this maxim would become stronger. Books and movies were just not the same thing. A novel is incredibly detailed, a movie more visual and for one person (the director) to have the vision to stay honest to both an incredibly tough task.

More than a decade later, I am revising my views. More and more movies each year are based on novels. Are film-makers suddenly better at adapting? Reading this article in the New Yorker, made me think of an alternative explanation for this phenomenon - Increasingly, authors are writing for the movies.

Let me elaborate. The article suggests that the book publishing industry, and the revenue it generates are both in peril for various reasons. At the same time, the competition amongst authors is fierce with opportunities to self publish online or even offline and the availability of FREE quality content through blogs and other web platforms. In a situation where nearly all forms of print are declining and margins on book sales are reducing, there is no economic incentive for authors suggests the article. Follow this train of thought and one logical conclusion that emerges is that movie deals are an excellent revenue stream for authors of any talent.

Education no longer being the privilege of the very rich, there are a fair few of us with good language skills, ideas and no money in the bank. Not all of us come from an academic bent of mind either to build careers in academia where authorship is encouraged. So then those who want to write are left with two choices - write in the scraps of free time that you can get together while building a career and don't expect to make a career out of your writing (you might and you might not) or write in a way that your work reaches a wider audience, albeit through a different medium.

Should I really be surprised then that books increasingly cater to the movie audience? I suppose not. Is this is a good thing or bad thing for literature? I know not.

A look in the mirror

I've been brought up on a diet of English and American Writing. I first read Indian writing in English in my late teens, loved some of it, found the rest quite pedestrian. But this is not about the quality of English or American or Indian writing.

As I make my first, tentative attempts at story telling, I've realised what this extremely western diet of literature has done to me. It's made me feel unnatural about using Indian names in my stories. At the same time, I feel false if I try to situate a story in any place but India. Do you see the dichotomy there?

More than the dichotomy though, I felt a gut wrenching sadness when I realised this. I like to think of myself as sufficiently over the colonial hangover. Of not looking up blindly to the west, of being sufficiently appreciative and proud of my culture. And here I am, fighting in my mind over what name sounds more attractive! This is what a lifetime of exposure can do to you. 

I am left with a sense of envy for authors like Murakami and Pamuk, who write in their own language and yet connect with audiences across the world.

On reading and writing

Voracious reading must be accompanied by voracious writing. Else the mind gets too cluttered and ideas really can't find a place to move around.

There has been too much reading the past few months. There is thankfully some writing now (though not in this space) and so, I might just pull myself out of this hole.

I am all hopeful. :)

Happy new year blog!

Today I miss my blog...

And it's time this blog entered the new year.