Samit Basu says writing block exists and any writer who says it doesn’t is lying
I want to write but I can’t write.
I’m going through a writer’s block.
How to overcome a writer’s block.
If these are sentences you have thought of or have Googled, then you’re not the only one. Samit Basu novelist, film director, screenwriter, comics writer and columnist says writing block exists! We had occasion to chat with him in March 2021 and here’s a recap of our discussion with him.
To trope or not to trope
Samit, who has been writing speculative fiction for 2 decades, says that an “unconventional” genre is a matter of perception. For anyone who reads a particular genre; that for them is literature and if you don’t read that genre, it becomes unconventional for you.
Every genre, irrespective of whether it’s conventional, speculative or niche, has its own expectations. These expectations are derived from what classic books have done with a genre and what the current trends are. So either you fulfil those expectations/tropes or you subvert them.
In India, no one knows what’ll work!
The Indian publishing industry is chaotic and no one really knows what will work, says Samit whose recent novel, Chosen Spirits, was shortlisted for the JCB Prize for Literature 2020.
So in that sense, Samit finds the Indian publishing space interesting and challenging because there is a lot of room to experiment. And since no one can say you have to stick to this because it has worked in the past, Samit recommends that you take advantage of this freedom and do what you like.
There is no single definition of what literature is – it’s completely a matter of opinion and personal choice, he further adds. Genres are usually a matter for sales and marketers and less for readers and writers – do you agree?
Write what you enjoy reading
Your sense of how well you’re writing will depend on your taste and preferences. The things that thrill and disappoint you when you’re reading a book, will thrill or disappoint you when you’re reading your own work. So, as a writer who is just beginning to write, a good rule of thumb is to write what you enjoy reading most.
Follow your instincts and write in the field you’re most comfortable in. Figure out who you are as a writer.
Everyone struggles with motivation
Motivation is a combination of external and internal factors and it can be difficult to create consistently in the face of rejections and self-doubts.
Don’t take rejections personally. In almost all cases, rejections are a factor of the publishers. They have their own business goals defined for a year and if your book doesn’t fall into that goal, they will not take it up. So it’s not that your book is bad. It’s just that it’s not the right book for that particular time.
Writing block exists
And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! Here are some tips from Samit to get past them:
- Outline your work
- Just write – no one is watching
- Work on another project
- Sometimes you have to wait for the idea to come to you so instead of staring at the screen, do something else
- Define the problem you need to solve
Well that’s all from us for now, if you want to see the entire conversation with Samit Basu, you can check here.
Header image: Photo by Anthony Shkraba from Pexels.
