September Issue - On Writing

SEPTEMBER 2017
ON WRITING
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Issue - 2
Volume II
International Edition

ON WRITING
Volume 2 | Issue 02 |Spetember
CONTENTS
Writing Horror..........................................PAGE 1
Aindrila Roy
Being an author.......................................PAGE 4
Hanadi Falki
What is must..Publish............................PAGE 8
Prachi Sharma
The Fountain of Youth.........................PAGE 10
Galina Trefil
It’s not Me, It’s You.............................PAGE 12
Khushnuma Daruwala
Oksana Marafioti.................................PAGE 14
Nikita D’Monte (Interview)
Three Tips for Thriller Writers........PAGE 17
Archana Sarat
Contributing Authors......................PAGE 19
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“The woods are lovely, dark and
deep,
But I have promises
to keep,
And miles to go before
I sleep,
And miles to go before
I sleep.”
~ Robert Frost

Section One
BY AUTHORS
“Every person has a trigger. In other
words, every person is scared of something.
But just like no two people are
alike, no two triggers are alike”

INK DRIFT MAGAZINE
Writing Horror
Aindrila Roy
Of the many genres present in the literary world, horror is probably the one that fascinates me
the most, followed closely by fantasy. However, in this write-up, I would be focusing exclusively
on horror, what it entails and the challenges faced while writing in the genre. To begin with,
let us understand what is horror?
Wikipedia defines horror as a genre of fiction which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten,
scare, disgust, or startle its readers or viewers by inducing feelings of horror and terror. It is a genre
that relies extensively on the sensory perceptions of the reader, through the protagonist’s experiences.
What the protagonist sees, feels, smells or tastes becomes the weapons that the horror writer wields to
bring out the primal emotions of fear and terror within the reader.
Sub-genres of horror
Just like any other genre, there are sub-genres that involve various folklores, myths and tropes
which become the defining point of the said sub-genre. There are primarily four types or sub-genres of
horror.
• Killer: Probably the most popular horror genre, it is a horror movie/book that involves a murder.
Sometimes the term “slasher” is also used to describe this kind of stories. This genre mixes thriller, crime
and psychological horror. Typically the story would involve a demented killer, a chosen victim and/or an
investigating officer. It is the depiction of gruesome deaths and the depravity of the killer that are the
primary reasons for these stories to be dubbed as a horror sub-genre. Some examples include: Silence of
the Lambs (Thomas Harris), From Hell (Alan Moore), Maya’s New Husband (Neil D’Silva).
• Monster: This is a vast sub-genre which can blend into other literary genres like comedy, fantasy
or science-fiction. Originally, they were intended to be adaptations or retellings of folklore which
over the time has evolved into a significant and popular genre in itself. Vampires, werewolves, Big Foot,
Zombies- all of these can be clubbed under this vast sub-genre. While some may argue that Zombies
can be a sub-genre unto itself, I personally club it under the umbrella of Monster horror. Some of the
most famous examples include: Frankenstein (Mary Shelley), Dracula (Bram Stoker), Beowulf, Cujo
(Stephen King).
• Paranormal: The paranormal and the fear of the unknown is naturally a classic topic of horror.
Gathering everything from ghost to demons and even witches, it is usually the part of horror that gets
the scariest. This is where the horror writer can twist the reality and introduce certain creepy elements
to make it scarier. This genre relies heavily on the power of suggestion (I will delve into greater detail of
this particular tool in the writer’s arsenal later in the article) to deliver its scares. Humans as a collective
are scared of the unknown and that’s why this sub-genre works the best. It banks heavily on that fear
and exploits that universal weakness to deliver its scares. Examples include: The Shining (Stephen King),
It(Stephen King),The Exorcist (William Peter Blatty)
• Psychological: Psychological Horror & Thriller is the part of horror that feels the most real
since it features the work of humans, either ones that have lost their sanity or those stranded in exceptional
situations. Often linked with the thriller genre, these stories build most of their horror around
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psychological tension. The reason this genre evokes such deep terror is its plausibility and the evident
realism. It is terrifying to witness the deterioration of the human psyche, one frayed strand at a time.
Examples: Misery (Stephen King), Psycho (Robert Bloch), Shutter Island (Dennis Lehane), Lord of
the Flies (William Golding)
Personally, I like to blend in the last two sub-genres, often sprinkled with liberal doses of fantasy.
For example, in my book ‘I See You’, my protagonist, Liam, is trying to understand the bizarre
things that have been happening in his life and if they’re a result of him being possessed or being
afflicted with Dissociative Identity Disorder. The story unfolds through Liam’s deteriorating health
and psyche, confusing and scaring the readers along the way.
Power of Suggestion
As I said earlier, ‘power of suggestion’ is a potent tool in the arsenal of a horror writer. Let us
understand and explore why that is so and what are the challenges that a writer faces while employing
this.
Visualize a scenario. The protagonist is alone in the house and is folding a pile of laundry
when suddenly she hears a giggle, followed by the pattering footsteps of a child running. It’s a scene
we have seen in countless horror movies and yet, it continues to unnerve us. Ever wonder why? It is
the implication of what that entails that is terrifying for us.
In a movie, the background score with this scenario would be a creepy, haunting music and
the giggle will echo. We can see the protagonist’s fear and the accompanying music only serves to
heighten the mounting tension. In essence, we are being spoon-fed our fear. A horror writer, however,
does not have these tools to their disposal. They have to rely exclusively on their words to bring out
that very emotion. And this works both to their advantage and their disadvantage.
