What I will start this post with could very well scandalize some of you. There are some so called masterpieces in literature which have left me stone cold. May be the choice of the book at that age was all wrong. Whatever be the reason, for example, when I was in my late teens, I really struggled through Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” which is considered a historic epic. I don’t think I completed it either, even after several false starts. Call it bias or what you will, but I am not inclined to give it another shot more than 40 odd years later.
Author: Prem Rao
Author, Blogger, Book Reviewer, Coach, and Podcaster
In the process of consolidating material about my books in this one place, I thought I would share a video of the launch of my debut novel in November 2010. It was one of the happiest days of my life. “It Can’t Be You” was launched at Crossword, Bangalore by my old friend, Subroto Bagchi. I must thank my young friend, Sudeep Nayak for having taken the trouble to create this video.
Man, it was a struggle. At times I did feel I was attempting something beyond my capabilities but I did it! I made my very first book trailer video. So here we go. Presenting to you, ladies and gentlemen, “Lucky For Some, 13.” Here it is on YouTube. “Lucky For Some, 13” my second thriller is in the process of being published by Mahaveer Publishers. I am proud to add that this book comes out of my successful completion of NaNoWriMo in November 2010.
Continue reading “Book Trailer Video for “Lucky For Some, 13.””
““The way to write a thriller is to ask a question at the beginning, and answer it at the end.” This quote is attributed to the well-known writer of thrillers Lee Child, in this article in Writers Digest. Continue reading “My 5 Rules for Writing Thrillers”
My aim is to consolidate as much as I can about my books, published and to be published, in one place. Many readers, especially the newer ones may not have seen the reviews for my debut novel “It Can’t Be You”, a psychological thriller. I am putting together some links for your convenience. You can read the reviews at leisure.
An author feels thrilled to see reviews of his/her book. They give you insight of what other people have thought of your work. I have found the reviews very useful because they also point towards areas where you need to do better. You get a fair idea of the success of a book when more people review it. Continue reading “Reviews of “It Can’t Be You””
Are you more comfortable writing in the first person? Do you use the more conventional third person? I deliberately chose to use the first person narrative in my debut novel, “It Cant Be You”. In this psychological thriller, the head of the family is found dead at the very start of the story. His wife, son and daughter do not know whether he was killed or he killed himself.
“Only Men Please” is an anthology of 35 short stories written by 35 writers, and they are all men. The anthology is edited by Meenakshi Varma and published by Unisun Publications.
One of the requirements of being an author is the ability to condense the entire book you have written/or are writing to a few key lines. This is an important element in your repertoire of writing skills. How easy or difficult is it to describe the story line of a 80,000 word book in a few lines? As you know, it is widely advocated that you shouldn’t even go beyond two sentences! Continue reading “A book in two sentences.”
Suspense/Thriller Writers is a group on Facebook which I visit quite frequently. It has interesting posts and interesting people, most of them keen on making a name in this genre of writing. Pat Bertram provoked thought with a recent post, as she does from time to time so effectively.
She said we know the Big Five C’s in writing, which are:-
- Character
- Conflict
- Change
- Contrast (contrast in settings, between characters, in dialogue)
- Caring (what the character cares for, and making the reader care for the character)
We were asked to add to the list of “Cs” which make effective writing. My instinctive reaction was to add “C for Credibility”. This was top most on my mind for two reasons. The first is that I just finished a novel by a major best-selling author, who shall remain unnamed for the present. The book got off to a great start but left me disappointed at the end. I didn’t find it gripping enough. On reflection, I realized that what the protagonist was doing was totally incredible. He was superman personified and this was a huge let down for me. Have you felt the same any time?
The second reason and perhaps what strikes me even more is that as a writer myself, I am very conscious of making both my plots and my characters very credible. People should relate easily to them and feel the story is believable. If the plot or the characters are outlandish by far they will be disappointed. You want them to think of the characters as people they have known, seen or heard about.
To me, therefore, credibility is a hallmark of a good writer. To be successful, within the norms expected of the genre you write in, your plot and characters have to be credible.
