If you are a novel lover and a reader (just like me!), then Ajay K. Pandey who is a famous Indian bestselling author must not be new to you! Student’s organization TANZANITE under the Aegis of Division of Student Welfare, LPU invited the great and humble personality for a live session on 26th September 2020 at 4 PM for the Episode 6 of their TANZA TALKS.
At the starting of the session itself, he informed us about his latest book which is going to be released soon in the month of November, and that this lockdown has really helped him to focus on his writing by having his next to next book also ready for publishing in the near future! As a generalised question, he was asked about how he establishes his characters which get imprinted on the hearts of every reader, to which his answer was by taking real-life and factual references i.e. his characters are inspired from his real life and experiences.
He was interested in reading Indian authors even before he started writing, be it Khuswant Singh, Sharat Chandra Chatterjee or Munshi Premchand; his inspiration stands strong. His family was unaware when he was writing his first book “You Are The Best Wife”, he was always supported by his family in this side career that he pursued besides IT Engineering. Yes, he is not just an author but also a Project Manager working in the Corporate Sector in Cognizant and is a Software Engineer.
When asked about how he maintains the equilibrium between his writing and professional life, he declared how difficult it was to manage time between his job and writing due to which he is only able to publish one book per year. Apart from writing, his interests range from international travelling, swimming, cycling, playing badminton to reading in his spare hours which he considers one of the first step towards becoming a writer. Being a reader is important for being a writer.
Since 2015, when he first originally published his novel “You Are The Best Wife” which instantly turned him into a bestselling author, he had four more hits-“Her Last Wish”, “You Are The Best Friend” a sequel to his first book, “A Girl To Remember” and “My Black Shirt” with a sixth one coming soon in a span of just 5 years!
He prefers to keep his book short with 250-300 pages maximum with 50,000-60,000 words to make it less bulky and light for the readers. He also confessed that he wasn’t a very brilliant student but was more arduous and hard worker than a smart worker.
Tips and tricks for becoming a good writer
- First and foremost, which he mentioned again and again was becoming a good and patient reader is extremely necessary for becoming a writer.
- He suggested reading similar subjects on which your book is based that will provide you with a deeper insight on your topic.
- Also, one important point (which even I was able to relate to!) was reading your favourite book twice because the first time when you read, you praise and admire the story and the second time, you analyse the writing, language and tone the author is conveying his/her story through!
- Ending and the climax should be strong enough to resonate in the hearts and minds of the readers which would enable them to remember your book for long!
In the end, he thanked TANZANITE for inviting him to have this lovely talk and promised that he would definitely try to visit our campus soon!