On the plus side, the writer can show the protagonist’s fear by subtly showing exactly what
she’s feeling. They can play with the senses. They can show how the giggle raises hair on the back of
her neck. How the shirt she was folding drops from her hand and how the pitter-patter of the feet
makes her want to reach for the knife as a desperate attempt to save herself from the unseen. We have
all felt it, that inexplicable fear. All the writer needs to do is tap into that feeling and the reader will
relate. Nothing is scarier to us than our own imagination. The best way, at least according to me, for a
writer to scare their reader is to suggest just enough so that the reader knows that there is something
there, but not fill in all the blanks. Let the reader’s imagination fill up the spaces and things the writer
leaves unspoken and in most cases, the reader’s imagination will conjure up an image that will scare
them effectively.
On the flip side, the writer runs the risk of being either too vague or move to overkill, both
of which can completely ruin the scene. By being too vague, the impact of the scene might be lost
on most readers while by being over-descriptive; the writer can turn the reader off. In both cases, the
reader can get disinterested, which is counterproductive. A horror novel should reel in the reader and
hold their attention, not let their minds wander off.
And that forms one of the biggest challenges in writing horror- striking that fine balance. And it
brings me to the second biggest challenge which is closely related to this point.
Image transference
Every person has a trigger. In other words, every person is scared of something. But just like no two
people are alike, no two triggers are alike. I have arachnophobia- meaning I am scared of spiders. But
the reaction spiders evoke in me may not be the same as another arachnophobe. Both of us are scared
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of the same thing but our reactions to the trigger might be completely different. And therein lays the
problem for the horror writer.
The writers visualize a scene in their minds and understand that it might scarethem, but what is to say
that the very scene will scare the readers as well? How does the writer ensure that the scene evokes
the same visceral reaction in the reader’s mind as it does in the writer’s mind?
The challenge here is two-fold. Not only does the writer have to transfer the image they see in their
minds on to the paper, they would then have to successfully transfer it on to the readers’ minds as well.
And coupling that with the first challenge, they have to say just enough that the reader knows what
is happening without being over-explained.
According to me, these are the two biggest challenges that a horror writer faces. And to counter that,
I read a lot of horror books to understand and study new ways of delivering the scene effectively. Let
me give an example of how I would write the scene I have described earlier.
Sara glimpsed at the clock and was rather taken aback. It was only 10:30 in the morning and yet,
it was so dark. She had made doubly sure that the apartment was east facing so that they could get
more light in the mornings, but no matter how much she cleaned the windows or how many blinds
she opened, the house continued to have a dull gloomy effect to it, as though a perpetual rain-cloud
hung over it.
Letting out an irritated huff, she picked up a skirt and began folding it, dismissing the depressing
gloom that clung to her new house. She had a few hours to herself before the kids returned and then
she’d be overwhelmed by the ceaseless activities and the laundry would never get folded.
She was folding a shirt when she first heard it. A soft and muted laugh. She looked up, straining her
ears in an effort to locate the sound but couldn’t. She shrugged, must’ve been a neighbor. Sara had just
put the folded shirt down when the realization struck that she did not share a wall with any neighbor.
“Was it a draft of wind? Or her mind playing tricks?”
And there it was again. That small laugh. More pronounced this time. Sara’s heart skipped a beat.
“What was that? Someone must’ve been playing a trick, she reasoned.”
“Okay guys, haha. You got me,” She called out, only to be met with silence.
And then it came again. A giggle. It was a little girl’s laugh. No doubt about it. Sara swallowed. No,
she would not let them prank her. Lifting her chin up, she ignored that slight tremor in her hands.
Her tongue darted out, licking her lips and she started walking towards the bedroom where the
giggle had come from. On an impulse, she picked the flower vase up, and held it aloft like a sword.
As if the image she struck was funny, the unseen child laughed again. Louder this time. And it was
followed by the pitter-patter of little feet. The vase slipped slightly in her sweaty palms and Sara
hastened to tighten her grip as she neared the closet, where she thought the child was hiding. Slowly,
she opened the closet, her heart hammering a deafening beat in her chest. The knob rattled slightly
as her quivering hand enclosed around it and turned it open. She yanked the door and paused- there
was no one.
As is seen in the scene above, not once do I mention that Sara is scared. I convey her fear using the
sensory perceptions. And that, in my opinion, is the most effective way a horror writer can incite fear.
Make the readers feel what the protagonist feels and let them see what you see.
In closing, I would like to say that writing horror is a challenge indeed. More so if we are relying on
the unknown and unseen. But it is a very satisfying journey, one that yields wonderful results.
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Being an Author
Hanadi Falki
Almost every one of us has a story to share with the world. The desire, sometimes a secret one, to
try our hand at penning down those untold tales that cloud our minds when we go about doing
our mundane tasks each day.
Some of us hold on to the thought of stringing together some powerful words, shedding light on
the things we think everyone should know about, sharing our opinion on topics that genuinely matter
to us, or simply taking others for an entertaining ride in the imaginary world that we can create through
our stories.
Unfortunately, for most of us, that desire keeps getting suppressed, those dreams lost somewhere
in the hustle bustle of everyday life. It is quite hard to devote time to writing amidst our personal and
professional commitments.
Not all of us can afford a month long holiday at some serene cottage up in the mountains where we can
finally obtain tranquillity and let our creative juices flow uninterrupted. Instead, we generally let our
masterpieces adorn only our dreams.
I, for one, have been blessed with an opportunity to learn the tricks of the trade in one of the
most peaceful countries of the world- New Zealand under my esteemed Mentor, Siobhan Harvey, who
is a prominent poet and critic there.
Until then, I was under the impression that I already possessed the skill of writing, but after coming in
contact with some of the most successful authors there, I realized that my skills needed polishing- an
intense polishing at that.
