Here, a little belatedly, are two posts I did for Mills and Boon India blog. I'm talking about what I learnt during the writing of my first ever completed manuscript in them.


Building a Character

Inspirations



Hope they'll be helpful to you also, and work to decrease some writing hassles. Do let me know if you find anything useful. Cheerio! :-)

Claim code : YQF73D96G95M

Right or Wrong? – my entry to the GetPublished contest’’

My story Right or Wrong is the story of Raina Kapoor, a woman who finds herself displaced from her husband's exclusive attention and is unable to handle being second place in his life.

Six years ago, at her graduation day, two men proposed to her, Siddharth and Arnav. She accepted Arnav because she loved him and to all appearances he loved her. Attractive and charming as he was, she had eyes only for him. As time wore on, Arnav became the typical workaholic medico. Now absorbed in his patients, he has no time for her. He even passes onto her the presents he gets as gratitude tokens from his patients, making her feel less like a loved wife and more like forgotten washing left hanging on the clothesline. Raina, an only child of wealthy parents, was used to being doted upon. All her life she took affection and adulation as a matter of natural reaction from people. Now she begins to feel she's been cheated by the veneer Arnav wore of an attractive and debonair man. At this point Siddharth comes to stay with them and shows her what a man's attention feels like. Being a dutiful wife she doesn't encourage him. But a message on Facebook pierces her armour. 

Would she succumb? Is it a second chance at love that she threw away? Or a senseless temptation that could destroy her marriage?

I was inspired to write this story by observing real people like professional couples who find it difficult to give time to their marriage and their spouse. A fact which creates distance and detachment between them. Being a doctor myself, I know all about being busy in work. Nowadays, couples are finding it harder and harder to find time for each other in marriage. Furthermore, for doctors, it's the patients welfare and their own livelihood tied together. Even other professionals have to face demands of their job in this competitive world. However, I strongly believe, that work, any kind of work, does not provide an excuse for ignoring your family. 

Extract : The boat wobbled as it drew to the bank. Siddharth got off and extended a supportive hand. She placed her own in it and it closed over hers. His clasp felt dry, firm. Not as warm and big as Arnav's but what it lacked in sensuality it made up in strength. Closing it tight, he pulled her with a jerk that brought her right up to him till she found herself looking into his intent dark gaze.

Last but not least, there's another angle to the story. Society can impose restrictions but when it comes to following her heart, what is right for a woman? That which is right for the mind or that which maybe wrong? When heart is involved what is right, what is wrong? How hard is it to make the distinction? 

"This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs from Yashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India."



To vote for my contest entry, please go here:http://www.indiblogger.in/getpublished/idea/519 

Why New Year resolutions fail

“The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.” 

― Samuel Johnson

New Year Resolutions!Oh those (dirty) words again!  By now most of us have had enough of of them. In the spirit of the beginning of the year and when it was safe to just 'make' them, they looked quite easy. But once they're on the way to becoming an uncomfortable reality, it's safer to have them slide out of your life. Why? Why can't we stick to those despite our (former) best intentions?

I've heard it said, it takes 21 days to form a habit. Sounds simple, doesn't it? So all you have to do is keep at a undesirable routine for 21 days and there! It becomes an ingrained part of your life. Or does it?

I believe the first thing to do is ask yourself. Do these resolutions feed into my long term goals? Those of staying healthy. Staying fulfilled. Staying productive. If it does, why am I not giving my best shot at it?

Here are three most common reasons why resolutions fail. All you have to do is avoid them.

1)Inadequate preparation: Are you prepared for it?  Mostly, we fail to make place for the resolutions in our life. Space. Time. Preparation. All are needed. If it is dieting, have you stocked your fridge beforehand? Have you handy crunchy carrots to tide over the munching impulses? Have you set aside  more food preparation time for healthy snacks and soups?

If, like me, your aim was to get more writing done, have you created space in your day? This  might involve something as routine changing as a later bedtime for you (and earlier one for kids if you have them.) Some free minutes around lunch time, tearing yourself away from your gossip hour at work. A "don't disturb me time" few hours at weekend. Shedding tears over missing your favourite sitcom or serial. Also beware of your surfing time. That's where most free time drains. Says one who knows :(

2) Failure to view repercussions :  It was ok to have that workout for a week, but now it starts to feel punishing so you stop pushing yourself. This 7th to 14th day window period is hardest to get through. Most resolutions collapse during this. My previous routine was better, you think. This is the time to ask yourself : why did you have this resolution? Review if your productivity has increased after the new routine? Do you feel better for taking the time for exercise? Moreover, remember it's part of the plan feeding into your long-term goal of staying healthy. Instead of a year more, think two more weeks to get through. It will actually become easier because it will become a habit after that. You'll thank yourself and be proud to say, yeah! I did it! 

