In Conversation with Author Smriti Malhotra
Smriti Malhotra is a warrior, a survivor,
and a diligent girl, who works generously towards her dreams. She believes
writing is powerful and aspires to reach the hearts of millions of people
through her words. When she is not working, she can be found in the mountains
or scrolling on Instagram. She has written several solo books. Let us know more
about her in this interview.
Q1) Every author has a start to their writing journey. Tell us more
about the start of your writing journey.
Ans : My writing journey started
when I scribbled my first poem in 8th standard while at school. I always
mention that I had a lot of writing dreams but I guess at that point of time
they were not dreams but just wishful thoughts.
I learnt overtime that writing was not just my hobby but my passion.
I have always enjoyed writing, and I have always had writing as a
consistent companion in my life. Over time, writing has become more and more
important to me, it makes me happy, satisfied and above all complete.
Q2) You have won several awards. Tell us what kept you motivated in
your journey. Also tell us about the awards that you have received.
Ans : More than anyone or
anything else, it’s my dream that motivated me the most in my journey. I always
conceived the dream of becoming a renowned author/poetess. I believe nothing
can motivate me except my own intent. Yes of course, I had my parents, friends
and family to motivate me at every step and I am really grateful to all of them
for standing beside me always.
I won the “Best Author” (Poetry
category) Award 2021 by Priyasi Publications, Women Achiever Award 2021 by
Priyasi Publications, Special Mention Award 2021 by Cherry Book Awards for the
category “Best Author – Poetry 2021” and Poetic Caesura Book Awards 2.0 for the
category “Poetry”.
Q3) You have written
the book “Conversation Starters”. How did you decide the plot for the book?
Also attach the link to the book.
Ans : Since the day I started
writing poetry it has always been my forte. I was always scared of other
genres. I always confess that blogging was one thing I thought I will never be
able to do but today I can proudly say I amongst the best bloggers on
#youthkiawaaz and #womensweb. You know
where the year 2020 (Covid time) was a difficult year for many people; there it
proved to be a blessing in disguise for me as I met someone really special
during the same time. Today, she is my mentor, coach, editor, well-wisher and
elder sister. Dr. Romila Chitturi, known as @thenovemberschild on instagram
came into my life as a stranger and today she is no less than a soulmate. She
helped me in bringing out Conversation Starters. One day after witnessing my
featured blog, she told me right away why don’t you compile all your blogs and
make a book out of it and there “Conversation Starters” took birth.
Conversation Starters is my first non-fiction book that mainly highlights the
social issues related to women. Though all my books are really special for me,
this book bears a little extra importance for me.
Q4) Which is your
favourite genre when it comes to writing? Tell us more about your other books.
Also attach the link to the book.
Ans : If you would have asked
this question to me a year back, I would have directly said poetry but today I
am honestly confused. I equally love non-fiction now. But since I have to
answer this, I will say poetry as it has been my way of expressing thoughts
since school. I am deeply attached to poetry or you can say it’s kind of oxygen
for me. My other 3 books Sukoon (English), Wordsweb (English) and Raabta
(Hindi) are a collection of my poetries. My poetries reflect the diverse
emotions and experiences that I come across in my daily routine.
Q5) Several
youngsters want to write their own solo books, but they lack confidence. What
would be your advice to them?
Ans : Just write whatever comes
to your mind, don’t worry about the words, the grammar, the sentences; it will
improve with time eventually. I always believe, the beginning is the most
difficult. It almost took 2 decades to publish my first book but subsequent to
that I published 4 more back to back. Write down notes in your diary or phone
and once they are ready you can make a proper outline and work towards the
book. Never write to please anyone else but only yourself.
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