#unique writer asks

[ambidextrousarcher]

Hi 😁, 10,16,17 and 24 for the unique writer asks

Hey, @starsailororastronaut!

10. What scene was the most fun to write for you and why?

Oh, this is easy! In Antraatman my first person Arjun PoV novel, the scenes which were the most fun to write for me are two. One is a canon scene, the other is a non canon scene. 

Note that each ‘I’ is Arjun, the narrator.

The non-canon scene occurs first.

Here it is: 

Can one person have two best friends? Mine are my parents, my Mata and Pitashree. But they are my parents, can they also be my friends? I file that question away, waiting to be asked, and instead think of my lesson, drawing the string past my ear as smoothly as I can. The arrow speeds unerringly toward the target, striking it dead center. I felt a hand ruffle my head and look up. It’s Pitashree! I grin, my hands automatically going around his waist. He’s seen my archery and likes it. “Good work, Arjun! My little boy is on his way to become a formidable warrior, hmm?” I nod as hard as I can. “Not so hard, little Krishna. Your head is like to fall off.” Pitashree says, a smile in his voice. And then I’m flying, the wind whooshing beneath me. I had missed seeing Pitashree’s quick hands as they throw me in the air, but I know he’d catch me. And he does. “Off to bed, Krishna,” says he. “I’ll teach you tomorrow’s archery lesson.” Oh, he is really pleased, then. Pitashree’s archery lessons are a special treat, just for me. How my brothers would be jealous! I was Pitashree’s favorite, and I reveled in it.

This is one of the first scenes of the book, a tie in to when Arjun calls Bhishma father later on. Note that Arjun’s father is canonically said to call him Krishna.

The canon scene is the Rangabhoomi scene. This is a longer scene. 

Here it is:

I expect the herald calling my name. Instead, I hear Gurudev’s voice. “Now you will see the skills of Arjun, dearer to me than my own son.” I hold my breath. “Parth is the son of Indra, and a master of every weapon, like Lord Vishnu’s younger brother himself!” Dearer to me than my own son. I am still in a state of absolute shock, when I actually hear my name called by the herald. “Rajkumar Arjun!” I step into the fray. The sand of the rangbhoomi is churned, clear evidence of a brutal fight. Surya Narayan’s bright rays fall on my head as I step out of the shadows. The cheers are deafening. I cannot make out what is being said, save for my name. There is a thrill in my blood, a thrill raw and radiant, as I pay my elders the customary respect, fingers itching to take the bow in hand. I shoot arrow after arrow with practiced ease. After the ritual shooting of the target, I move on to the easier divyastrs. The Agneyastr, Varunastr, Vayavayastr, the Parjannyastr, the Bhaumastr, the Parvayastr, and finally, the dispeller of the earlier illusions, the Antardhan. Slowly walking around the arena, I shoot arrows into every target in front of me. The cries of the people grow ever louder. This time, I understand them. “The Queen Kunti’s son, so graceful!” “The third Pandav, the middle one, such a great warrior!” I grin. Of course, there are empty words that follow, words of hollow praise, but I pay them no mind. I am my mother’s son, and my father’s. This is my first step towards being the warrior I was born to be. I smoothly shift stance, picking the sword, gently setting the longbow aside. I perform the stances by memory, followed by the intricacies of gaddha-yuddh. This would be better if one of my brothers were with me. There is a soothing hush around me as I bow to the crowd slightly, thankful for their acknowledgment. This day is perfect. Crash! All heads turn to the gates, where there is tall man standing in sunlight. Everyone stares at him, and he takes his time making an entrance. It is Vasusen. Well, it does not matter. After all, I can defeat him easily, as I have done scores of times in the Gurukul. He sketches a bow to Gurudev and Guru Kripacharya and turns to me. “Parth, I will better every feat of yours in front of this crowd, and you shall be as astonished as they.” I say nothing. I try arranging my face into inscrutability, but I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks. He nods at Gurudev, who looks at me with confidence, nodding back. I meet Gurudev’s eyes. He is of no consequence. Yet, there is a childish voice inside my head railing against the injustice of what happened, even as Vasusen copies me to near perfection. Why did he have to ruin even this perfect day? The crowd, fickle as ever, begins to cheer that hanger-on. I feel my triumph drain out of my hands. I take a step forward, but Bhraata Yudhisthir’s hand on my shoulder stops me. He shakes his head and I subside. Bhraata Duryodhan hugs his minion like some long-lost friend, applauding him loud and long. I try to tune the noise out. I snap back to attention when I hear the words “…challenge Arjun to a duel.”   “Victory is yours, old friend.” Bhraata Duryodhan, watch me prove your words wrong. I draw myself to my full height, managing to look down at the older man. I will not let you humiliate me, Vasusen. “Vasusen, yours will be the fate of unwelcome intruder and the uninvited speaker. Your death will be at my hands.” My voice takes myself by surprise. I am not used to feeling such rage, such hatred. I do not pay attention to what he says in reply; instead, I turn to my brothers. They file towards me. “Be careful, Arjun,” says Jyeshth Bhraata, low-voiced and worried. “You do not need to worry, Bhraatashree,” says Bhraata Bheem. “Arjun will prevail.” I smile at him, nodding at Jyeshth Bhraata. Head held high, I stride to the fore, pausing to pay my respects to Gurudev. Vasusen stands across me. Before either of us do anything, rainclouds gather around the horizon. Thunder rumbles, accompanied by flashes of lightning and the Indradhanush is above my head, defiantly sparkling. Surya Narayan makes a feeble effort to break through the barrier, but He is foiled by the Lord of Rain. I breath in the sharp scent of fresh rain, already present before the first drop has touched Prithvi. The twang of my bow feels almost like thunder itself, as I face off against my childhood irritant.

