Word counts that work

This week I’m going to talk about word counts and what they could mean to you as a reader and as a writer.

What word count can mean to a reader:
How long is this story? Do I really want to read such a short/long story? Some like it long – they feel cheated by shorts and novellas; others want to get through a book in one night, or on the train ride home, so they shudder at epic word counts.

For authors, though, word counts can mean two things:

Surrender

Surrender – a short verse on love

Semicolons, Em-dashes, and Ellipses

This week I’m going to talk about some interesting punctuation marks that you should certainly try in your writing.

First, I’m going to define what a clause is, because we’ll be talking about it a lot in the following section.

A clause is a group of words – it forms part of a sentence AND contains a subject and a verb.

For example: Tanay stepped into the en-suite bathroom and began to look for a shaving kit.

Point of View in story-telling

When it refers to real life, a Point of View is the “position from which something is viewed”. In story-telling, it translates into “who is telling the story?”Whose viewpoint is it? How much of it is biased because it is only one point of view? How much can a reader believe if it is coming from one ‘position’ only?Let me try and answer these questions.

Midpoints that impel the story onwards

This week I’m going to talk about how to write a midpoint that keeps the reader turning the pages.As the word suggests, the midpoint of a story comes right at the center of it.How should it be written?Why should we care?Regardless of what genre we write, the first quarter of the story is invariably where the characters are introduced to the reader and where the events that complicate the main characters’ lives take place.This part is the set-up to the second quarter of the story which highlights how the characters react to the life-altering events (job offer, job loss, tragedy, natural disaster, unexpected inheritance) that beset them.Their reactions drive the story forward – if they don’t react, there will be no story.

Writing Love Scenes

When there’s a romance brewing between two characters in a story, even in genres other than romantic fiction, readers will want the characters to, at the very least, kiss.

When I’m reading, I know that I always want that to happen – and I feel let down when a story with a promising slow-sizzle ends without a physically sensual moment. I’m sure the protagonists feel cheated too.

When Mita meets Tanay: featured by Ruchi Singh

Excerpt: Tanay and Mita’s first meeting

Mita took an appreciative sip of the wine and looked up, over the rim of her goblet, straight into a pair of sardonic eyes. The eyes, in a dark, bearded face, stared her down from across the room, one eyebrow arched in amusement; or was it disdain?
Irked for some reason, she raised her own eyebrow at him, although she was more in the mood to frown and turn away. The stranger held up a glass of amber liquid in a toast, and something in his expression wasn’t very polite. He made no move towards her and that in itself was rude, almost insolent.
Mita’s chin went up and it was unfortunate that she had a generous quantity of

When two worlds collide – featured on Saiswaroopa’s blog

Ever wondered what would happen if two characters from your two favourite books meet? I do that all the time. Reet Singh, has gone a yard ahead and has written this lively conversation between two of her protagonists – Mita from ‘Take One Fake Fiancé’ meets Mohini from ‘No Escape from Love’.

Meet Mita from “Take One Fake Fiancé”: featured by Devika Fernando

Introducing Mita – the spirited female lead in Reet Singh’s “Take One Fake Fiancé”

‘I won’t do it, Mama.’ Mita glared at her mother through eyes as black as thunder clouds. ‘You’ll have to be the one to tell Uncle Raja. I refuse to speak to your interfering brother.’
She fled the room before her mother could get a word in, and left behind a faint bouquet of jasmine, a strong whiff of displeasure, and a distraught mother. The front door banged loudly, its old timber creaking in protest at such ill-treatment and Radhika sank into the nearest chair.
Would her only child shun marriage forever? It wasn’t fair to blame Mita’s father, Deepak, but if he

Meet Tanay from ‘Take One Fake Fiancé’ – featured by Paromita Goswami

Introducing Tanay – the irresistible hero of ‘Take One Fake Fiancé’

If the car was any indication, detectives must make a lot of money. Mita couldn’t help but admire the comfortable and tasteful interior, but then Tanay changed a gear, his hand brushing her thigh, and she got distracted by the man – by his sheer physical presence.

He looked quite the demigod – the casual outfit showed off tanned skin, and the tight t-shirt highlighted well-toned muscles. Damp, ebony black hair curled about his ears – locks of it falling over a prominent brow made him look boyish and affable; however, an aquiline nose, the thick arching brows, and a firm, square, bearded jaw all totaled up to dangerous.