But do remember to ease up if what you've set is actually hard to keep up or if you find you are ignoring other important tasks. You can't take 5 km morning walk and then if your body isn't accustomed to it, be sleepy at work. Slow down and build it up again.

3) Failure to be accountable : Have someone crack the whip and make you do it. Mom, spouse, friend, anyone around to keep a check. Give your expected word count for the week to your writing group and have them nag. Get them to do it and be honest in reporting your progress.

So to sum up, prepare adequately, review and rev up, and lastly have someone to supervise. Sound simple? It is! Just think I HAVE to do this. 

Hope you have success!

Do let me know if you found this useful.

I'd also like to know. What kind of resolution are you struggling with this year or did you struggle with last year? How do/did you aim to fix it this time around?

Happy good-habits-forming weeks!

What 2012 brought

At the year end, I'm duly taking a retrospective look at the gone by.

Like probably all of you, 2012 has been thick and thin for me too, treacly at times, custard-smooth at others.  

Now it's  near its end - where did the time go? Maybe that feeling is better than having time sit on your hands :)

It brought me a lot of things that I'm thankful for. New friends, surprisingly people I haven't yet met in person, only online, and some of them with whom friendship quickly grew till they entered firm friends list. And like firm footing, my writing group friends, still there to share things with. And (psst) vent your frustration at when you need it :)

Growing closer with my husband, yes, that may sound strange after sixteen years of marriage but is true, along with long morning walks we definitely found new things to learn about each other and appreciate.

Watching kids grow. Every mom and dad rushes through this. But on occasion you sit back and reflect and you get a warm mellow glow.

Then regarding my own personal growth. Learnt to listen (slightly) more. I learnt to take criticism better. At times even admitted my weak spot instead of flying off the handle when anybody pointed out what I had done amiss. But only at times, mind you ;) I'm not wearing a halo yet. (Don't want to be all goodness and sparkles.)

Writingwise, my major leap was winning Mills and Boon Passions III contest. And getting a chance to work with a - whoops - editor! Made my writing make inroads and go into depths I should never have dreamed of otherwise. Take it from me, an ed can really put their finger on what thing in the story niggled you but you didn't know what to do about it or shirked from taking that blind bjt spectacular jump. I learnt to strengthen my characters. Not hang onto scenes which didn't work for the characters however emotionally attached I was to them (the scenes, not characters) :(
*sigh* Still not satisfied with my writing and most of the time feel like throwing it all away or hiding under the blankets BUT for my writing friends' support. Plus my ed is so kind and encouraging enough about the parts that do work that it gives me enough turbo power to go on.

And yes the most important lesson I learnt this year. The lesson of last year's mistakes, now reinforced that family comes first or even writing doesn't give me satisfaction. Last few days, I took time off for my visiting relatives and played with my five-year-old nieces and their smiles and chuckles will stay with me, warming me. Especially, when writing is frustrating and you feel like throwing wip at the wall, you know you did some good. Gave people joy like bro-in-law and his wife relishing the stuffed paranthas I made. So if you're doing something right, maybe you can make this work too.

So like me if you suffer from bad writing days or bad days in general, my advice is to remember and reflect on things you've done well and decide you can tackle this too, the problem you have in hand. 
Most of all, take a minute to dwell on past lessons and learn from those mistakes. But never beat yourself up about them, however tempted you are to.

So with this wish you a very Happy New Year. And hope it won't bring bad days at all for any of you!

Yayyy.....and Merry Christmas

Yayy! We're all still here and very glad to be! Having survived the apocalypse (warning), we, I mean all of us, are looking forward to Christmas and spending holidays with family.
All this doomsday prediction stuff made me think of the times such warning have occurred in the past. I was a kid of maybe seven years, when I had first brush with this sort of mortality warning looming overhead, that was Skylab crashing to earth, the debris of which, thankfully went mostly into the Indian Ocean. Later came nuclear threats. Then these predictions began to become popular. The Nostradamus forecasts for the end of the world, and most recently this Mayan Prophecy. I don't deny I do get murky thoughts when I hear them and when children hear of these predictions...well, I do think nowadays they are suave enough not to take them to heart but somewhere they do stick, don't they? My son did show me a YouTube video of the meteor crashing into and burning the Earth and I had to look up and show him the NASA website where they absolutely denied its threat. Suffice to say, can do without kids feeling insecure because of all the widespread propaganda. Had to reassure him with a lot of counter-arguments and hugs.
Anyway, holiday season is here and time to dwell on these things is...well, can't find it! School break has begun, brother-in-law is coming over today with his family, so kids are pretty excited to meet their cousins. Thankfully whatever fears plagued us are done away and we are free to celebrate.
So I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Have fun in the holidays and even after the hols, infuse every day of your life with fun. I say we can permit ourselves, out of the sheer relief of having survived so many dire prophecies! Am sure you'll agree :)

