sidhartha satpathy - author of maya
Sidhartha Satpathy (Sid) is a management graduate and a Human Resource professional. With roots in Odisha, he has stayed in Chennai for close to two decades. He truly believes that the country is more mysterious and welcoming than anyone can imagine. His fascination for travelling has led him to explore and meet new people.
He sees that people may speak different languages, but are connected through their heart. During these travels, Sid heard many stories of life’s struggle and joy. In all, there is Maya or illusions that seem to get created. There is also a sense of hope in their struggles that keep them going on and on in their lives. It is this beautiful hope and the drama of Maya that inspired Sid to pen down the stories weaved with a bit of his imagination.
His book "Maya" was published by The Notion Press Publishers. I met Sid at The Chennai Book Fair and I am so glad that I bumped into him. Read the interview to know about his thoughts on writing and his book.
He sees that people may speak different languages, but are connected through their heart. During these travels, Sid heard many stories of life’s struggle and joy. In all, there is Maya or illusions that seem to get created. There is also a sense of hope in their struggles that keep them going on and on in their lives. It is this beautiful hope and the drama of Maya that inspired Sid to pen down the stories weaved with a bit of his imagination.
His book "Maya" was published by The Notion Press Publishers. I met Sid at The Chennai Book Fair and I am so glad that I bumped into him. Read the interview to know about his thoughts on writing and his book.
The Interview
1) How did you start working on your book?
I have always loved writing. I used to write blogs about my travel and self. This thought of penning it down on paper came up somewhere in January of last year and I started to write my stories. I had written a couple of them few months back and I started to refine them along with starting my work on new stories.
2) Where and how did you get your ideas?
I strongly believe that stories are everywhere. We as humans are good at creating them and sharing them freely with everybody. One of biggest interests is to travel this country and explore it from my own perspective. Anytime that I have had been to a place that is new, I will spend time, talk to the local people there, eat the local food (As much feasible). And during these interactions, I got to hear the stories. Stories of their struggle, their happiness, their journey, their love and many more. These were my trigger points as they connected with me in some way or the other and it was beautiful to hear them. So, the thought was, why not to pen them down? Why not to share it with the larger world?
3) How do you improve the dialogues and plot pacing in your stories?
I suppose that is a constant process. Most of the writers are creative and while going through the creative process, one keeps thinking about the plot and the way the scenes are developed. I have read and then re-read and then re-read my stories many a times to ensure that I got the dialogue and plot, until I was happy that I have got what I had imagined it to be as. I suppose, that is the only way to get them right.
4) Do you get writer's block? If yes, then how do you handle it?
Yes, I do get that and that is a tough phase, especially when you know that you are looking forward to churn the book out and heading for a self-imposed deadline. It is quite a frustrating phase. Over a period of time, I have come up with a few ideas that have helped me to some extent. I love to do photography, so I go outdoors and then come back do post production work. There are times when that has helped me in bringing a different perspective. Chennai being on the coast line, the sea becomes a great resounding and rejuvenating board. I also tend to read some fiction which helps me in bringing my thoughts back to the book and the plot that I am working on.
5) Is it advisable for aspiring writers to study creative writing? Will it make them a better writer?
Well, that is a tough one to answer as I have never done that. I am not sure if that could or not make one a better writer. Rather what I would suggest is to have a small notebook next to you or in your pocket where you could keep jotting down your experiences. I have had loads of such experiences that I capture. And when I read on those and reflect on what I had written down, my creative ideas flow and I am able to bring in some sequences. A new story evolves, an old story gets a different perspective. It is all about how and what emotion one is looking at that.
6) What do you feel is the most exciting part being an indie writer? And is it okay to choose self publishing?
There are two different questions that you have put across. Let me look at answering them one after the other. There is a great rise in the Indie writer platform. With Indian economy rising, the opportunities have also grown up and thereby the rise in the stories in multiple genres that are getting expressed. The experimentation is high among Indie writers and that is a great challenge. While the above is happening, a Self-publishing platform becomes an exciting way of putting across one’s creative ideas to the world. No more is an individual is restricted by publishing houses choices. It is a self-sustaining world and your creative thoughts should not be limited thus making Self-publishing a great choice.
7) Name the book you wish you had written. Why?
Frankly there are many a books that I wish I could have written. The Indian authors in the current league connect with the chord of what is happening around us and the beauty that is woven well. I in particular like the works of Ashvin Sanghvi, Amish, or as classic as RK Narayan. Their writing is simple and weaves the story beautifully for me.
8) How do you manage your work life and writing?
That is actually a tough ask and it really took me time to put down the stories. While writing I did realize that, thinking about the story plot and putting that on paper are two different things. They do take a lot of effort and time. Fortunately for me, I used to travel on business a lot and that was my story time. I used to carry my notebook so that I could keep putting down my script or dialogues apart from working on the story. Weekends are usually packed and had to make time to ensure that I am the self made timeline. Otherwise, it would become a difficult task to accomplish.
