Ask the Author: Shon Mehta

At what point did you decide to be an author?

At a young age. I have been writing since my childhood – I kept a notebook where I wrote down my poems, thoughts, and anything that came to my mind.

Do you have a specific writing style?

Yes, I like to write short chapters with a strong momentum.

While writing a story or novel, I tend to avoid using difficult/ uncommon words. I save those for the titles of my poems.

Do you ever get inspiration from your dreams?

Yes, most of the time. Many of my short stories are inspired by my dreams.

What is your favorite genre to write and why?

I don’t write with a genre in mind. I write the story first, and then figure the genre it fits into.

What’s your favorite and least favorite part of novel writing?

Favorite part is world building and writing the story until the first draft. Least favorite is the logistics of getting it published, and then marketing it.

What is the most inspiring feedback you’ve ever received from a reader?

Earlier, I used to write mostly wisdom tales. Then, one day I published a thriller short story. A reader responded, “This one is the keeper, others are goody goody phoosh.”

This really inspired me to work on complex storylines and eventually wrote a novel.

Do you base your characters on real people?

No. My characters typically start showing up in my thoughts. They don’t speak at first, then slowly they open up. As they become more defined, I learn their names and figure them out.

How do you choose the names for your characters?

Giving names to my character is the most difficult part of the writing. In fact, many times my characters outright reject the names given to them. It takes a while, and many iterations to get the names right.

Do you read much? What are you currently reading?

Yes, I read a lot – from psychology to philosophy to medical research papers to fiction – anything that holds my interest.

Currently, I am reading Indian religious scriptures from ancient Jain, Buddhist, and Hindu philosophers.

What is your favorite book and who is your favorite author?

The Brothers Karamazov, Mahabharata, short stories by Anton Chekhov, Guy de Maupassant, PL Deshpande, Premchand.

My favorite author is Anton Chekhov.

When did you realize that you are a good writer?

When others started claiming my writing as their own.

How do you process and deal with negative book reviews?

If a review helps me improve my writing, I take it seriously. If the reviewer is just being nasty for the sake of it, then I don’t care.