Understanding what stops us from mastering the craft of writing [#TBS Eps 16]
Author, award winning blogger and founder of The Himalayan Writing Retreat, Chetan Mahajan talks about bad habits that stops people from writing well, how to get feedback as a writer, powerful writing communities, impact of technology on writing, Questions you must ask before you start writing a book and a lot more
Chetan Mahajan is a passionate author and writing coach. A Kelloge MBA and former CEO, An unfortunate incident landed him jail where he found his love for writing. Chetan’s first book “The Bad Boys of Bokaro Jail” (Penguin, 2014) received critical acclaim. In 2015, He quit the corporate world and moved to a village in the Himalayas to be a full-time author and blogger. Here, he and his wife Dr. Vandita Dubey, also a published author, co-founded the Himalayan Writing Retreat – a place that is all about helping people with their writing. Chetan is also a writing coach with the London based the writing coach.
On this episode, We discuss what stops people from writing well as well fundamentals one has to master to become a great writer.
Important Questions from the Episode
1. How did writing help you in your most difficult phase in life? (04 min, 12 Sec)
2. What kind of feedback helped you turn your manuscript into a book? (05 min, 24 Sec)
3. Two most useful feedback that immensely improved your writing? (07 min, 12 Sec)
4. “Writing is a learnable skill”. Is this statement true? (08 min, 47 Sec)
5. How do I deal with the fear of being judged for my English? (10 min, 15 Sec)
6. How do I get feedback from people on writing? (11 min, 55 Sec)
7. Any myths about writing that you would like to break? (14 min, 30 Sec)
8. A lot of people start a blog but very few persist through it. Why? (15 min, 57 Sec)
9. As a Writing Coach what kind of bad habits do you think we have developed that stops us from writing well? (21 min, 20 Sec)
10. Who according to you qualifies to be a writer? (27 min, 30 Sec)
11. What questions should I answer before I start writing a book? (29 min, 27 Sec)
12. Please suggest a few powerful writing communities? (33 min, 08 Sec)
13. There are too many writing communities online. How do you evaluate them? (35 min, 22 Sec)
14. Writing a book is a long term project. What should first time writers keep in mind while they persist through it? (38 min, 45 Sec)
15. How can a writing coach help improve your writing? (41 min, 12 Sec)
16. Impact of technology on writing? Any tools that has made writing easier? (45 min, 20 Sec)
17. Does technology make writers lazy or less diligent? (47 min, 56 Sec)
18. A few thoughts on Publishing (50 min, 05 Sec)
19. Can writers make a sustainable living of writing? (51 min, 47 Sec)
20. Can I be a writer? (53 min, 50 Sec)
21. Summary of the Episode (55 min, 47 Sec)
Resources mentioned in the episode
1. On Writing Well by William Zinsser
2. Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr
3. The Himalayan Writing Retreat
4. Your Story, Thrive Global, New Asian Writing – Platforms you can consider getting published in
6. Lets talking Writing – Facebook group for writing by Chetan Mahajan
8. Chetan’s detailed bog post on publishing
12. Pro Writing Aid
13. Scrivener – Project management tool for writers
Links related to Chetan Mahajan