Young authors debut, thanks to lockdowns

Children and teens have used the extra time on their hands to write their first books, writes Asra Mavad

Many teens have put the lockdowns to good use to write their first books.

Thirteen-year-old Pramukh G has come up with a thriller. “I am a huge fan of adventure, mystery and thriller books. Most books in the market are predictable, so I wanted to try my hand at a book, making it as unpredictable as possible,” he says.

It took him nine months to complete ‘The Three Excursionists and the Mysteries of Marville Woods’, a novel chronicling the adventures of three siblings. “I came up with a plot and characters and started building on that. I had a lot of free time on my hands, so I could focus entirely on this,” he told Open Sesame.

Fifteen-year-old Rakshan Pandian’s debut book ‘Chronaethion’ is a fantasy that follows a banished prince, princess and their guardians, through a time-distorted land, guided by a mystery boy.

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“It all came to me spontaneously. Once I had the basics down it was easy to be creative,” he says. A fan of classic fiction, Rakshan says his grandfather M Nagasigamani greatly inspired him to write the book.

Young writers are also trying their hand at non-fiction writing. Nikita M Daga, a 12th standard student, published her debut book ‘Blooming: Unfiltered Stories of Indian Women’s Struggles with Financial Independence’ earlier this year.

It tells stories of women from across 12 states. With conversations about gender roles, education, marriage, inheritance and the workplace, the book looks at the many hurdles women face. “In many families, the women don’t work but the men do. I wanted to understand the effects of this,” says Nikita. She hopes her book will inspire young girls and women to find financial independence, and also sensitise society to their struggles.

Seven-year-old Jiya Gangadhar wrote a non-fiction book on her experiences throughout the lockdowns.

‘L is for Lockdown – Jiya’s Journal of Lockdown Lessons’, is a creative piece transcribed from the diary. “It was my mom’s idea that I write a journal and then she was the one who suggested we get it published. When I saw the book, it made me so happy. It has inspired me to write more,” she says.

Her mother Darshini Gangadhar explains why she asked her to write. “Kids are aligned to their routines, so with the changes during the lockdowns, Jiya was initially panicky. We decided to give journalling a try and luckily it did help her a lot,” she says.

Small world, big problems

From editing to designing, young authors are getting involved in every aspect of book publication. “I designed my cover and it was fun,” says Pramukh. He had to edit his book all over again because of a technical problem. “My laptop is not that good, and the edited copy somehow got deleted. So I had to recheck the manuscript all over again,” he says. Rakshan too initially faced some problems with the editing. “The biggest challenge I faced was the strenuous editing process. While I was getting ideas for the plot quite spontaneously, it took me some time to get the ideas to flow and ensure the book was crisp and well put together,” he adds.

Impact of the pandemic

For many, the increased free time also led to an increase in screen time. “I did not want to spend a lot of time online, so I started reading more. I especially read a lot of mystery and adventure books, which got me to write my own book,” says Pramukh. Rakshan’s mother Rajeshwari says he was always an avid reader, but not too keen on writing. “But, when it came to writing, we had to force him to write anything more than a sentence right from kindergarten. This book came as a surprise to all of us.”