Read on to find out what talented author (and member of Karadi Tales' editorial team) has to say about her writing process!
Have
you always been interested in poetry?
Yes, I have, but I had never tried writing
poems or rhymes before Shobha (Viswanath, Publisher – Karadi Tales) asked me to
give it a try.
My undergraduate degree was in English
Literature and Poetry was my favourite subject. Deconstructing poems is so
fascinating to me. I was a big fan of Robert Browning’s poems – I got hooked on
to them after studying My Last Duchess
when I was in 10th grade. I have a couple of other stories in mind
and I can’t imagine writing them in anything other than verse now - I think
anything sounds better in verse!
Why
animals, why movements – how did this story come about?
Shobha showed me some completed
illustrations of animals done beautifully in Indian folk-art style. Anusha Sundar,
an intern at Karadi Tales at the time, had drawn them and put them together. Shobha
asked me to try and think of some text to go along with it – it could be a
story or just a child observing various animals. She gave me complete freedom
to decide how I wanted to write it – the only thing was it had to be about
animal movements and include a verb for each animal. For instance, ‘bound’ for
deer, and ‘slither’ for snake. I decided to have a child fascinated by animals
narrate how much she wished she could move like them. I for one am definitely
reminded of our human limitations every time I think of how fast a cheetah can
run or how high a bird can fly. So I guess that is reflected in the book.
What
are some other books that are cooking in your mind?
I want to write a book about a child who keeps getting
lost in daydreams (because this is a problem I’ve had my entire life!) She
daydreams about living underwater with whales during biology class and being
able to make herself invisible and create mischief while she is at a boring
party. I think her extremely wild imagination might make for some nice
illustrations too.
Any
advice for aspiring children’s book authors?
As this is my first book, I don’t know if I’m
experienced enough to give advice! But going by my childhood experience of
reading and loving books (and my limited experience working in a children’s
publishing house) I’d say don’t dumb down the text for children. And if there
are a couple of words they don’t understand, that’s alright, it can be used as an
opportunity to learn the word. A three-year-old child might not know what
‘tranquil’ means but they might understand what it means based on the context.
Also, take constructive advice when it is given to you
by someone with experience in children’s publishing and be willing to modify
your story a bit!
The book "Something's Moving" can be purchased through this link:
https://www.karaditales.com/catalogue/picture-books/somethings-moving/
