Author Interview: Umme Ammara

Ravi: What’s your favorite short story?

Umme: Premchand’s story on ‘bonded labour’.

Ravi: The best piece of writing advice?

Umme: Write for yourself, for your satisfaction. The readers will automatically love your work when you write from the heart.

Ravi: Where do you write?

Umme: I write in my journal; anywhere and everywhere I feel like writing as long as the situation permits.

Ravi: Where do you get your ideas?

Umme: From my surroundings as well as from the books I read.

Ravi: Does writing energize or exhaust you?

Umme: It gives me a sense of pleasure and a renewed spirit and confidence. So yes, it definitely energizes me.

Ravi: How long on average does it take you to write a book?

Umme: Depends on my interest and determination. My first book had been written in under 3 months. And the one I started two months back is not half done yet.

Ravi: If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?

Umme: I would travel a lot because I end up writing my travel tidbits in my stories and poems; and honestly speaking, I have traveled very very less. I feel travelling more and exploring the world would have brought out a different angle to my writings.

Ravi: What is your favorite childhood book?

Umme: Harry Potter always.

Ravi: What are your favorite literary journals?

Umme: None. I am not very much aware of them.

Ravi: What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?

Umme: procrastination.

Ravi: What was your hardest scene to write?

Umme: A husband attacking his wife under the influence of some drug.

Ravi: Do you Google yourself?

Umme: sometimes.

Ravi: Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

Umme: Not that I can think of, but would definitely love to try this.

Ravi: Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

Umme: Always. Good ones make me more confident about my writings and constructive negative ones provide me with learning to better my work.

Ravi: Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?

Umme: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. I was bowled over by her writing style.

Ravi: What did you edit out of this book?

Umme: many things and many times

Ravi: How many hours a day do you write?

Umme: Not specific. Some days I write and some days I don’t.

Ravi: How long were you a part-time writer before you became a full-time one?

Umme: 2 years.

Ravi: What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

Umme: I try to learn from the different styles of various Authors. It is a continuous process.

Ravi: What’s the best way to market your books?

Umme: To write a good book. A good book will automatically be your greatest marketing weapon.

Ravi: How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

Umme: one

Ravi: How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?

Umme: Not much since it was non-fiction and I believe I can write fiction much better.

Ravi: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Umme: Write when you feel up to it, when you are brimming with ideas. Don’t force yourself to stick to your schedule.

Ravi: What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

Umme: J Alchem and Syeda Faiza Rasheed are Facebook friends. Mr. Jaganmantha, Mr. Sidda Ravi Teja, and Mr. Prabhakar are the Authors I know through Gurucool publishing. There are a couple of Umme friends on Instagram too.

Ravi: Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

Umme: I write what I feel.

Ravi: What advice do you have for writers?

Umme: Don’t lose your originality. It is that which influences your readers the most.

Ravi: Tell me about your recent book to our ravireads Blog Readers?

Umme: My book ‘The Physics in our Daily Lives’ is available on Amazon as paperback as well as Kindle edition. Apart from that, two of my poetry books ‘Transition’, ‘A Reverie’ are available on Amazon Kindle.

To know more about Umme Ammara's The Physics in our Daily Lives check out the link

Thanks to Umme Ammara for agreeing to this interview! If you know of an author who’d like to be featured in an interview (or you are an author who would like to be featured), feel free to email me at the address on my contact page.