You, Hitesh Verma, are working as an anchor in Doordarshan, Delhi. Your channel is planning to celebrate Indian English Literary Week. You have been given the responsibility to prepare for and take an interview of the famous contemporary Indian writer Mr. Vikram Seth. Using the guidelines given below and your own ideas, write a set of three or more exchanges between Mr. Vikram Seth and you.

•secret behind a successful writer

•challenges in taking up writing as a profession

•about his published or unpublished works

•message for future young writers

Interview with Novelist, Mr. Vikram Seth

Hitesh: A very good morning sir. I am proud to be interviewing one of the contemporary Indian writers, Mr. Vikram Seth. As you already know our channel is planning to celebrate Indian English Literary Week we have organised this interview so as to broaden our knowledge base regarding English literature. Going forward, I would like to ask you the secret behind a successful writer.

Mr. Vikram Seth: Just follow these 5 steps, and writing success is in the palm of your hands: Write, Read, Finish, Publish and Learn. You need not necessarily be famous at your first publication but you learn a lot every time to write something new. And also one should start publishing on a blog post to self-publishing to writing e-books and handing them around to friends. Publish, as in, get your work in front of people’s eyes so they can give you feedback.

Hitesh: Well, that’s a really nice answer. In today’s world there are many people who aspire to become writers but sit back thinking about the challenges. So now tell me about the challenges in taking up writing as a profession.

Mr. Vikram Seth: There are no challenges as such in taking up writing as a profession. All you need to have is patience and believe in yourself and in what you are writing. Being unconfident is where the actual problem lies. I often hear that inexperience writers complain that they do not feel they are knowledgeable enough to write something. If you think the same way, you can give it up if you want, but I am certain that everyone can write; the only thing needed is to get it started. Do not be afraid to take a chance.

Hitesh: I hope this would serve as an immense inspiration for aspiring writers. I would like to know something about your published or unpublished works.

Mr. Vikram Seth: I had published eight books of poetry and four novels. In 1980, I wrote Mappings, my first book of poetry. The publication of A Suitable Boy, a 1,349-page novel, propelled me into the public limelight. Apart from these I have written a few children’s novels, many poetries and novels.

Hitesh: It was really good to know about you in much greater depth. I would now like you to give a message for future young writers.

Mr. Vikram Seth: Never quit honing your craft. Write about anything and everything and be willing to accept criticism. Be a deeper person and never restrict your horizon because the world will always need writers.