On the pursuit to learn to write a novel

After reading the book '30 Women in Power - Their Voices, Their Stories’, I have started reading the next book - '13 Ways of Looking at the Novel', written by a Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley. 

She impressed me with a fabulous introduction that reveals the inside-the-head feelings of a writer. I felt it analogous to my thoughts. Many times, a dry spell occurs for a writer and he/she tends to analyze what is wrong with him/her. Ms. Smiley has expressed her experience vividly in the introduction. Usually, many writers do not reveal much about the mental transitions. 

In order to cross the hurdle she faced while writing the novel 'Good Faith', she decided to read 100 novels. The outcome is this book.

By reading 100 novels, she has analyzed the compositions of a novel, novelist, etc. Typically, this book is exclusive to those who wish to become writers. As the chapters go, the texts read more like academic writings. Apparently, Ms. Smiley’s teaching experience has reflected in this. 

I have decided to go through each page by taking notes from each chapter. Hence, this book is sure to steal some major time from me.

My Smile dairy - I

I read the significance of maintaining a ‘smile dairy’ online. It is a journal, where we regularly document the moment we made someone smile on the day. I found the idea fascinating and here it goes.

Today, I met a lady from the bus stop where I get down to come to the office. She was also traveling with me in the same bus, but we met after getting down from the bus. There is a road construction happening in the place, so vehicles have to take diversions at junctions. Due to this, the buses stop at a distance from the bus stop. The overall scenario made the lady surprised and left her confused about the road. I smiled at her and asked, "If there is a problem?" Her gloomy face suddenly turned brighten and she began inquiring the roads. After the necessary talk, she proceeded to a friendly chat, inquiring about my work and other random stuff.

We soon parted away when the next divergent road arrived. I remember the smile on her face and the farewell hand-wave she gave me by saying, "Take care daughter."

‘30 Women in Power – Their Voices, Their Stories’: A True Inspiration

There is no internet at the office today. I decided to read ’30 Women in Power – Their Voices, Their Stories’, a compilation of stories of 30 women in power. The stories quickly recap the early lives of 30 women achievers and the struggles they face to achieve the present positions. Significantly, it addressed a frequently raised question of how these 30 women balance their personal and professional lives. It also answered if there is a glass-ceiling at the corporate offices, which act as a hurdle for the women to achieve high positions. The book has gone one step ahead, explaining how to cross such glass-ceiling, if it exists.

I found the book highly relevant to every woman who dreams of her career. It equally serves those women who are already achievers. Edited by Naina Lal Kidwai, Chairman of HSBC India, the book is well-articulated and designed to target career-oriented women of India. Ms. Kidwai’s business intelligence is evident on every page of the book. The book has not used heavy jargons or tried to present the vocabulary skill of the writer. Instead, it is clearly on its path to convey the much-needed inspiration for working women in India.

At the end of every chapter, the key success factors are noted separately as bullet points. Reading these bullet points reinforce the concepts in the readers' mind. Also, few sections in the chapters are highlighted, a practice I felt reflect the systematic nature of the corporate world. Not to mention, the monochromatic themes used in the book is adorable.

The people listed in the book are those who hail from the privileged class and those who currently work in corporate companies. Initially, I felt the editor should have included women who come from the underprivileged background too. There are several examples of women from not-so-privileged background managed to succeed. A woman of this sort, who stays vivid in my mind is Liz Murray. I recently watched the movie ‘Homeless to Harvard’, a biopic of Liz Murray. I suggest the movie to people who raise the argument that the wrong upbringing or the fateful events that happened in the childhood of a person is the reason for their present lack of success. I agree that the unfortunate events happened during our childhood make an impact on our behaviors. But, I believe, it's wrong to say 'those unfortunate events are the reason why I am a failure now'. Perhaps, I will get back to this topic in another post.

Moving back to '30 Women in Power – Their Voices, Their Stories', although initially I felt Ms. Kidwai could have included women from the underprivileged background in the book, I realized that the target audience of the book is different. The book speaks more about surviving successfully through their careers than about beating severe odds of livelihood. To say, there are women who tend to resign jobs after marriage and maternity leaves. Taking charge of family responsibility is a reason pointed out for the resignation. This book tells such women how to balance personal and professional lives. Elegantly, it demonstrates the success of 30 women and tells readers ‘if these 30 women could do this, you can also do it.’ I appreciate Ms. Kidwai’s precise target indication.

At this stage (I have few more stories to read in the book), I am totally in love with ’30 Women in Power – Their Voices, Their Stories’. It is the true inspiration for myself and every other girl who dream high.