16. What motives do you give your original characters? What drives them? How much tragedy did you subject them to?

I haven’t used OC’s in Antraatman yet, but I plan to in the future, and motives they might have are their duties and oaths and their own vision of honour, their struggle to honour their friendship, etc. The OC’s I plan to bring in would be close to the protagonist, either as support or opposition. Based on that, what drives them will be decided. The world of the Mahabharata is one where everyone faces a lot of tragedy, so I’d say that they have a fair amount of tragedy coming up for them.

17. Are your protagonists always the “good guys” and your antagonists always the “bad guys” or do you like to do anti-heroes and grey morality?

Well, I believe that morality is subjective. No one is fully ‘good’ or ‘bad’. That said, I think I write my protagonist as someone who tries to be good, in spite of him having to choose between a rock and a hard place sometimes.

24. Do you let your story evolve as you write or do you meticulously plan everything prior to writing the first draft?

I generally have a good idea of the prologue before I start writing. A fair idea of the overall story, but the details are usually hammered out as I write. Inspiration strikes at random times, when I’m bathing, in bed, in the washroom, anywhere.

Thanks for this sweet ask!

[writerofscribbles]

For the unique writing asks: 1, 4 and 10 please ☺️

thank you for the ask!  💖 

1. What themes would you like to write about that you feel don’t get explored very often?

I don’t think I explore female relationships enough in my works. I have one short story (The Skin I Knew You In) that focuses on female friendship, but it is also probably the story with the highest body count, so I think that aspect gets a little muddled in the concept. I think in general I don’t explore femininity as a main theme. I tend to explore masculinity a lot, but I want to give femininity a more prominent role in my works moving forward. I think I’ve avoided it because I struggle with my own femininity and don’t want to touch it with a thirty-foot pole. 

