Mr. Bandookwala, M.B.A., Harvard Finishes Third Edit

We have finished a third editing of our novel "Mr. Bandookwala, M.B.A., Harvard" (details in this link) which was rather difficult. Uffff! Time to celebrate. Now we are glad we did it because we feel a manuscript has so many inconsistencies that have to be dealt with. (May be, that's why most of those who pontificate about literature, yeah, some of our own self-styled worthies, do not attempt a story. But that's another story.) Storytelling requires a skill all its own and doesn't come easy. We need stories to survive and if the stories we tell are all fake then we also become fake.

The problem is that in the heat of so many ideas churning in the mind we forget language proprieties, and improprieties, we may add. No matter how careful we are we make mistakes because the nature of our world is such. For example - this is in the scenario of our being fully into writing these days - the postman might be at the door, there are couriers to be delivered, and there are sundry other people dropping in for collections, having the temerity of ringing the bell when one is concentrating on putting that sentence right.

Then there is this thing of writing space. We had converted a small space near the terrace for our writing with a fancy desk and a lamp hanging over the desk, making it out to be the aerie we always wanted. But then we have to walk two floors down to attend to somebody at the door and it gets tiring, very tiring, this trudging up and down. Then we shifted to the bedroom on the first floor and here also we got tired of trudging up and down when the bell would ring. Then we set ourselves up in the parlour itself, and lo and behold, the television, that monster of the modern age, determined how much we would write every day. That's when we decided enough was enough and shifted to the nearby Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) for our writing. At least no disturbances there except a few friends who knew what we were doing and left us alone. Thanks Shishir, thanks Vikram.

And, and, there is this thing of thinking of an appropriate word and not getting it. We know it is on our tongue tip, however, sadly, it doesn't leave the tip and emerge. Then one turns the television and its end of the day's writing. Sports take over. There's that dazzling goal by Ronaldo who is like a well-rounded ball of energy himself, moving with fluid grace through the opposition, finding just a wee bit of space to push the ball through.

So now its over to submissions and waiting.  

John is @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. He blogs here. His Youtube Channel Page. His novel Mr. Bandookwala, M.B.A., Harvard.