9) Can you walk us through your experience when working with the ”Notion Press"?
I would say they are a professional bunch of folks, the speed at which they respond and had helped me with the services are really brilliant. They had kept a very transparent channel and that worked well. Being a self-publishing platform, off-course it has to be the writer’s priority in getting the best out of them. I wish the post publishing support could be made better. That is the only area I miss.
The only advice would be to keep writing!! Whenever one gets time or an idea ensure that your scribe note is there and just put it down. It does not matter how people respond, it is your creative piece of work and just go for it. Also, with self-publishing support now available then there is no stopping on the ways to express. Be at it and see your creative thoughts published to the whole world.
I have always loved writing. I used to write blogs about my travel and self. This thought of penning it down on paper came up somewhere in January of last year and I started to write my stories. I had written a couple of them few months back and I started to refine them along with starting my work on new stories.
2) Where and how did you get your ideas?
I strongly believe that stories are everywhere. We as humans are good at creating them and sharing them freely with everybody. One of biggest interests is to travel this country and explore it from my own perspective. Anytime that I have had been to a place that is new, I will spend time, talk to the local people there, eat the local food (As much feasible). And during these interactions, I got to hear the stories. Stories of their struggle, their happiness, their journey, their love and many more. These were my trigger points as they connected with me in some way or the other and it was beautiful to hear them. So, the thought was, why not to pen them down? Why not to share it with the larger world?
3) How do you improve the dialogues and plot pacing in your stories?
I suppose that is a constant process. Most of the writers are creative and while going through the creative process, one keeps thinking about the plot and the way the scenes are developed. I have read and then re-read and then re-read my stories many a times to ensure that I got the dialogue and plot, until I was happy that I have got what I had imagined it to be as. I suppose, that is the only way to get them right.
4) Do you get writer's block? If yes, then how do you handle it?
Yes, I do get that and that is a tough phase, especially when you know that you are looking forward to churn the book out and heading for a self-imposed deadline. It is quite a frustrating phase. Over a period of time, I have come up with a few ideas that have helped me to some extent. I love to do photography, so I go outdoors and then come back do post production work. There are times when that has helped me in bringing a different perspective. Chennai being on the coast line, the sea becomes a great resounding and rejuvenating board. I also tend to read some fiction which helps me in bringing my thoughts back to the book and the plot that I am working on.
5) Is it advisable for aspiring writers to study creative writing? Will it make them a better writer?
Well, that is a tough one to answer as I have never done that. I am not sure if that could or not make one a better writer. Rather what I would suggest is to have a small notebook next to you or in your pocket where you could keep jotting down your experiences. I have had loads of such experiences that I capture. And when I read on those and reflect on what I had written down, my creative ideas flow and I am able to bring in some sequences. A new story evolves, an old story gets a different perspective. It is all about how and what emotion one is looking at that.
6) What do you feel is the most exciting part being an indie writer? And is it okay to choose self publishing?
There are two different questions that you have put across. Let me look at answering them one after the other. There is a great rise in the Indie writer platform. With Indian economy rising, the opportunities have also grown up and thereby the rise in the stories in multiple genres that are getting expressed. The experimentation is high among Indie writers and that is a great challenge. While the above is happening, a Self-publishing platform becomes an exciting way of putting across one’s creative ideas to the world. No more is an individual is restricted by publishing houses choices. It is a self-sustaining world and your creative thoughts should not be limited thus making Self-publishing a great choice.
7) Name the book you wish you had written. Why?
Frankly there are many a books that I wish I could have written. The Indian authors in the current league connect with the chord of what is happening around us and the beauty that is woven well. I in particular like the works of Ashvin Sanghvi, Amish, or as classic as RK Narayan. Their writing is simple and weaves the story beautifully for me.
8) How do you manage your work life and writing?
That is actually a tough ask and it really took me time to put down the stories. While writing I did realize that, thinking about the story plot and putting that on paper are two different things. They do take a lot of effort and time. Fortunately for me, I used to travel on business a lot and that was my story time. I used to carry my notebook so that I could keep putting down my script or dialogues apart from working on the story. Weekends are usually packed and had to make time to ensure that I am the self made timeline. Otherwise, it would become a difficult task to accomplish.
9) Can you walk us through your experience when working with the ”Notion Press"?
I would say they are a professional bunch of folks, the speed at which they respond and had helped me with the services are really brilliant. They had kept a very transparent channel and that worked well. Being a self-publishing platform, off-course it has to be the writer’s priority in getting the best out of them. I wish the post publishing support could be made better. That is the only area I miss.
The only advice would be to keep writing!! Whenever one gets time or an idea ensure that your scribe note is there and just put it down. It does not matter how people respond, it is your creative piece of work and just go for it. Also, with self-publishing support now available then there is no stopping on the ways to express. Be at it and see your creative thoughts published to the whole world.
Connect with Sid & visit his website!