Apoorva is a writer, poet, and mental health advocate. With lived experience in the field of mental health, she wants to spread awareness in the field. She is a Gender Studies PhD scholar, and has been a teacher for 4 years. She is also a music enthusiast and adores her cats and dog to bits. Let us know more about Author Apoorva Ravi.

Q1) Every author has a story from where they began their writing journey. Tell us about the start of your journey.

Ans: I started writing when I was 16. It was then that I wrote my first poetry. Oh, and it did rhyme, for I didn’t know at that time that it need not. The poem was called, ‘Nature my Beautiful Teacher’. And, my parents and grandparents were so proud. My grandfather who worked in the Gazetteer got it published in The Deccan Herald. Poems then, became a way for me, an introverted teenager to express myself. I primarily wrote about nature at that time. There are many poems comprising of conversations with the sky, sun, moon, and clouds.

And later, as I progressed to college, I started writing in my diary and called it, ‘The Diary of a Single Girl’. I was inspired by my single status and a Times of India column on the same theme. So, my diary writing gave me a pathway to channel my deepest emotions into writing, using tools like satire, humor, pathos, and existentialism. The diary writing honed my skill as a writer and when I read out my diary to my mother, she laughed and loved it. My first book, ‘Ahana: The Musings of an Indian Misfit’, has an expert from my diary.

During my Masters, when I was diagnosed with depression, it was the same writing that helped me apart from my friends, teachers, and parents. My diary still holds hidden emotions that have never surfaced while interacting with others. My writing, after that, is more reflective and is directed inwards than outwards.

I then started writing more poems to express my fleeting emotions on my mobile and used to share them with my friend. And, because of the suggestion from another friend I started writing on Instagram, with the handle ‘meandering_soul’. Meandering Soul is a gateway to all my feelings and emotions. They kept me sane during the most difficult times, even during the pandemic. They even became an indirect way of communication between me and my ex who was then my boyfriend. And my journey as a writer is ongoing, as I grow in better channeling my emotions and observations.

Q2) “ Ahana: The Musings of an Indian Misfit “ is written by you. How did you decide the plot of the book and what was your inspiration behind it? Also, attach the link for the purchase of the book

Ans: Ahana is a book that speaks about a young girl who navigates her life through its complexities. It is primarily a version of me that finds herself a misfit in society. I didn’t decide suddenly to write this book. The stories were written over time. At first, I wrote a couple of small snippets capturing my relationships with significant people in my life. And the first snippet is the story of a crush I had during school. That story, is the first chapter of the book. There are four other chapters, one of which is an excerpt from my diary and the other is a small glimpse of my struggle with myself during my mental health journey, which will be highlighted in detail in my third book. My main inspiration for publishing the book, ‘Ahana: The Musings of an Indian Misfit’,  was my dream to be a published writer from a small age and also my desire to be heard by people.

The book did receive positive reviews from many readers. The purchase link, for the book and the reviews, is given below:

Ahana: The Musings of an Indian Misfit https://amzn.eu/d/aPa5TI8

Q3) “Embrace: The Tiny Pieces of the Soul “ is written by you. How did you decide the plot of the book and what was your inspiration behind it? Also, attach the link for the purchase of the book.

Ans: While writing the second book, Embrace, I had much more experience. It’s in fact the most recently written book. And the third book, that’s yet to be published was written before Embrace. With Embrace, the first two stories were written for a theme – ‘Age is Just a Number’ and then I got the idea to publish a book of stories of different facets of a woman’s or a girl’s life. I did feel that some chapters from Ahana, the first book would fit in here perfectly, and so they are republished as standalone stories in this book as well. Another bonus feature of this book and the third one is that they also contain my poems. So, essentially the book, Embrace is a collection of 12 short stories and 12 poems that are reflections of different emotions of women, at different junctures of their lives.

The link to purchase the book is given below:

Embrace: The Tiny Pieces of the Soul https://amzn.eu/d/5gwgxVZ

Q4) A lot of young authors want to have a career in writing but feel underconfident at times. What would be your advice to them?

Ans:  My advice to writers would be to use your writing as a platform to express your emotions. Do not shy away from expressing them. Because your emotions and your experiences are very powerful. And perhaps, not put the burden of a dream to be published, on your writing, as then the writing will suffer, because of the pressure. We all have stories to tell, and writers should always remember that they are the best person to narrate the stories they want the world to know. And, last but not least, edit and proofread multiple times, even if one wants to self-publish.

Q5) From writing the initial draft to working on the final draft it surely requires a lot of effort. What was the most challenging process in your writing career?

Ans: I am still going through the process of being a writer. I never sit with my laptop to write the first draft. It is always written on my mobile, on a diary-writing, mobile application called, ‘Journey’. I then transfer it to a Google Document, which is later edited on my laptop.

I find it easy to write the first draft. My free-flowing ideas usually, are waiting to be unleashed. But, the editing process, the process of accepting feedback from others, and improving on the first draft is the challenging aspect.

Q6) Is there any message you want to give to the readers?

Ans: My message to my readers is gratitude for trusting in me, and picking up my book. I would also like to tell them that I emote and feel deeply about the things that I write. I never write to just create a story. My stories are always from the heart.

Q7) Tell us something about your hobbies and why do you think that hobbies are important for a person?

Ans: My favorite hobbies are listening to music and exploring different cuisines of food. I feel that these two hobbies help me explore the world, through my own lens and on my own terms. I have lots of playlists on Spotify, one for every emotion and mood.

Hobbies are important for a person and especially a writer because it frees the person’s thinking, liberating them. It helps a person to remain open to different experiences, which are essential traits of a writer. And, hobbies also make life experiences more worthwhile and fulfilling.