The journey from ‘being a writer’ to ‘becoming a published author’ is a highly gratifying one.
Whether it is while writing the first draft, editing the second one or polishing the third, you learn a lot
as you make your way towards your goal of getting published. You come across countless hurdles at the
most unexpected moments and are faced with numerous decisions to take and tough calls to make. You
will come across a variety of people.
Some will eagerly guide you and will go out of their way to help you. While others will drown
your spirit with their negativity and supply destructive criticism at every step you take. You will have to
learn how to handle both kinds with extreme care.
From the time you sit with your coffee mug and type the first word of your manuscript, to the
time when the book is finally launched in front of an eager audience, you will be surprised by how much
the journey will change you as a writer, and as a person. It sure did change me, and I would like to share
with you the pearls of wisdom I collected along the way.
For all aspiring writers, my first and foremost advice would be to pick up that pen and start writing,
or rather, turn on that laptop and start typing. Don’t stop to think while writing. Let it flow.
Writing is all about momentum. Write at least 3000-4000 words per day. It may seem a lot, but if
you intend to write a ‘60,000-word’ novel, it is in your best interest to get started at a reasonably doable
rate. There will be days when you will write non-stop for hours at end, nature’s call and rumbling stomachs
aside, lost in the world you created, in deep conversation with the characters you brought to life.
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Then there will also be days when you will be pulling your hair out, desperately trying to
overcome your writer’s block, to pen one meaningful line. Accept that as a part of your writing journey,
take a break and use that time to read instead. You never know what can inspire you to get back
in that writing mood again. Besides, there is always something valuable to learn from every book
you read. Even from the ones you consider trash since you will learn what not to do when you finally
begin writing your own manuscript.
Shake away that writer’s block, set a word-count target and achieve it every day. Persistence
and hard work is the key here. Avoid all distractions, wake up early in the morning and write with
a fresh mind. Once you get into the habit of writing daily, you will get that first draft of your book
ready within no time.
With all this writing, sometimes you tend to lose track of the story. All stories have a single
core purpose– to cater to the fundamental human need. Stories are an arrangement of words and
images designed to evoke responses from the targeted audience, whether physical, psychological or
emotional response. The thing that is most personal is most universal too. Stories should be familiar
and fresh at the same time. Let yourself be guided by your inner voice.
The plot should be developed in such a way to maintain a momentum, to capture the interest of the
readers and to keep them guessing with each chapter. While writing in a flow, lots of sub-plots start
interfering with the progress of the main one. To avoid this, fix an ending to which the story progresses
and work towards that ending. Remember that you are not writing aimlessly. Let the subplots
intertwine with the main one. That way you know where you are headed despite all the complications
creeping up in your story.
The way you write the initial draft is also important. Although you will have to go through several
edits, later on you still need a worthy material to work on. Remember to keep a hard-hitting edginess
in your writing to keep the reader on his seat. Say more with fewer words. Keep the language simple
yet apt. Describe sounds and add imagery to your writing. Don’t be so internal. Instead of telling the
character’s feelings, list three four images that show it.
Similarly, describe sounds in your writing. It creates an image in the mind of the reader and gets them
more involved in your story. It is important to establish the setting of your story to develop the plot
into a more realistic form. The reader needs to know where, when and under what circumstances the
story is taking place. Setting gives context to the characters’ actions in a story line and it’s easier to
understand them when we know where they are. How the characters deal with their surroundings
aids in characterization as well.
Remember that external surface and an internal landscape make an interesting read. A good story
always moves between Interior-Exterior and Relationship-Plotline. It should be a balance between
action and characterization. It is important for the author to develop beloved characters and put
them through the toughest challenges so that readers stay hooked and genuinely look forward to the
resolution. Stories need the oxygen of conflict to stay alive. Start with a disruption and then look for
the questions. A story should answer the questions – Who? What? When? Why? How? –
Who are these people? What are the holes in our characters, the missing pieces, the ghosts of the
past, the misinterpretations? Why should the audience care for your story? How are these characters
going to resolve their issues and reach a resolution? It is also important to insert the backstory at
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relevant places to reveal new insights into the characters at regular intervals.
The backstory is the background of the story, the past, an unfinished business. It is the story of the
past that won’t stay in the past. Along with the obvious plotline, remember that a story should contain
Text and Subtext. According to Iceberg theory of Ernest Hemingway, the deeper meaning of a story
should not be evident on the surface. The unsaid subtext should be felt after reading the text. This
makes the story more meaningful and powerful.
Remember, the more you invest in your story, the more interest you will generate in the reader. Don’t
use the most obvious and safest way to show a particular emotion. For example: Try showing love
through anger. And don’t be lazy with the choice of your words. Instead of using abstractions like
nice, handsome, lovely etc. which flattens the interest of the story, describe the features that make
them handsome and lovely.
Specific details become metaphoric. They work simultaneously on the inside and outside of the characters.
Don’t just describe the characters, discover them inside out. Add a shade of grey to your
characters and get to know their dark side in order to add depth. Avoid stereotypes and develop the
complexity of the character through their actions, thoughts and dialogues instead. Remember that
your protagonist is the main focal point of the story. They are there to make the audience feel what
they are feeling. They are the emotional guide, the ferry ride for the audience.
A story begins with a protagonist with a problem. What is he/she missing? What’s stopping him/
her from achieving it? From becoming happy? The story shapes up when the protagonist steps into
action. The conflict should be resolved without changing the essential trait of this character. It doesn’t
mean the character doesn’t develop over time according to the situation. If the character refuses to
change until the end, it becomes a tragedy. If they change with situations, it leads to a happy ending.
