LET THE STORY UNFOLD                                                                                                                                                                                                                 When I do readings or book signings, I’m often asked how do I go about writing my novels. Do I prepare an outline? Are all my characters well defined before I start writing? How about the plot, is it clear in my mind and well thought out? In short, do I know what I’m going to write about before I start writing my piece?

To all these very important questions I’ve one and only one good answer which I borrowed from a good friend fellow writer. You see, he once told me fiction authors fall into two general categories: the “Plotters” and the “Pantsers.” The Plotters’ answer to all the above questions is a simple “yes”. They spend countless hours, if not months thinking about plots, characters, storyline, setting etc. and when they are done and have carefully researched and documented their thoughts, they start writing the novel. It’s a laborious task and many good authors swear by it.


I like to think that I fit more in the “seat of the pants” writer category. Indeed, for the most part I’m a genuine Pantser. I do start with a very general idea of what the book is going to be all about but a) I don’t document my ideas in great details beforehand and b) I remain totally flexible about the storyline and any other issue concerning the novel as a matter of fact. I let my characters take over and guide me to where they want me to go. I feed off the mood of the moment to mold the plot and storyline. I allow my characters to decide whether they want to play a bigger part in the story or not. I’m afraid to admit it but when I’m totally immersed in my writing, I take dictation from my characters more than create ideas on my own.

The best way I can describe my writing process is what some might call it stream of consciousness with a definite purpose to entertain. So next time you pick up a book try to guess the kind of author who wrote the novel. A useful tip is to look for cliff-hangers at the beginning of the book. Sometimes it’s done to mislead you ( in the murder/ mystery genre for instance), other times to keep you hooked on to the storyline. But the key in most cases is that the author had a game plan in place before hand. A cautionary note, however, this so called telltale sign does not always work. After all good writers are skillful teasers.


The story in The Nomad’s Premonition came to me in a news article about speed traders. I immediately thought that this subject was a perfect fit for my protagonist Eric Martin, a former investment banker caught in a dead end job. As soon as I sat down in front of my computer, Eric kept shouting in my ears “I love it, keep writing”. (What a pain I thought he was at the time, but I’m now glad that he pushed me so hard). The other characters just popped in when the story needed them. I had no idea they existed in my mind or anywhere else for that matter. The plot line emerged out of some unfinished business with my first novel in the Nomad series–Nomad on the Run.


The Nomad’s Premonition took almost two years to write and rewrite, and I did not know from day to day where I was going with it. I just had to trust my characters and my intuition that something good would come out of it. What one might guess, I’d a premonition that I was on to a great story. But above all, I’d so much fun writing this thriller as a ‘Pantser’.

  OF WRITING AND PHOTOGRAPHY


   My passion for photography rivals only my love of writing. You see, above all I am a story teller and the medium I choose to relate a story depends only on circumstances. I do not know what came first, writing or photography? In all honesty, as far as I am concerned  it does not really matter. They are both in my blood. And they both serve the same purpose of encapsulating the essence of a story.
 

I approach writing like my photography, always with the idea of  connecting with the reader at an emotional level. Behind the lens of the camera, I aim to capture a mood, a feeling, a sense of awe, or a visceral reaction. My images must never leave the observer indifferent. I paint word pictures with the same goal in mind. My stories must be evocative.


 I like my stories to fire the reader’s imagination and connect with the human spirit. I am not satisfied with anything less. If a story seems flat, the beginning not gripping, the wording too clumsy, or the ending too obvious and unsatisfactory, I start all over again. I write and rewrite the entire manuscript, polish and polish again my sentences, breathe the words out loud one by one until I get it right. Ultimately, what I really aspire to is the delightful pleasure of a good read. This is the writer's gift to the reader.
 

A novel to me is a series of vignettes, artfully woven together so that everyone can feel a connection and experience a range of emotions. Just like a photograph, I want my stories to have impact. I’ve spent many years honing my writing skills and I must confess I still have a lot to learn. I do not understand, for instance where my stories come from. Nor do I know how the story will end until I write the final chapter. I do know, however, that I often use my photographs to help me recall a location or remind myself of how I felt in the moment. There is a passage in the Nomad's Premonition where I describe Cappadocia "as a stark lunar landscape inhabited by majestic elongated stone structures," as seen through the eyes of a tourist guide. While writing the novel, I often looked at  the photograph I took when touring Central Anatolia in Turkey a couple of years ago, and used it as a source of inspiration to convey in words what I saw and felt at the time. Many such examples of the fusion between the two art forms exist throughout my novels. Yes, photography and writing go hand to hand in my world!