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What is Your Favorite Writing Ritual?

Zafar Anjum has been an author friend ever since we both got published in a Singapore-based anthology, and today I ask him questions about his writing life, his favorite writing ritual, and the books he’s read and written.
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1. What do you love about writing? Is there anything about writing that annoys you? How do you get over it?

What I love about writing are the moments when you get into the rhythm. In those moments, one feels as if one is not writing but simply unburdening oneself.

Besides those moments, writing is a chore. You have to sit down and write. You have to get along with the sentences for as long as you can go on. I wouldn’t say this part annoys me but I take it as stoically as I can. It is part of the package, the quarrelsome part of the marriage.

I don’t have to do anything in particular to get over the bumpy part of the writing process. Sometimes I would just pick up a book, read a few paragraphs and start digging. Sometimes I would just go out for a walk, or maybe take a smoking break. That’s enough for me to get into the mood.

2. Tell us an interesting anecdote from your writing journey. Was there ever a point you wanted to give up on writing? Is there a moment you can remember when you felt you had arrived as a writer?

For someone like me, becoming a writer was an impossible dream. My father was the first graduate in his village, and nobody in my extended family had ever published anything, not even in Urdu, my mother tongue.  The town where I grew up had hardly any literary culture and I had no literary ancestors. So I claimed Kafka and Chekhov as my ancestors as well as Manto and Krishan Chander who were iconic writers in Urdu.

After my first novel which I published twelve years ago (it was a bull in a china shop kind of a debut), I gave myself ten years—to read, to educate myself, and to make a place for myself as a writer. I had told myself that if I didn’t get any proper break at the end of ten years, I will cut and run, assuming that I didn’t have the requisite fire power to become a writer. I struggled on my second novel for years until I met my literary agent nearly two years ago. That was the tenth year and that’s when things began to change.

If I had failed after ten years, I would have given myself another forty years—but that would be to write an earth-shattering book.

3. What is your favorite writing ritual? Is there a favorite beverage/ snack/ music/ quirk that gets you writing? 

Wake up before daybreak and write for about two hours. I am very happy when I am able to do that. A hot cup of tea is a great company. Cigarettes also used to play a prominent part in this ritual but I have started hating first hand smoke too.

4. What is the last book you loved reading? Why? Is there any book you felt like tossing out of the window? Why?

The last book I loved reading was One Man’s Chorus: The Uncollected Writings of Anthony Burgess. I loved it because one, I love essays and I enjoy reading people who have a sharp tongue and who don’t beat about the bush. 

I feel like tossing out more than ninety percent of the books, mostly novels, that I lay my hands on. Either I don’t care about the subject or am not able to connect with the book. Mostly, perhaps it is the voice that fails to draw me in, the cloying language, the kind of linguistic fireworks that only writers like Joyce could pull off. That’s why I think not everyone should write a book. To such writers I want to say—spare the world your bullshit—that will be a greater service to humanity.

5. If you had the chance to speak directly to your ideal readers, what would you say to them?

I would tell them—didn’t you think that you finally found a writer who writes in the tradition of Kafka, Chekhov, Carver and Hemingway and how much you were loving him.

6. Tell us about the fiction/ non-fiction books you have published, and anything you have forthcoming.

My first published novel was Of Seminal Fluids, which thankfully is not available anymore. Recently, I have published two books—a work of non-fiction, The Resurgence of Satyam: The Global IT Giant, and a collection of short stories, The Singapore Decalogue: Episodes in the Life of a Foreign Talent. Amongst my forthcoming works, I have a screenplay to polish and produce, a documentary to edit and write a companion volume to it and a crime novel to rewrite.
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Connect with Zafar: www.twitter.com/zafaranjum and  www.facebook.com/zafar.anjum
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Indian
journalist and writer Zafar Anjum
currently works as the Asia Online
Editor at Fairfax Business Media (Asia), Singapore. He has been
published in India, the US, the UK, Singapore and other countries.  His
most recent works include a work of non-fiction, The Resurgence of Satyam (Random House India, 2012), and a collection of short stories, The Singapore Decalogue: Episodes in the Life of a Foreign Talent (Red Wheelbarrow Books, Singapore, 2012). He also blogs, mentors budding writers and is editor of Kitaab.org, a literary website.
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If you’re a writer visiting this post, what is your favorite Writing Ritual ? Any interesting writing anecdotes you’d like to share?

