Letter From Sujata

The way I write these days is not always tapping the Mac or scribbling on a notebook.

I've recognized the power of mental writing. What is it, you ask? Has Sujata gone insane?

It works like this. Typically I brainstorm the day's upcoming pages while I walk the lake in the morning. If I've got insomnia, I envision upcoming scenes as a way of drifting off to sleep.  And every now and then at 4:30 a.m., when my husband's stumbling around for his bathrobe and I'm trying to fall back asleep, a large portion of the book comes, line by line, just like listening to a book on tape.

So many people have come up to me over the years, telling me they have a great book in their head but can't seem to sit down and bring it forth on paper. I firmly believe that a way to handle this dilemma is by believing that the story already exists in full. It does not need to be written. It just needs to be recognized and remembered.

Of course, I hate it when really good scenes appear begging to be recorded that are 200 or more pages away from my current stuck spot. It's like envisioning a glorious Technicolor ending, but not feeling entitled to write it because I haven't introduced the guy in it yet. I haven't even decided his name or eye color. To write that scene down would be pointless. Cart before the horse, and all that.

Another thing that slows me is research. Don't get me wrong: I am passionate about research. I spent time in Kolkata (still called Calcutta in my historical novel) over the winter, and I lost myself delightfully in the crumbling pages of old newspapers. Last month I was in London at the British Library going through actual handwritten notes from the Secretary of State to India's Viceroy, and deciphers of "Most Secret" telegrams from English government spies reporting on dangerous Indian nationalists.

I devoured those letters like chocolate. If I were not a writer I would likely be equally happy to be a librarian or history professor. But I'm a little out of control. As much research has gone into this new novel (working title, The Sleeping Dictionary) as the entire Rei Shimura series put together. From studying Hindi to reading the speeches of Subhas Chandra Bose, learning about sari design and Bengali kitchen implements—it had to be done. I have spent two years working on this book, and it has been slow going at times, but always, a revelation.

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All content © 1998-2010 Sujata Massey.
Photo of Sujata by Jim Burger.