Unless it is an open-ended story, remember to tie up all threads and give the reader a sense of closure
at the end of the book.
Once you have made sure that all the important story elements such as characters, setting, conflict,
plot, dialogue, text/subtext, theme, voice, style and movement are in place, you will have written a
decent manuscript at last. Now the task that lies ahead includes pitching the book to publishers and
agents. An original, attention-grabbing, easily communicated pitch is the bait to hook the publishers
and agents, make them want to hear more and sign you up eventually. Scrutinize your story and
determine its emotional power and its commercial potential, and use a lively, engaging and crisp language
in your pitch. Conduct thorough research on the publisher and the kind of books they publish
and approach them accordingly. It will take time to find a compatible publisher for your book, so be
persistent and never give up. Keep polishing your manuscript and your pitch until one day a publisher
spots the potential of your story and signs you up. But that won’t be the end of your journey.
Apart from writing a great book and getting it published, it is very important to build a solid social
media presence nowadays. An author can’t avoid it if they wish to be successful in this field. It’s no
longer a case of letting your work speak for itself. With so many modes of reaching out to the audience,
we need to tap into as many resources as we can. Some of the best work sometimes goes unnoticed
because it doesn’t reach the right audience. Some authors are old school and don’t want to do
the publicizing themselves. They simply want a quiet corner for themselves where they wish to write
to their heart’s content. There are others who get too confused by the ever-evolving technology and
coping up with it blocks their creative juices.
Some feel that this is the job best done by their agents or the marketing team of their publishing
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houses. But for that, they need to grab the attention of such agents and publishers. A newbie writer
has to create an impactful social media presence early on in their career; even before they start writing
their intended book. Some of the most popular sites for self-promotion are Facebook, Twitter and
Tumblr. Some sites will work better for you than others depending upon your material, the method
of posting and your reach.
Start writing blogs or send in articles, join writers’ groups and contribute to their discussions. Attend
various literary events and share your experiences. Only by doing this you will learn a lot more about
the world you are about to step into. Nowadays, unless you are an established writer, a political figure
or a celebrity, literary agents would like to know a bit more about the response of your readers before
they invest their time on your writing abilities. And to be fair on them, it’s a justified demand. The
more passionate you are about the success of your book, the easier it is for them to support you. It’s a
win-win situation for both parties.
So these were a few things I learnt through experience that has enabled me to successfully publish
my debut novel, ‘The Price of Our Silence’. Hope this is useful for all the aspiring writers. My best
wishes for you on this journey to become published authors.
To Know More about what she has written,
there is no way better than reading “PRICE OF
OUR SILENCE”
Order today on Amazon.
“I SEE YOU” is an extraordinary
story set in an ordinary world. A title by
Aindrila Roy, available on Amazon.
PAGE 7
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What is Must Before you
Publish
Prachi Sharma
Nowadays, it has become a trend for anyone and everyone to put “Author” before or after their
names. It has also become quite the trend to want to get published. Everyone wants to get
published. And the way publishing companies, vanity or otherwise, are mushrooming across
India, it is considered okay to want to get published, irrespective of interest or aptitude for literature.
Now, with the advent of Kindle as a self-publishing website, writers can
upload their manuscripts and get them published at a nominal cost. Yes, the writers are no longer
required to wait for months, or even years, for the traditional publishing companies to accept or reject
their manuscripts. Traditional publishers are no longer the gatekeepers of publishing- no longer are
they the sole arbiters of what the public gets to read and what they don’t.
Self-publishing has democratized publishing and given authors a platform to advertise and
share their works with the world, without having to go through a middleman or having to change
their voice. This has, no doubt, brought some genuinely good authors to the fore, who otherwise
would not have ever got a chance to be read, probably. But it has also brought out a battalion of “authors”
who are, sad to say, very amateurish, sloppy, clueless, incompetent, and grossly underprepared. I
don’t want to sound like a snob here- it’s not like I can decree who is a “real”; author and who is not.
Are authors made or born? I have no idea.
But the one thing I have always maintained is that if you are serious about
writing, you have got to be prepared. You have got to undergo a process of intense hard work and
whetting. I have waited for almost three years before pitching my first complete manuscript to a
publisher. So, what did I do in these three years? Firstly, I started writing only because of the books
I read. I have been reading since I was four. When I was nineteen, I picked up the pen to write my
own stories. And I found that all those years of reading had given me a solid foundation of words,
grammar, thoughts, and imagination. But, that wasn’t enough.
I had to mould all my acquired knowledge into something better, something that belongs to
me. My voice, my style. I had to learn the nuances of the craft, as I was going to write my stories. I
had to learn the art of storytelling- narration, plotting, characterization. I had to learn to mould my
prose in a more acceptable
format, which suited the tastes of modern readers, including myself. I had to learn the tone and tenor
of using language, words, and phraseology.
So, I wrote, and wrote, and got critique. I joined a writers’ group named
Wrimo India, where we wrote short stories for over a year. I wrote mine regularly and got it critiqued
by very competent writers. Some of the feedback I received was honest and harsh, but it helped me.
Oh, how it helped me. I learned the flaws and strengths of my writing, and how to build on the
strengths and improve my weak areas.
I read more books- in fact, I started reading literary fiction at some point,
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which helped me hone the technicalities like the plot, the language, and the
narration etc. Three years after I started writing seriously, my short story won an award. Six months
later, I had a publishing contract under my belt. The first
publisher I sent my first complete manuscript to accepted it. That manuscript was the one I took six
months to finish writing. Then another eight months were spent editing it, getting feedback from
beta readers. I didn't pitch the book to publishers till I was sure there was nothing more I could
do from my side. Another two months, and I had two more publishing contracts under my belt.