Next Big Thing - Guest post with Jennifer Faye

Hi folks, today I’m hosting Jennifer Faye, a soon-to-be-published Mills and Boon writer. Jennifer writes for the Cherish line and she’s here to talk about her story via Next Big Thing which is a round of ten questions where writers talk about their wip. If you missed mine you can read about it in my October blogs.

Please welcome Jennifer and let’s learn more about her book.

Here she is :)

 Hi everyone. I’m thrilled to be here.

Ruchita, thank you so much for inviting me to stop by your blog.  And I must say that I loved your “Next Big Thing” Q&A. I can’t wait to read the rest of your story. Thank you again for tagging me.

A little about myself. I am Harlequin Mills & Boon’s newest Romance/Cherish author. I’ve had a passion for writing all of my life. When I got “The Call” last month, it was literally a dream come true. I like to write emotionally stirring romances that will bring a tear to your eye and a smile to your heart with each happily-ever-after.

If you want to read more about me, you can check out my website: www.jenniferfaye.com (soon to be updated)

****

 The following answers pertain to my first sale to Harlequin Romance / M&B Cherish. Squee!!!

 Q. What is the working title of your next book?

 Rancher to the Rescue”

Available July 2013 U.S./U.K.

 Q. From where did the idea come?

 The story was something I developed this summer for the Harlequin Romance Fast Track. It was a wonderful story to write with lots of emotional twists and turns to keep me riveted to my computer.

Q. Under which genre does your book fall?

 I write for Harlequin Romance / Mills & Boon Cherish. I love the emotional depths you are able to explore within the line—from smiles and laughs to the occasional damp eye. Talk about an emotional rollercoaster with a happily-ever-after :)

Q: Which actors would you choose to play the part of your characters for a movie?

 I’d picture Isla Fisher as my heroine Meghan. And Adam Rodriguez from 'CSI Miami' would be just right as her rancher.

 Q. What is a one sentence synopsis of your book?

 When a big, splashy wedding goes awry, the runaway bride is aided by a reluctant rancher, but their adventure has only just begun and as their complications mount, they’ll find out that their future plans are about to be revised in ways neither of them could have ever predicted.

Q. Will you self-publish or be represented by an agent?

 This book will be traditionally published via Harlequin Mills & Boon.

Q. How long did it take to write the first draft?

 Honestly, not long at all. At the time I was working one-on-one with my now-editor and I had deadlines to meet. I've always worked best under pressure. :) If you’d like to see how it unfolded. You can read about “The Call” here:

 http://community.harlequin.com/showthread.php/757-NEW-SALE!-Jennifer-Faye-SOLD-to-HARLEQUIN-ROMANCE-MILLS-amp-BOON-CHERISH!!!/page2

Q: With which books within your genre would your story compare?

 Oh my, I honestly don’t know. I’m really hoping that it is different and that’s the reason my editor and Harlequin Mills & Boon has brought me onboard.

Q: Who or what inspired you to write this book?

 Boy, these questions don’t get easier, do they? :)

 The inspiration behind this book had absolutely nothing to do with my characters. I was currently working with a fabulous editor at Harlequin Mills & Boon and I wanted to keep working with her. So I had to come up with a great story, something that would make her sit up and take notice. So she inspired me to write a fresh story with a unique twist.

Q: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

 Although the story is set in the American Southwest, it has a contemporary feel with a celebrity cook, who likes to turn up the heat in the kitchen. Things definitely never get boring for these two.

Ruchita, thank you so much for inviting me to your blog. I've really enjoyed my visit.

Thank you, Jennifer. Oooh a runaway bride, a celebrity 

cook. Sounds intriguing! I'm longing to read it already. 

Hope you all enjoyed Jennifer’s visit. July will be here soon and you can read this exciting story of runaway bride and her rescuing rancher for yourself. Love to hear from you, so don’t forget to leave a comment :)