Q1. Hello Ma’am, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
Hello, Parveen!
I am Priyanka Baranwal, an author, blogger, poet and a guitarist. Writing and music both are my passion. I primarily write novels and have written two – It’s Never Too Late… (to win the battle against your biggest enemy: fear) and “The Shadow of Darkness’. Third is a contribution in an anthology – Navratna – with a short story in Hindi named Sarla Pradhan.
Quite recently, I have started a series titled as ‘One-cup stories, please!’ In this series, I am writing short stories. The idea behind this series is to evoke love for reading over a cup of tea (or, coffee).
I am also fond of travelling, reading, watching (good) movies and a big fan of good conversations. To know more about me, try this link: https://linktr.ee/PriyankaBaranwal
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing ‘Nakedness’ book?
First of all, it’s a short story, second in the series – One-cup stories, please! The series started with ‘The Girl Who Could Not Sleep’ released this year in June.
As I mentioned above, I am a novel writer. Writing in expanse is in my nature. So, when I began working on short stories, the first challenge was to convey more in less. A story has many aspects and tuning them aptly, in a short story, does not come easy.
Writing ‘Nakedness’ was more difficult than its predecessor, The Girl Who Could Not Sleep. ‘Nakedness’ deals with sensitive topics such as body shaming, sexual abuse, blackmailing, body image, societal views on women and more. I had little courage before beginning to draw Garima’s life but as it progressed, I became more and more confident. You can say I too evolved alongside Garima.
I am delighted and humbled to see that many readers can connect with her story. They do not only feel Garima’s pain and courage but they also see real life breathing into fiction. That’s one of the biggest compliments for my work.
Q3. Who inspires you the most in life?
I am my biggest inspiration.
Q4. Where do you see yourself in the next few years?
Given the current situation of Covid_19, anxiety shows up in more than one way. Therefore, I am trying to take one day at a time. Living in the present, I feel, is more important than planning the future.
Q5. How do you select the names of your characters?
It’s a good question, not often asked in interviews.
I pay a quite lot of attention to the names of my characters. I can’t just pick any and label them with it. The name has to be specific.
For example, for ‘The Girl Who Could Not Sleep’, I picked my female protagonist’s name Sonia Seth. She is suffering with Insomnia. I picked Sonia because it matches with her issue and I could use this tally to add a strong aspect to the story.
For Nakedness, do notice the meaning of the names of my protagonist and antagonist respectively – Garima and Manav. Does it make any sense? If yes then know that it is a deliberate move. It aligns with the story while presenting contrast to their personalities as well.
In short, I am careful and selective towards picking names.
Q6. Is there lots to do before you drive in and start writing a book?
Of course! Even a two-line poem needs a lot of effort and here we are talking about writing a book.
You can begin with a story if you have an idea but then comes a lot of work. Kind of another mountain to carve into the shape you have envisioned. You do it not for the others but for yourself, and to justify with the story. As a writer, you have to be hungry for the details.
Q7. How long did it take you to write ‘The Girl Who Could Not Sleep’ book?
About a week. It is editing that is the stubborn guest of honour but worth paying time and attention to.
Q8. As an author, what does success means to you. What do you think your readers take away from your latest book ’Nakedness’?
Hey, that’s two questions at once.
For me, true success is to enjoy the process of writing and to touch the reader’s heart.
From my latest book – Nakedness – you can take many lessons. I will give my purview of the subject.
I believe that our body is our ally. The way you look at it, the same way it will respond. You feel proud of it, your body will be happy. You feel ashamed of it, your body will fell prickly and hateful to you.
Second message you can take away from the book is to never stop believing in love.
Third is, to have a faith into yourself. No matter how this world sees you and your actions, your own thoughts define the strength inside you.
Fourth would be, to have faith in humanity too. With evil lies good as well.
Last but not the least, do good things. Karma catches up eventually.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
I don’t think about keeping the plot fresh. Such things are last in my list. I only write what the story demands and if it demands something unconventional then well, there goes the story. You cannot make the story work for you or the reader. It has to speak itself.
At the end, thank you so much for this opportunity. I am grateful to connect with you and your readers.
They can get in touch here: https://linktr.ee/PriyankaBaranwal
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Nakedness
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