Today, I am editing my third book, which has been accepted, writing my sixth, pitching another
and planning more, I am still learning. I still read books back to back, whether genre fiction or literary.
I have worked with some of the most competent writers ever, and here’s what I think a lot of other
contemporary writers lack today:
• Reading background: No, reading the books authored by Chetan Bhagat and Durjoy Dutta does
NOT, make you a competent writer. These books are for pastime- they cannot fire your imagination
or teach you the nuance of the craft.
• Writing practice: Having read a lot of contemporary fiction, I can say that most of them have never
ever bothered to exercise writing, practiced their craft, developed their style or found their voice.
What they have published is not even first draft material. I’ve read better first drafts.
• Critique: You need to practice stories- whether short stories or novelettes or full-length books, and
then you need to show them to your fellow writers, the people whose judgement you can trust, and
who are hopefully not your friends. A fresh pair of eyes will always be more critical about your work.
You may accept all advice, reject all of it, or take some and dismiss some, but it will force you to look
at your work in a new way, show you what you might have missed.
• Seriousness: A lot of contemporary writers seem extremely lazy and uninterested in the quality of
the product they have churned out. It seems as if the basic tools like grammar, syntax, language, prose,
plot, and originality which are vital in any serious writer’s kitty are not much important for them.
They don’t care to self-edit, or at least have the manuscript professionally edited before it goes for
publishing. The story is more important, they say.
But what about the nuances of storytelling, the language in which you communicate them, are they
not that important?
India’s publishing industry is going through an interesting phase, a boom. More
people are coming forward to try their hand at it. So, if you are going to put out a book, make sure
you put in all the possible efforts like reading, writing practice, critique, and editing. Might as well put
out a book that is a product of hard work. Let your name on the cover be associated with competence.
Writing is a venerated craft- might as well do it right, or don’t do it at all.
Grab your copy of
“THE ALPHABET KILLER” Authored by
Prachi Sharma
From Amazon
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The Fountain of Youth
Galina Trefil
A
thrill vibrated through his ribcage as though a fist-sized opiate had been plunged
just under his sternum. The ecstasy rippled across his sagging, threadbare skin, tingling
to the ends of the meager white threads of what had once been a massive array
of dark chest hair, covering heavy muscles. The toes of one foot slid into the pool beneath
him…but, as his eyes closed, the sensual response that came was from more than mere water.
At his age, “lust” had long ago stopped being the correct term for it. Nonetheless, there
remained a dark physical pleasure which never ceased to make him realize that there was
indeed a fountain of youth. And he was wading into it.
On all sides of him, there were gleefully-shrieking tourists, splashing and playing
games, who had come to enjoy the recreational center as an escape from their daily life. For
them, the recent building provided no more than simple fun. But, as the old man lowered
himself carefully, their sounds brought back other screams to his mind. And a grin spread
across his face, knowing that, in the spot where others played water volleyball…oh…so many
had died. And he had been there to watch. With a slight laugh, he allowed himself to submerge
completely. Beneath the surface, he imagined swimming in their corpses….
Years later, every morning, Koloman Novotny blinked himself awake to an immediate and
overwhelming sense of bitterness. Making his way about his flat’s small kitchen, he grumbled
complaints to himself absentmindedly. No one else, he scowled, ever cared to listen
anymore. He chewed what he could with the few teeth that he had left, proclaiming the
injustice of his plight between bites.
He had hated Gypsies. So he had killed Gypsies. His neighbors had hated Gypsies.
Hell, the whole town had hated Gypsies. No, more than that—the country, no, no, he protested
for the thousandth time, even more—the world—hated Gypsies. And so everyone had
all been very glad for him and others like him to knock off the ones that had been rounded
up. It was over seventy years ago now since, as a teenage guard, Koloman had first murdered
one of the prisoners in the barracks of the Hodonin Concentration Camp near Kunštát,
Moravia. Lousy slag had been infected with typhus anyway, he snorted. She should’ve been
grateful to be finished off so quickly.
He had never understood why more than just a few hundred Gypsies weren’t killed
right there. Yes, they were needed for slave labor first, but everyone knew they were just
going on to be gassed in Auschwitz sooner or later. Why not let him and the other Czech
guards have a bit more fun before the Germans got their hands on them?
And, after the war, when the death site had been turned into such a jolly retreat—
even using one of the former barracks as a charming little restaurant—he had many times
found himself drifting towards it. He ate sandwiches and belched up mug after mug of beer
there, remembering fondly the things that he had done inside the walls surrounding him.
All those things which beautiful Gypsy women—nothing but whores anyway—would do or
face his consequences. His nagging wife and, later, his ungrateful children could never un-
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derstand such things, so he had kept it to himself.
After a meal, he would go to the place where a swimming pool had been erected on
the death grounds. As he floated, his arms occasionally moving as if to make angel wings
in the chlorine-filled water, exactly the place where there were childrens’ dark eyes…crying
out in terror, pleading with him to not do whatever he was about to, begging him for the
crusts of bread, soaked in his consciousness like syrup; or some perfume. In that pool, he
was not the failure which others procliamed him to be when the war was over. No, at those
moments, Kolomon Novotny was God—omnipotent and, at least in his own mind, still incredibly
lethal.
But those damn Gypsy activists. Those filth. Those vermin! They had seen to it that
the restaurant was closed. His pool was destroyed. Those bastards had insisted that the site
become a memorial to the dead. He still could not believe that the government had allowed
it. All these years later, he was perfectly aware, whether there were mass killings or not, his
neighbors, his town, his country, and the world still hated Gypsies. So why give into their
demands?
