Write instead of thinking about writing: Ashwin Sanghi

For writer Ashwin Sanghi, there is no writer's block that a peg of whiskey cannot cure, but for the young minds which may face an inability to write every now and then, he said, the trick was to "keep on writing instead of thinking about writing".

Speaking at a session titled "The Karma of Writing" here on the opening day of the 8th edition of Mountain Echoes Literary Festival, Sanghi said that the golden rule to writing was to "just write" -- not necessarily a book.

"It could be a short story, or a blog."

Being tremendously persistent was the key, he said, as many people "have graduated from being blogger to writers".
 

With bestsellers like 'The Rozabal Line', 'The Krishna Key' and 'Chanakya Chant' to his credit, Sanghi recalled how his debut book was rejected 47 times, before he turned to self-publishing.

"Apart from being persistent, the other thing is to be thick skinned, to be able to take rejection."

"Don't get too affected by what people say, you can't please everyone. Many young writers get worked up because of the negative reviews they get," he said.

Following a schedule of waking up at 5am and writing for next four hours, Sanghi says his life revolves around a certain set of "Ws", which help him write as well as manage his life around it.

"My life revolves around a certain set of Ws -- Writing, Work, where I go to mark my attendance, then my Wife who keeps my feet on ground and punctures the balloon whenever necessary and then there is Whiskey, which basically makes the writing happen," he said.

From being "a businessman who tried to be an author" to becoming "an author who is trying to be a businessman", the 'Sialkot Saga' author cautioned young authors from resigning from their jobs that pay the bills.

"In case you do decide to become a writer, don't lose your day job because it will be many years before your royalty checks start coming in. And the last thing, assuming you have made it, retain your humility. Keep your feet on the ground. Because there is a long long way to go," the author said.