Niraj Sharma has always spent the majority of his time involved in academia and working alongside his family’s newspaper publication as an assistant editor based in Toronto Canada. In keeping in contrast with these two aspects which served him both in a professional and academic light; this is also where he developed his love and fondness for the creative world of writing. In keeping with the path to pursue this passion, he had many ideas in his mind which explored the concept and topics of love, fatality, poetry, philosophy and of course fiction. With combining all of these different ideas it forced him into a state of being trapped in a deep writing frenzy which thus gave birth to his first-ever novel the penthouse. Niraj, however, is not stopping here though as he is continuing to his life’s passion for writing and has big plans for the arenas of non-fiction, poetry, and self-help books to come!
- Where are you from?
I am From Toronto Canada.
- Why do you write?
I write because really and truly I know it is my passion and feel what I was born to do. More over writing I believe is like what an instrument is to a musician. I see it as an extension of my body, mind and soul and it means everything to me. That why I love to write every day!
- What do you write about?
I write about contemporary fiction mainly my first novel The Penthouse is more a crime fiction Italian mafia genre but my second novel released just this a few weeks ago Pinstripe Lust is a romance/suspense novel.
- Do you have a specific writing style?
My writing style I feel is based on a lot of emotion as I try my best to paint a picture for reader and incorporate a lot of poetry into my writing. I want to keep my reader on the edge of their seat and fully engaged!
- What are obstacles that come in the way of writing?
Some of the obstacles that come in the way of my writing are sometimes when I get “writers block” to a certain degree. It’s not to say that I get totally lost but sometimes in the middle of writing on a novel I do find there could be a particular scene that I am completely stuck on and cannot see pass. How I get over this is to write the first thing that comes to mind and go back restructure it. As a matter of fact I had this problem with The Penthouse and if I didn’t have the foresight to get pass this obstacle of not knowing how to deal with the scene and characters then I never would have completed the novel! So it does happen but the most important thing I find is to have perseverance and really stay positive and push yourself!
- Whats the most memorable thing asked/said by a reader about your work?
The most memorable thing that was asked by a reader about my work is they loved the ending to particular chapter as they told it had a brilliant ending. The word “Brilliant” really made me feel special and I hope I can live up to this name every time I sit down and write.
- How long have you been writing?
I have been writing my whole life essentially, but professionally as an author has been for almost a year a now.
- When did you first realize you wanted to become a writer?
I realized I first wanted to become a writer as an author when I first had an idea in my head about a fictional crime story which was The Penthouse. It was only an idea but what had happened actually or what give me the push I needed was when I saw a very touching documentary on J.K. Rowling and her story of how she wrote Harry Potter in which we all know. She was struggling with so many personal hardships and her script was rejected thirteen times and today she is the first female billionaire writer because of it! And I thought to myself “wow you know” that really inspired me to say to myself if that’s what it takes maybe my story is worth writing and that is how it all happened for me!
- What is your work schedule like when you are writing?
My work schedule when I write is wake up at 5 AM when I a most creative and after sipping some coffee or sometimes going for a morning walk. I take care of myself and after take care of my soul which is I do my prayers I then begin to write after on my laptop and I don’t stop until I am satisfied with what I have done.
- What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I would say the one interesting writing quirk that I have is that I like to talk about my characters as if they were real! Like to me my characters like what actors are to directors. They are stars and like movie production I want them to shine and make people give them that feeling that make the engaged, laugh or even cry. I want to give that realness and live through their eyes.
- How long does it take to write a book? (if you’ve written one -published or non) My first novel took around 6 months to write and it took a few months to write my second novel. I like to take my time and write and go back and take my time to review my writing.
- Do you have suggestions on how to become a better writer?
I believe like all things it takes humility to say that we all have things we could work on. For in terms of improvement I would sometimes I may be a little repetitive in how I go over things in a novel but I do this on purpose to make a point that like in real life we all have routines and I think that if I can possible curtail this a bit it will do some good in my writing style.
- What challenges do you come across when writing/creating your story?
Some of the challenges I face when I come across a story is using conflict or maybe how to angle a scene with slight deviation from let say a love story. But essentially it does get tough but it can be overcome with a little imagination!
- What do you think makes a good story?
I think what makes a good story is emotion or good love story and that is why for this reason I want to continue to merge into writing romance novels!
- What does your family think of your writing?
My family to be honest supports me as a writer and do find some of the chapters surprising as they always ask me “how did you come up with this” so it really reflects my spark of creativity in which I want to continue to profile.
- Do you see writing as a career?
I definitely do see writing as a career and by God’s grace my ambition is to become a best seller and world class author.
- Do you have anything specific you’d like to tell the readers?
Visit http://www.nirajsharmaauthor.com/ for more info about author Niraj Sharma
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