4. In your works, is blood thicker than water or is the blood of the covenant thicker than the water of the womb? (Are familial ties or friendship ties more important?)

oooooooooohhh goooddnesss! It definitely depends on the character, but for the majority of my works, blood of the covenant is definitely thicker than the water of the womb. One of the main themes in The Wrath King is blood ties to people who are not biologically related to you. Most of the characters bond themselves to their best friends with magic, so they become stronger than family. Lineage isn’t EXTREMELY important in The Wrath King, but one of my main characters, Nola definitely is more tied to her family, in particular her sister, but that is wrapped up in several other complex things. She is also blood bonded to her sister as well as being literally related to her. They are sisters in all senses of the word. Their relationship is quite interesting because they have the sibling relationship on top of having the soulmate relationship. 

But in generally, blood of the covenant takes priority over (almost) everything else.

10.  What scene was the most fun to write for you and why?

Chapter Sixteen of The Wrath King. To be more specific it is a scene between Resli and Assany Coldwater. I’ll contextualize these characters really quick; Resli is the survivor of a Massacre at the beginning of the book and Assany is an Immortal Guardian who is over eight hundred years old and knows a lot about magic. 

The scene begins like this - 

The Coldwater House was nothing like Resli imagined it to be. It was situated on a quiet street surrounded by other residential houses. The color was faded, the exterior made of pocked brick and shaded by a tall tree that was bent around the fence.

Resli looked down at the invitation in her hand. It was made of thick paper, glossy and scrawled in an elegant cursive.

Priestess Resli,

If it pleases you, I would appreciate it if you joined me for morning tea at the Coldwater House tomorrow morning. After our conversation last night, I have dug up some information you might like to know.

Even if you do not want any of my help, I would not mind your company for an hour.

Sincerely yours, Assany Coldwater

This scene is relevant to a previous scene that involves the plot, but what I really enjoyed about writing it was the things I learned about Assany as I wrote it. Previously she was a bit flat. An icy character that had lived for so long that she was cynical, cold, static, and unfeeling. But in this scene I realized she could be so much more. She could be warm, wise, passionate, and a little bit naive too. 

Plus she has a sweet tooth, which came as a surprise. (for some reason I thought she was an oatmeal lover, lol)

“Scone, tart, donut? My baker Marcy is the best in the business.” Assany gestured to the table of pastries, purposefully avoiding Resli’s question. She dropped it, leaning forward to snag a chocolate frosted donut dusted lightly with powdered sugar.

“Thank you,” Resli said, taking a bite of it. It was a gooey explosion of warmth and comfort. The powdered sugar had a zing of sweetness, the fried dough was light and airy, and the chocolate had a slight bite to it.

“Excellent choice. She uses the purest cocoa for her ganache, dark and bitter, but paired together with sugar and softness, makes it literal perfection. My personal favorite,” Assany said, but picked up a blueberry filled tart instead, even though three more donuts sat on the tray. “May I suggest a strong black tea with just a splash of cream to pair it with?”

Resli nodded, never wanting the sensation of this donut to leave her mouth. She’d never tasted anything quite like it before. Assany grabbed one of the many teapots and poured a dark russet tea into one of the fine porcelain cups painted with gray swirls. Resli gently wiped the corner of her mouth, feeling sticky residue gathered there. Assany set the cup down on her side of the table.

The softness and care that Assany shows to Resli in this scene was really surprising. She kind of takes Resli under her wig and we see a radically different view of her. We saw her before in Ainle’s POV, but he sees her as a threat, as someone who could kill his best friend. But Resli trusts the Guardians, she’s been spending a lot of time with them. And she’s essentially working for them, so her relationship and view of them is entirely different.

So I ended up realizing I adored Assany in ways I never realized before. Plus I think writing a coyly all knowing person who has worked to maintain her softness, even though the world is hard and cruel. 

Plus, I got to use my stupid humor at the very end of the scene. And that is what I will leave you with ~

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Resli asked, staring dumbfounded down at the dagger in her hand. It was elegantly carved, runes scribed onto the blade to encourage strength and sureness of hand. They were standing in the upstairs second bedroom which had been converted into a weapon’s cave.

