Writing Styles Archives

Interview with Anand Neelakantan | Author

February 3, 2014 by Lavanya

Anand Neelakantan How does a busy corporate executive write a book and break into the elusive league of best-sellers?

Booksoarus caught up with acclaimed author Anand Neelakantan whose book Asura: The Tale of the Vanquished was named the Number 1 best-seller by Crossword and CNN-IBN. He was also chosen as one of the six most remarkable writers of 2012 by DNA.

As his next book Ajaya, the story of Mahabharta recounted from the point of view of Duryodhana, is gaining momentum and praise alike, Anand speaks to us about the power of perspective, his passion for mythology and his journey as a writer.

Writing in third person: Examples & tips

October 15, 2013 by Lavanya

In contrast to the writing in first person, the third person narrator is one of the most commonly used narrative modes. Here the narrator describes what is happening to the characters in the story. The characters are referred by their names or as “he” or “she” or even “they.”

Writing in first person: Tips, examples and ideas

October 10, 2013 by Lavanya

To say it simply, a narrator is somebody who recounts or tells the story. One of the most important choices about your writing style you will make as a writer is the choice of narrator. Before you begin writing you have to tackle the following questions:

Flash fiction stories: Writing tips and examples

September 4, 2013 by Lavanya

What is Flash Fiction?

Flash fiction stories To put it simply, flash fiction are stories that are extremely brief and small. They are also known as micro fiction, short shorts, post card fiction etc.

Infusing newspaper style drama into your writing

July 22, 2013 by Lavanya

Drama is derived from the Greek word drao and it means action. In order to sustain readers’ interest and to keep them constantly engaged, a writer has to keep the drama going. Fiction imitates life and society. When it comes to taking lessons on drama, our beloved media zooms into focus. Making news out a mundane activity like Sanjay Dutt weaving baskets in Yerwada jail is drama! While, we do not endorse the overt dramatization of trivialities, we look for lessons that might help.

How to show the passage of time while writing novels

July 17, 2013 by Lavanya

In two of our earlier posts we briefly spoke about the element of time in writing. While working on the plot of a story, for instance, it is important to consider when things are happening.
While writing about the setting of a novel too, we’d mentioned how it is important to demonstrate to readers when the book is set.
In this post we bring to you how you can demonstrate the passage of time effectively.

Dialogue writing tips for your novel

June 22, 2013 by Lavanya

You might move your readers with your lyrical prose and bring to life fictional cities, extra-terrestrial life, new worlds and whole landscapes, all through deft narrative description but at some point your characters have to converse. Else, admit it, it is going to be plain boring for them and most importantly for your readers. Dialogue writing is an aspect of the craft that new writers sometimes get completely wrong and bad dialogue can kill the interest in the story.

Writing styles: Are you different from the other authors?

June 6, 2013 by Lavanya

If you are a relatively new writer in English (or any other language for that matter) you might have been asked, “So, have you found your writing style?”
Have you wondered what writing styles really mean? Is style about being an expert words-smith? Is style the garb or is style the garnish? Is style the primary ingredient in the narrative dish or is style the plating?
There are no sacrosanct answers, just some exploratory ideas about what constitutes writing style.

Writing about the setting of a story

May 2, 2013 by Lavanya

The setting of a story is an important aspect that’s often missed out by many writers. It’s important to get the where right to enhance the who and the what. In this post, we cover why the setting of a story is important and how you can incorporate the basic principles in your book writing.