Ravinder Singh on ‘Write Me A Love Story’

Fans of Ravinder Singh can rejoice because the celebrated author has just released his brand new book titled Write Me A Love Story and it promises to be a steamy read. The book follows the life of popular romance author Abhimanyu and how his fateful encounter with headstrong PaperInk editor Asmita at a parking lot sets off a sizzling love story filled with enmity, angst, romance, and longing. A page-turner that will leave you hungry for more, this is the author’s first stint with erotica and his fans will not be disappointed. Ravinder Singh, who has sold more than 3.5 million copies to date, is certainly back with a bang with many a potential Easter egg hidden within the pages of his new release. The Telegraph got on a call with the author to break down the basics of Write Me A Love Story and to talk about his favourite reads, his take on romance, writer’s block and much more.

What can your fans expect from your new release?

I am somebody who has made an identity in the world of writing romance so definitely, this book is about romance as is evident from the title. However, something refreshing and new this time is that this love story is based out of a publishing house –– a romance author falls in love with his editor when both of them are working on a love story in fiction. So it’s a story within a story.

Ever since the book came out my social media has been flooded by fans wondering whether the author is me in the story or not! They’re actually digging out all the old quotes that I used to say or the pictures I used to post and they are drawing a parallel between the book and my life. There’s a lot of guesswork going on. Another thing that is completely new is that I have given this a hint of erotica. There are intimate, hot, and steamy scenes, and I’m getting a lot of great reviews about them.

What was the inspiration behind the book?

I was reading Sylvia Day sometime around a year-and-a-half back when I was thinking about my next novel, and I was hooked by the kind of erotica that she wrote. So I was inspired to write erotica myself. With every new novel I have to think of a new plot, and this time my mind was consumed by my visits to my publisher. I have always wanted to base a romance novel out of a publishing house. There was this whole idea of romance unfolding at the pretext of writing a love story between an author and his editor. I was also moved and consumed by the idea of words, and somebody just falling for the words of the author and being unable to hold herself back, which is what happens in the book. That sweet tension and build-up is something that my own readers have experienced from what they have had to say about my words.

What were the challenges you faced while venturing into the genre of erotica?

The whole risk was that I will land up doing too much. I had to know where to draw the boundary. It should not appear gross in any way and instead appear organic. I also made sure that I made some key people read the book, and these people were predominantly women who gave me feedback. I really enjoyed and felt liberated writing the erotica parts. It was like letting my thoughts all out into the open. It was me making myself vulnerable. So far, seeing the kind of response I am getting on social media for these scenes, I think it was a job well done. In fact, people are now asking me to continue to include erotica in all my books.

How much of your own self is reflected in your characters?

I would not give you a clear answer to that (laughs). I will keep things to myself. There is me and then there is not me in this book, I will leave it up to you. I think the whole charm is when people interpret the book themselves. Actually, the very first person who happened to pin out something was Durjoy Datta who is a good friend and a writer himself. He was reading an excerpt where the male protagonist Abhimanyu was being introduced and I was talking about what he was wearing: a pink T-shirt and white khaki pants with tinted glasses. Durjoy happened to find a picture of me looking exactly like that on my social media, which he then reposted and publicly asked me who this guy that I was writing about was! Everyone should feel free to interpret this in their own ways and I am happy to hear about the interpretations that everyone goes and makes.

Which romance trope is your favourite to write or read about?

So if I consider this as a genre across both television and writing, then the whole idea of a love story unfolding in New York is my favourite, or even a Notting Hill kind of romance. So I love this urban-chic romance that comes out between a boy and a girl living in an urban space. I am a big fan of Cecelia Ahern’s romance as well. I also love a Nicholas Sparks or even an Eric Segal kind of romance. These are my go-to. I also love romances that unfold in bookstores or those that are based out of corporate offices in New York or London where there are dates over coffee. I am also a sucker for romance that makes me emotional. There has to be emotion and a sense of loss in it. They need to move me. I also love watching romantic movies, specifically those set in winter. The whole description of New York and Times Square during a snowfall where the boy and the girl are together during Christmas or New Year are my absolute favourites.

Are there any other genres you are eager to branch out into?

Fantasy fiction is one such genre that I want to explore. Right now my writing is predominantly romance, but this time I extended that to include erotica and in a similar way I would love to explore fantasy fiction. I still do not have an exact understanding of how I would like to do it. But a good example of where I’m going with this would be The Lake House, where the boy and the girl are separated by two years and the story unfolds from there. About Time is another such Hollywood movie that is a romance but with fantasy elements in it. So I would love to explore this next time.

How do you deal with writer’s block?

I take a break actually (laughs). If I’m not able to think I would rather take a break and come back to it at a later stage. Writer’s block is nothing but an excuse for not writing because of XYZ reasons. It’s just you not being in the mood so you need to pull yourself up to get to that space where you feel those creative butterflies fluttering away somewhere. I would rather take a break and read or watch something to get inspired. I usually go and sit in a nice cafe in my city for a change of mood. I do things that will release a lot of dopamine. At times, a glass or two of tipple helps or even karak chai. Sometimes rain helps or some nice food or even an exciting conversation with a long-forgotten friend. All these things charge me up and set the mood right again.

What advice would you give to budding writers out there?

Wanting to write is one thing and actually writing is another. Majority of the time I hear people say that they want to write a book and that they have this story in their head. When I ask them whether they have written anything the answer is always no, they will write one day. So I ask them when this one day will come. The response is always that when they sit to write they don’t know what to write. So then I ask them why they don’t just write whatever comes to their head? Why are they bothered about whether it’s the right thing? Why don’t they start by writing all the wrong things on a piece of paper first and then all they have to do is take it one day at a time and start by correcting just one sentence. The next day they can correct two sentences. Then eventually they will find that they are able to get a good page or a good chapter. You just have to sit down and describe a scene from the novel you have in your head. Cherry-pick one thing and simply give all your energy to that. Just start writing.