Rahul Subramanian is a second-year student pursuing Liberal Arts and Humanities. He is a die-hard romantic at heart! 

He started writing while in eighth grade, gradually building on his treasure of fiction and romance. Rahul strives to leave an unfading footprint in the genre of Romantic literature. His book showcases how heartwarming and beautiful love can be. 

In this Q&A session with Rahul, we ask him about his journey as a writer…

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

It often energizes me. Seeing your ideas and feelings coming to life through words is a surreal feeling. While the energy increases and decreases throughout the writing, the result of finishing a story feels extremely rewarding and gives me energy and motivation to start my next work.

Describe your experience of writing for the first time and seeing your work in print

My first experience of writing was back in the eighth grade when I would write stories during breaks and after school. I have no idea how people read and enjoyed it considering that my handwriting was horrible (it still is). I couldn’t believe seeing my work in print for the first day. Even after the book launch, I kept staring at the book trying to figure out if I was dreaming or not. It is truly a surreal feeling that I will never forget!

Do you think a big ego helps or hurts writers?

A big ego helps writers when it is actually under your control. For me, writing is a very personal activity that can only be effectively exercised with a strong sense of ego. It is only through a big but controlled ego that the writer’s voice shines through the book. On the other hand, I think a big, uncontrolled ego will lead to complacency and disillusionment in your writing.

What is your writing Kryptonite?

Sometimes it’s me. Procrastination and self-doubt often lead me to pause my writing for weeks, which leads to a disconnect between my writing. Most times, I need to double my efforts to get back lost ground and continue writing.

Have you ever gotten reader’s block? And how did you get over it?

I am suffering from a reader’s block right now. I have been making steady progress by just doing my college readings (which turns out to be fortuitous as a Lit major). The only way to get through the reader’s block is to get through it one step at a time.

Are you working on another book? Has publishing your first book changed the way you write?

I am thinking of another book that might still take a long while to come to fruition. I find that I improve my skills after writing each story and having more experiences. Since it has been a while since my book was published, I feel like my writing has been refined and polished my way of writing.

What does literary success look like to you?

For me, literary success is being able to influence people and induce emotions. The greatest success I could achieve is for readers to connect with my characters and let them go on the journey with the characters.

How many hours a day do you write?

My hours vary on the amount of work and motivation I have. There have been times when I can barely write for half an hour while there have also been times when I’ve written for almost three to four hours in one sitting. The main factor is always motivation.

What made you write this book?

It was always a big goal of mine to publish a book. One theme that remains constant in my stories is the theme of love. When I had the chance to do it, I decided to collect all the best stories I had that were all packed with my feelings into it. Wanting readers to feel the love I put into it and making them feel warm is what I had in mind when I was writing this book and what I keep in mind when writing any story.

Do you read your book reviews? And how do you deal with bad or good ones?

I do. I tend to dwell on the reviews for a while because sometimes I find myself being swept away by the initial feelings that arise from the review. Getting a good review would sometimes put me in a great mood while a bad review would do the exact opposite. By thinking about it for longer, the emotions settle and I can see the review more rationally and pick apart the aspects that can help me improve. I also sometimes enjoy bad reviews because getting a well-structured bad review means that the reader has been engaging with my book which is something I appreciate and respect.

What is your favorite book/author and why?

I think I would have to choose the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas. The way she develops her characters and describes them made me feel so connected to them and subsequently so concerned for what happens to them. I was able to fall in love with them and it did feel like I was inside the story itself. 

Do you like eBooks or physical books? Why?

The answer is still physical books. Even though I am currently at a point where almost all of my books are being read on devices, there is something about holding the actual book and reading it that is just relaxing. I also realize that I can read better, and feel more emotions through a print book rather than a digital one. There is also the nostalgia of reading tons and tons of books in my childhood and wanting to experience that again.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

I think it would be teleportation. I’ve always thought it to be extremely convenient and powerful. It could be because I’m quite a lazy person but I would appreciate being able to go to different places without much effort over almost any other superpower.

When you’re in writing mode, are you a moody person or a cheerful person?

I’m very moody when I’m in writing mode. My mood becomes extremely sour when my writing gets interrupted, which ends up happening a lot. I take a break after every tragic scene I write and once the story is done, I feel low often due to there being a slight void in me. It usually dissipates once I begin writing the next one.

What’s your favorite line from a book/movie?

I’d like to extend this question to a quote that stuck with me. It’s from an anime called Clannad: After Story.

“It’s impossible for all wishes to come true if you pray for them. But if you think and put your best effort forth until the end, the outcome can’t be that bad.” – Akio Furukawa. 

While the quote didn’t stick with me much when I first listened to it, after a while, when I began growing and experiencing new things, I would drift back to this quote. To this day, it is still ingrained within me, motivating me to give it my all.

Know more about the title here