Still, when the day came to commemorate the thousands of victims who had passed
through Hodonin Concentration Camp’s gate, Kolomon could not help but go. These pups
who were making speeches thought that they knew what they were talking about? Bah!
Only those who had been there could truly imagine it and, he smirked, of all the Gypsies in
the entire Czech Protectorate, less than 600 had survived World War II. Over ninety percent,
thanks to the hard-working men like him, had been snuffed out.
The assembled crowd here now was not that large. Couldn’t be, he chuckled.
He then noticed an olive-skinned woman, her snow white hair pinned back in a bun, squinting
in his direction…. She began to take slow, approaching steps, leaning on her cane. He
did not retreat; felt not the slightest fear. When she finally managed to make her way to
him, she blinked several times. But, after a great silence, she finally hissed, “Murderer!
Rapist! I know you. I remember….”
“I was a Hodonin guard,” Kolomon shrugged, fully delighted by her recognition.
“Czech Republic will not prosecute Hodonin guards…because, by killing you, we were serving
our country.”
Tears…of defeat…of humiliation…streamed down her withered face. He burst out
laughing; would have doubled over if his body was still up to it. Her breath heaving in and
out of her, she was as overwhelmed with memories of her blood-soaked youth. But hers
prompted her cane to raise high in the air and then slam him down. From the ground of the
former death camp, Kolomon Novotny’s broken hip was now the one screaming loud.
He would suffer at length…and alone, eventually expiring from that injury’s complications.
“I have little life left in me,” the Romani Holocaust survivor had said to the police as
they arrested her. “But there is yet enough to watch that monster die…. Governments may
pardon such men, but God will not.”
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INK DRIFT MAGAZINE
It’s not Me, It’s You
Khushnuma Daruwala
After years of self-flagellation, a short span of six months in the arranged marriage market
made me come to the irrefutable conclusion—it’s not me, it’s them.
All these years, I had bravely shouldered the accusations that were hurled at me, by every
journal article, for my failed relationships. ‘Unconscious choice patterns’, ‘abysmal self-esteem’, ‘latent
masochism’, screamed every psychologist and agony-aunt. The pattern continued with my forays into
the world of arranged marriage. Having burnt my fingers so often, nothing remained of my digits, but
mere stubs and I stopped protesting long ago. Maybe, my forehead was, unbeknownst to me, flashing
a neon ‘WELCOME’ sign that only losers could see. Maybe, I enjoyed the pain of being kicked in
the gut. Maybe, I was a psychiatrist’s dream case.
The only one who understood me was Roxette. It was comforting to know that in this world
of 7 billion, at least one was as messed up as I was. I sang along to what seemed like a perfect summation
of my life:
‘Cos every time I seem to fall in love
Crash! Boom! Bang!
I find the heart but then I hit the wall
Crash! Boom! Bang!
That’s my real middle-name . . .
Marriage, like driving, was my frailty. I no longer admired people with great academic or
sporting achievements. My unabashed admiration, these days, was reserved for those who could control
and manoeuvre a large piece of metal (aka cars, buses, freight trucks) and for those who had
managed the biggest coup of all, marriage; which of course meant pretty much everyone around me.
These days in any given room I was in, the majority could drive, and were no longer single. While I’m
wandering the dating-maze like a headless chicken, people are not only getting married, they are getting
married for the second and even third time! Obviously, it must be supremely easy. And obviously,
I was missing a trick.
It sounds horribly vain (actually just plain horrible), but there have been times when on spotting
a not-so-pleasant looking woman, I have silently sighed— ‘Even she is married’ or ‘How did she
land a husband?’ Shameful to say the least, but it wasn’t so much about putting them down as much
as it was a self-pity trip. While I know that love and marriage are not a function of looks but I’m not
that terrible on the character-scale, if I may say so myself.
They say epiphany often strikes when you reach a cul-de-sac or the edge of the precipice, or when you
are downing caffeine by the gallons.
As I vigorously stirred my caramel-chip cold coffee, wondering why the chips refused to
dissolve into the frothy liquid, a hazy thought blurb materialized; maybe, just maybe, I was an alien.
Part of a secret convoy of alien-scientists who had committed their entire life to the study of primitive
mating and dating rituals on planet earth. Maybe our memories had been neutralized by Men in
Black-style neutralizers.
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Farfetched as it may sound, this theory could well explain a lot—my absolute inability to detect
when a man is flirting with me; why couldn’t I ever be like the women who proudly claimed, ‘we
can get men to do anything we want,’ whereas I couldn’t even get my date to part with his beloved
baseball cap while attending a fancy soiree; or my bewilderment at the gazillion odd concoctions one
could prepare from a humble coffee bean. I never seem to run out of new beverages to try on these
dates.
Maybe, it was my superior alien sensibilities that were refusing to let me downgrade to the
earth 2.0 male version. Maybe humans, despite their basic olfactory senses, could sense my alien-y
wiles.
Partly mollified by this hypothesis and partly by the rich caramelly beverage, I decided I was
ready to throw down the gauntlet. Alien or human, I would carry on with my mission.
It is an excerpt from “50 CUPS OF COFFEE”
a novel authored by Khushnuma Daruwala
Grab your copy today on Amazon.
“THE INCOMPLETE ONES”
is a title authored by Galina Trefil.
A historical fiction which can change the
way you read novels.
PAGE 13
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INK DRIFT MAGAZINE
Oksana Marafioti
An Interview
We have interviewed
one of the most respected
American
writer of Romani-Armenian
descent Ms.
Oksana Marafioti.
Nikita D’Monte: Hi
Oksana, let me begin
by telling you what a
great honor it is for us
to be able to interview you today. So let’s begin
with a short introduction. Please tell our readers
a little about yourself.
