The Legend of Arianna

Good day to you once again!

Those of you who follow me on social media might have seen this picture posted on my accounts. What is The Legend of Arianna all about? Where would you be able to read it? Why did I start writing this novel?

First of all, before answering your questions, I would like to mention that the picture credits for the portrait of the model go to Anthony Joseph Photography. The photograph was sourced from Pinterest, which my friend Sunil Joshua then helped edit.

Okay, so now we get down to business.

What is The Legend of Arianna?

The Legend of Arianna is a Wattpad novel which I am in the process of writing. It can be found here. The plot of the novel follows a young princess as she journeys across countries in order to escape a false charge laid on her, and discover the true perpetrator of the crime, while finding friends along the way - only to realize that there is a lot more at stake that she had initially imagined. Sounds a lot like other plots you've read before?

Not really. The Legend of Arianna is different in its approach to writing - instead of having either a character-driven story or a solely plot driven one, the novel synthesizes both approached to give you a blended, more realistic narrative.

There's plenty of foreshadowing, and going back-and-forth, perfect for those readers who like to keep guessing, and re-reading to find clues in previous chapters.

It also explores questions of sexual orientation, race and power politics, if the deeper side of fantasy fiction interests you. At the same time, for readers who aren't too interested in the nitty-gritty details of a new world, there's plenty of action, plot-twists, mystery and romance, to keep up their interest. Something for everyone!

For those who are willing to wait, I plan to publish it as a paperback sometime in the near-future. At that time, I shall update you on the details of where to find it, and the available formats. Those who don't mind reading a manuscript in its first draft, please go ahead and click on this link! This is my author page in Wattpad, where you can also find my other works in progress. Feel free to leave a star/comment (or both) on the chapters you like!


Why did I start writing The Legend of Arianna?

Initially, I never meant for Arianna to be such a fully-fleshed out work. It all began back in 2014, when I had a vague idea for a novel, where a princess runs away from home to be a gypsy. Slowly, the idea began to take shape. Each time I thought about it, there was more to it. Finally, when I wrote out the plot, it seemed to be to fantastic to be put down on paper. I started writing it many times, but it never made sense. I abandoned it in a file labelled as 'Writing' which sat untouched on my laptop for years.

Eventually, I had more and more ideas for stories. I never could seem to sit down and write beyond the first few pages of anything. I used to write half a chapter at most, before abandoning it for the next one. It was only when I found out about Wattpad that this changed.

Wattpad is a platform that allows you to publish stories online, chapter by chapter. I did not want to start with the story that was in my head at that time. I had no idea how to write a full length novel, so I chose to go with Arianna as a practice story. I started writing The Legend of Arianna in order to learn how to write - in order to prove to myself that I could give myself a commitment and keep it.

For this, I've been keeping a track of every little milestone - 10 chapters, 10,000 words, the completion of the first quarter, 25,000 words, and so on ... It has been a really rewarding journey. In the process of writing, I discovered a lot of things about myself - and also what I really want in life.

This has been a process of creating, learning and growing, and I would not change one bit of it. I have learned how to give up, and then go back and undo whatever it was that made me feel like giving up. I learned how not to sink in the face of negative judgement. Most of all, I learned how to believe in myself as an artist, and trust my creative process.

It has been an amazing journey, and I am really glad that I decided to take up writing.

That is all for today, and I shall see you soon!

The Wolf in the Mountains

In the last post, I said that I would be talking a bit about my works. This is my first published book of poetry, and therefore very close to my heart. I created every bit of it, right from the picture of the wolf on the cover, to the poems inside. Therefore, I have the right to say that this book is my baby - my eldest child.

The questions you may probably be wanting to ask are - what is a haiku, and why write haiku?

Haiku are 17-syllable poems, written in three lines, with a syllable count of 5-7-5. Of course, the English Haiku is very different from its Japanese cousin, due to the cultural and linguistic differences between the languages. All we've done is retain the structure of the Haiku, and altered the content to create something that has elements of both what is modern and traditional.

Why write Haiku? The Haiku is a complex form, and not very easy to master - since one has to get the syllable count right to begin with, and after that comes the expression of the idea, or creation of a word-picture. It is much easier to do this in a poem that has less restriction on size and form, which gives more space to develop an idea. This challenge itself is what makes a Haiku interesting to write. One cannot waste words. Ideas and images have to be condensed to form something that is whole. Once you get the hang writing Haiku, the simplicity, the beauty of the form hooks you in, and other forms of poetry seem superfluous, with their extraneous words - compared with the compactness of the Haiku.

If my words don't convince you of the beauty of the Haiku, perhaps my poetry will. Here's where you can find copies of my book - The Wolf in the Mountains.

1. Kindle - (India) : https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07QQ53C49
    Kindle (USA) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QQ53C49
    Kindle (UK) - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07QQ53C49

2. Paperback (USA) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1095113003
    Paperback (UK) - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1095113003

(Kindly note, Paperbacks are not available in Amazon.in. They will have to be sourced from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk).

You can also check out my website - https://dragondreams-official-92.webself.net/home

Or email me on sangnat.author@gmail.com

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Cheers :D

It's been a long time since I've updated this blog. In more ways than one, I've neglected my writing. At this point in life, however, I think it's time to come go back to that beautiful habit - write when happy, write when sad. This is not a revisitation of the past, but an envisaging of the possibilities of the future.

In the following blogs, I have no idea what I will be talking about. I do not promise anything. This will be a free space of exploration, where various things will be discussed. I would like to talk about things close to my heart - about books and poetry, about relationships, about the scary unknown that lies ahead, and of course - about the Craft (could be interpreted as either witchcraft, or writing). You would not be wrong either way.

I think, in the next couple of posts, I would like to begin by telling you about my poetry collections, my experience with the haiku, and of course, how I started writing. After that, I'd like to have your inputs on what you'd like me to talk about.

You can email me on sangnat.author@gmail.com, where I'd love to hear your comments. I will keep you updated about my writing journey, and upcoming projects.

So, stay tuned for the next update :D