Damyanti Biswas

Damyanti Biswas is the author of You Beneath Your Skin and numerous short stories that have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US, the UK, and Asia. She has been shortlisted for Best Small Fictions and Bath Novel Awards and is co-editor of the Forge Literary Magazine. Her literary crime thriller series, the Blue Mumbai, is represented by Lucienne Diver from The Knight Agency. Both The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon were published in 2023.

I appreciate comments, and I always visit back. If you're having trouble commenting, let me know via the contact form, or tweet me up @damyantig !

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17 Comments

  • Zafar Anjum says:

    Thanks everyone for your generous comments here. I am glad to know that you enjoyed the interview and found something meaningful here. Warm regards, Zafar

  • Jolie du Pre says:

    Only a snob would criticize 90 percent of the books out there. Other than that, I enjoyed reading this interview. I hope he stopped smoking.

    • Zafar Anjum says:

      Dear Jolie du Pre, thanks for your comments. You say that I come across as a snob in my interview because I criticize 90 percent of the books out there. I said that in the context of novels and that could be my inability to connect with contemporary fiction. I am a plain-speaking person and I did not want to lie about my feelings for contemporary fiction either to myself or to others. What I have said might be harsh but that's how I feel about the state of affairs in fiction and and my criticism includes my work too. I am not my own fan.

  • Nice to meet you, Zafar. I admire anyone who can write pre-dawn. I'm not a morning person so I'm afraid what might come out if I attempted early morning sessions.

  • Amberr says:

    I don't really have rituals, but I cannot write without having some kind of music playing (the genre changes depending on my mood).

  • There is nothing better than hitting your stride and getting into your writing.

    Shannon at The Warrior Muse

  • Bikramjit says:

    hmmm knowing what goes on in the mind of a writer while they are working is always interesting

    Bikram's

  • I think the biggest problem for me is committing myself to a daily routine of writing, I fail every time! The best I have managed is http://aboutmebeforecharente.blogspot.fr/
    As for reading, I usually know if I will like a book or not in the fist chapter, if I am not already hooked I generally put it down and pick up another!
    Keep well Diane

  • yes, my favourite moments of writing is getting into the rhythm too. I love it. I can even accidentally skip meals because of it.

  • A great interview! I don't really know why, but knowing how other writers go about their routines and where do they look for inspiration fascinates me. Thanks for sharing!

    Happy Thanksgiving!

  • These interviews adds up to the maturity process of novice/aspiring writer like us… Damyani, good that you posted it for us 🙂

    Regards,
    Anunoy Samanta
    ——————————-
    http://just4suzan.blogspot.com

    http://imakemytrip.blogspot.com

  • My writing ritual includes just one thing – "An Over-Thinking Brain!!" :p Following you now. Will come back for more.

  • magiceye says:

    Very interesting!

  • Alex, he could teach my kids a lesson in patience. lol

    My writing ritual includes turning off the internet so I can concentration. Otherwise, I'm easily distracted with checking my inbox.

  • I love his writing ritual. I usual get up early in the morning, grab my first cup of coffee and sit down and write words before checking the internet. Once that's out of the way, I can feel okay about wasting time on the internet.

  • ERMurray says:

    I always love reading about writers from cultures very different to my own. Thank you for this Q&A session.I love the way you gave yourself ten years – I feel we often rush and try to push success way too quickly.

    My own personal ritual is lighting a scented candle when I start writing. It helps my brain swap from blog writing & other editorial/web writing work so I can zone into creative writing.

  • Ten years to perfect his craft and get an agent – he could teach other writers about patience!