Oksana Marafioti: I’m an American writer of
Romani-Armenian descent. I was born in Latvia,
and immigrated to US in the 1980s. I write
and speak extensively on cultural diversity and
the importance of preserving our heritage. My
writings have appeared in Time, Slate, Rumpus,
and other publications, and I’m a recipient of
the BMI-Library of Congress Kluge Center
fellowship award.
Nikita D’Monte: You are a pianist, a cinematographer,
a writer, how do you manage so many
roles altogether?
Oksana Marafioti: Probably because I love everything
I do. It’s not that difficult to stay engaged,
when you pursue your passions. I’m also
a mother, and that particular role has taught
me to multitask better than anything else ever
could. Presently, my primary focus is writing.
However, I still play piano regularly and try to
stay involved in the local film community.
Nikita D’Monte: What caused your shift to
writing?
Oksana Marafioti: Although
I’ve worked in
various industries, writing
has been my passion
since the age of
six. When I moved to
America, I didn’t speak
English, and so I figured
becoming a writer
was out of the question.
But that didn’t stop me
from working on it. I devoured books, and wrote
thousands of pages until things began to improve,
until I grew more comfortable with English. Life
kind of took over, and I found myself focusing on
other careers, but eventually, it became clear that
writing was my one true calling, and so I returned
to it.
Nikita D’Monte: Do you agree that writing is
always necessarily drawing from the personal life
of the author?
Oksana Marafioti: To an extent. It’s natural to
base some of the material on one’s own experiences,
but this is something all of us do even if
we’re not writers, don’t we? We constantly interpret
the world around us through the lens of what
came before in our lives. A writer has an opportunity
to interpret or even rewrite those experiences,
maybe reinventing oneself in the process. But
imagination, of course, is an essential component.
It adds the seasoning necessary to create something
original and fascinating.
Nikita D’Monte: Please tell us about your
first writing venture (“The Perpetual Engine of
Hope”).
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INK DRIFT MAGAZINE
Oksana Marafioti: It was really a fun project!
The book is a collection of short stories inspired
by vintage Las Vegas photographs. All of the
contributing writers, including myself, are or
were Las Vegas residents. My story was about a
gambling man who faces the devil in the form
of a beautiful woman. I loved writing for the
collection, especially because I got to meet the
amazing writers who also contributed to it. It
also helped me see Las Vegas beyond all the stereotypes
attached to it.
Nikita D’Monte: Does the blend of being in
America and being of Armenian and Romani
descent find a way into your work in the form of
varied perspectives etc.?
Oksana Marafioti: Absolutely. I don’t believe in
trying to escape one’s heritage. In fact, I think
it’s something precious and what makes us truly
unique. I’m all of the nationalities inside me,
and no one can change that or say otherwise.
Every language opens a door into a new culture
and gives a multi layered perspective on the
world. These various perspectives help guide me
in my writing by keeping my mind open to the
stunningly complex reality we live in.
Nikita D’Monte: How difficult or easy is it to
publish a book in a technology governed world?
Oksana Marafioti: Nowadays, self-publishing
has become much easier, although traditional
publishing is still just as challenging as it was
before. It’s still about the quality of the book. If
you took time to work on it, making it the best
possible book, you will probably be successful
regardless of the platform.
Nikita D’Monte: Would you like to talk about
any dream writing projects or any projects you
are currently working on?
Oksana Marafioti: Presently, I am working on
a short story collection of anthropomorphic
translations of animal behavior into human
situations. My purpose is to show how similar
we are to the rest of the living creatures on this
planet, and to possibly bring a better understanding
of our place among them.
Nikita D’Monte: What’s your mantra for tough
times?
Oksana Marafioti: For the past year, I’ve been
listening to lectures by Sadhguru, a yogi mystic.
In one of his talks, he mentioned how much
easier it would be if during unhappy times we
could remember that we are all mortal. It resonated
with me. “I am mortal” has become my
mantra ever since.
Nikita D’Monte: Any word of advice for our
young and budding writers in the world?
Oksana Marafioti: Create space in your life
for writing. It will never happen by itself. There
will never be the perfect time to write. Life will
always get in the way. If you wait, you might
never get the chance to write at all. You need to
physically make writing a part of your routine.
This is the hardest step, and what differentiates
amateur writers from professionals. Once you’ve
done this, don’t feel guilty about hanging out in
that space.
Nikita D’Monte: What is your take on Writers
Block?
Oksana Marafioti: It’s an interesting idea, but
I don’t think it exists. If a piece of writing isn’t
working, it’s usually because there’s an internal
problem we choose to ignore. That feeling of a
writer’s block, is our mind’s way of telling us to
go back and revise or restructure.
Nikita D’Monte: What according to you is the
most difficult part of writing fiction of any form?
Oksana Marafioti: Consistency, for sure. It
takes real commitment and patience to work on
PAGE 15
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INK DRIFT MAGAZINE
something, knowing you might never do anything
with it. There’s no instant gratification,
just complete dedication.
Nikita D’Monte: What is the one thing you
would like to change or include in your writing
that you haven’t been able to until now?
Oksana Marafioti: Up until now, I’ve been
writing a lot of non-fiction but I’d like to transition
into writing fiction. Just test out the waters
in different genres and see if there’s another I’d
like to explore.
Nikita D’Monte: What according to you is the
one genre or topic that is the most misrepresented
and exploited when it comes to written
fiction?
