Thursday, June 28, 2012

Fine Advise by Prof. Shiv K. Kumar

I met Prof. Shiv K. Kumar, famous poet and writer of 33 works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry and Padmashri awardee, and he gave me two pointers to good writing.

The beginning must be absolutely powerful and drag the reader into the story immediately. In the first two pages you must have the reader and editor hooked, he said. You must put in much thought and effort to get the perfect beginning.

When I told him my next book was about discomfort, he was animated. He told me to keep the discomfort, the discomfiture, the questions going on within me, because he said good writing comes from that.

I have written a book on the Buddha he said, and have just completed one on his meetings with celebrities that included some of the greatest figures in English literature. Some really interesting tales there, a couple of which he narrated to me. I cannot believe the energy, the zest for life, the desire to work and finish more writing in a hurry, the 93 year old veteran has. He is fully focused on his work. Like the Dev Anand's of the world, Prof. Shiv K. Kumar, is yet another of those amazing personalities who are defined by their love for what they do. Nothing sets them back. A huge source of inspiration.

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