“Have you ever used a dagger before?” Assany asked. “You stick them with this end.” She poked the sharp end and Resli rolled her eye.

ask me anything (or from this ask game)

[ambidextrousarcher]

Writer asks - 27, 28?

27. Do you have playlists for your wip? What are some of the songs in it?

Well, not playlists, per se, but there are some songs that play in my mind when I write most Mahabharata fiction I do. These are: The Parthasya Dhananjaya StarBharat OST theme, the Arjun/Panchali and Arjun/Subhadra theme from the same OST, the Drona theme and the shloka ‘Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu...’ from the same OST again.

Apart from them, Satham Illatha Thanimai, especially the line ‘Parthiban thodutha villuai kaetaen’ (Translation: I asked for Parthiban’s (Arjun’s) bow) I love that line, I repeat that line over and over. 

Oh, and Arjunar Villu (The Bow of Arjun) is a song that’s always a pick me up! Karam Ki Talwar and Samay from Arjun the Warrior Prince are also two songs that feature often in my head.

28. Do you need background noise to write? If so, what do you listen to?

Apart from music, I don’t favour background noise. But some or the other music keeps playing in my laptop or my phone nearly all day, I need music to study, to write, for anything. A lot of that music that repeats, I’ve already mentioned. Apart from them, songs like Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin from Agneepath and Unkoodave Porakkanum feature a lot, songs that are about platonic relationships. Innum Enna Thozha is a song that I listen for motivation sometimes. 

If you want, I can send you the lyrics/translations to the songs mentioned, just comment or message!

Thanks for the ask @medhasree!

[ryns-ramblings]

for the ask game! numbers 24. and 27.

Thank you so much! 

24. Do you let your story evolve as you write or do you meticulously plan everything prior to writing the first draft?

I tend to have a preliminary outline that after 15k or so tends to be useless. I am ultimately a discovery writer who likes planning the short-term of the story rather than the long term so that ideas can bloom naturally as I write. I usually like to plan out roughly a chapter or scene ahead of me as a confidence thing even if it changes as I go.

27. Do you have playlists for your wip? What are some of the songs in it?

I do! This is it here! It’s most movie scores/instrumental with some epic aesthetic lyrical songs. 

[ryns-ramblings]

27?

27. Do you have playlists for your wip? What are some of the songs in it?

Oh, I do have a playlist. I made a post about it here! It’s called The Arcana Quest: An Epic Playlist for a Modern Myth. It’s mostly instrumental/movie scores with some aesthetic epic/dark lyrical songs. 

[ryns-ramblings]

23 and 24 for the ask game? :D

Thank you so much! 23. Do your prefer reading series or standalone novels and does that reflect on how you write?

I actually have no real preference in reading but tend to write series myself.

24. Do you let your story evolve as you write, or do you meticulously plan everything prior to writing the first draft?

I start out with a preliminary outline that has what will be some of the beats I have. Usually within 15,000-25,000 words the outline is almost totally useless and I go full discovery writer. Ultimately, I tend to do best planning the immediate road ahead rather than long-term because my writing tends to expands and evolves best when pantsting/discovery writing. 

[ryns-ramblings]

4 and 8 for the writer asks??

4. In your works, is blood thicker than water or is the blood of the covenant thicker than the water of the womb? (Are familial ties or friendship ties more important?)

I personally think both are important and have an influence, but once you’re an adult (or even close to that age) friendships are important. I am a big believer in the found family trope, after all! 8. Favorite dialogue in your wip? (If asked more than once, respond with a new piece each time)

My favorite as of recently:

“I agree,” said Padraic Motley. “Let her get settled and then we’ll talk.”

Talk? What would the war office want to discuss with her? She stiffened. “I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“Not here, you’re not, but the Verdun government lists you at their thirty-ninth most wanted person. You’ve beat some heads of states. Hell, you’ve beat me on that list and I’m a bit jealous.” Here is the list if you’d like to play too!