QUEEN'S ROAD: Young debutante author Divya Jalan launched her book 21 Things Every Teen Should Know on Wednesday in Landmark, Forum Mall, Koramangala. Fourteen-year- old Divya has chronicled her wisdom on teenage life based on her experiences and learning from several sources. “I love writing,” she says. Excerpts from an interview:
When and why did you begin writing?
I’ve always had a passion for writing. When I was young, my Dad had told me to read a lot of books. And I always thought that if you want to read books then someone has to write them too! That’s how I began writing.
What inspired you to write your first book?
It was mostly my Dad because he kept telling me to write something. My first book is mostly based on teen life. So I could take my experiences and my friends’ and just compile it together.
It is not entirely based on my experiences but is also inspired by people around me, my parents, elders and I’ve taken help from my teachers also.
Do you have a specific writing style?
This book has been a little different for me. I mostly write fiction. But this is a more information based book. More like a self help book.
What are your current projects? Are you working on something?
No. Not really. I was just thinking about it for a while but now I just want to go easy and will think about it later.
What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Sometimes, I felt overwhelmed that I’m just thirteen and I’m writing a book for teens. I am so young and people may think why they should take advice from someone like me. So I had to act a little mature so that people got the essence of what I was saying. It took me around five months to write this book.
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? Is there a message that you want your readers to grasp from your book?
Yes, my book has a lot of tips. If they help someone in any way, I’ll be really happy. They should just follow their heart. They should just do what they love to do. That’s about it, mostly.