Oksana Marafioti: I’d have to say fairy tales
and folklore. Both have gone out of style and
are reduced to literature only children or anthropologists
read. However, these are the foundations
of all story-telling we know, across all
cultures we know. Folklore is the heartbeat of
human identity. It would be interesting to see
more contemporary writers explore the idea of a
modern fairy tale, and feel that beat again.
dp/0374104077
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/
show/5060152.Oksana_Marafioti
Website: https://us.macmillan.com/americangypsy/oksanamarafioti/9780374104078
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Oksana-Marafioti-Author-149370741764790/
Grab
a copy of
American Gypsy: A Memoir
on Amazon!
Nikita D’Monte: Is there anything else that
you would like to tell us that I haven’t included
above.
Oksana Marafioti: I have another book coming
out sometime next year. It’s a paranormal fantasy
novel called, Donatti’s Lunatics. It follows
the adventures of a group of ghost hunters, as
they fight malefic forces attempting to take over
the world. It will be available through Amazon
and other retailers.
LinkedIn link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/
oksana-marafioti-79508733/
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/
American-Gypsy-Memoir-Oksana-Marafioti/
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INK DRIFT MAGAZINE
Three Tips for Thriller Writers
Archana Sarat
Thriller spells action
Something needs to happen as soon as you open a thriller novel. If it happens in the first scene, it
is good. Action in the first paragraph is better but action in the first line itself would be excellent.
For instance, this is the opening sentence of my book, Birds of Prey, ‘Anton hoped the bloody
bastard would slip on one of the ragged stones.’ While a few well-meaning folks were scandalised to
read the phrase ‘bloody bastard’ on the first line, the legendary Shri. B. S. Raghavan, who has worked
directly under the first three Prime Ministers of our country, agreed to launch the book only because
of that first sentence. So, don’t be scared to throw in a dead body or two there.
Please do not speak about the weather or the locale unless you plan to pull them into the action
too. Jerry Pinto does this beautifully in ‘Murder in Mahim’. It starts off with this sentence, ‘Bombay
doesn’t do night.’ After Tolstoy’s opening sentence in Anna Karenina, this is my most favourite
opening sentence in literature. The sentence not only speaks about the city, which plays a major part
in the novel, but also speaks about it in action. Bombay doesn’t do night.
Thomas Harris doesn’t do a gripping first sentence in ‘Red Dragon’. Damn, he doesn’t even
do a gripping opening scene! Do you know why? He is building up the atmosphere for the second
scene which is sure to make your stomach lurch. Thomas Harris could have easily interchanged those
two scenes while structuring his novel but he doesn’t because he knows that it wouldn’t have the same
impact that it has now. And that brings me to the second point…
Pay attention to structure
Unlike a few novels that ramble on without any clear storyline, a clear-cut story is a prerequisite for a
thriller. There must be a clear conflict and a rational solution for the same, without any ambiguity. You
cannot introduce your murderer to the audience after they have read more than half the book. To take
it one step further, a thriller novel needs to be divided into scenes and each scene needs to logically
lead to the next. If you are interested to know more about structuring a novel, I would suggest reading
these three books:
i) Aristotle’s - Poetics
ii) Joseph Campbell’s - The Hero with a Thousand Faces
iii) James Scott Bell’s - Plot and Structure
Since my novel dealt with two different points of view, and because there had to be a balance between
them, I had to carefully structure the novel. The fact that I had panted my way through the first draft
made sure that the story was all over the place. So, I made index cards with a scene for every card and
arranged them (on the floor) in various ways to see how best it would work. Only after that became
clear, did I start rewriting the next draft of Birds of Prey. Whether you do it on paper, cards or excel
doesn’t matter, but give a thought to how you structure your book. Many authors are excellent storytellers
that the process happens organically. However, most thriller writers give a careful thought to
the plot and structuring of their book.
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Create memorable characters
Most of us might not remember the plot of ‘The Sleeping Murder’ or ‘The Murder on the Orient
Express’ but we can never forget Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot. The same is true with Hannibal
Lecter or Sweeney Todd. Whether the character is a protagonist or an antagonist, create three-dimensional
characters whom we can either love and root for or love to detest.
What is a three-dimensional character? The best way to explain this would be to highlight, by
an example, what is not a three-dimensional character. I’m sure you must have watched some episode
of a regional saas-bahu television serial. That is exactly how not to do a thing. The mother-in-law in
these serials is bad and gets worse by the day. She is the epitome of the devil with nothing good left
in her. Her only goal in life is to exile her daughter-in-law from the family. This occupies all her time,
effort and money. There is only one-dimension to her. Boring! Instead, give me a mother-in-law who
feeds stray dogs while jogging in the morning, has an affair with her college-going neighbour and
poisons her daughter-in-law in secret. I already love her!
These three tips are just a casual introduction to writing a thriller. There is a lot more to learn
about thriller writing. Needless to say, to write good thrillers, you need to read more thrillers. When
a thriller engrosses your attention, and fails to let you go, then reread it again. See what was the magic
trick that the author has so successfully pulled off! Go back to the opening sentence, scene break-up,
the points of view and ends of the various chapters. What are the cliff-hangers? How are they presented?
Try to decode them. Suspense, mystery and thriller is a satisfying and exciting genre to work
in. Along with the reader, you discover the story too, a little at a time.
Grab your copy of
Birds of Prey on Amazon!
to know how she implemented
these tips!
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CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS
KHUSHNUMA DARUWALA
50 Cups of Coffee
AINDRILA ROY
I See You
ARCHANA SARAT
Birds of Prey
HANADI FALKI
Price of our Silence
PRACHI SHARMA
The Alphabet Killer
GALINA TREFIL
The Incomplete Ones
Ink Drift Magazine
www.inkdrift.com
2017 © All Rights Reserved

It’s none of their business
that you have to learn to
write. Let them think you
were born that way.
– Ernest Hemingway
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