DADYMINDS AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH DIVYANSHI UPADHYAY

Author of On The Rooftop

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• What is your most recent book? Tell us a bit about it.

My most recent book is called “On The Rooftop” and it’s a teen-fiction and romance genre book. It is book one of the Rooftop series, which will consist of three books. It’s a story about three people: Evelyn, Liam and Jacob who have different lives and different problems but they become close friends as the story progresses. “On The Rooftop” is just a story about their friendship and life goes on as they deal with high school.

• Tell us something about yourself. (Where are you from, what is your background, how long have you been writing or anything we might find interesting about you.)

I’m Divyanshi Upadhyay, Author of On The Rooftop, currently a fifteen - year old Indian who lives in a small country called Rwanda and in Kigali city. I live with my younger sister and parents. My hobbies are reading books and writing them as well. I also love listening to music and sometimes writing my own lyrics. I’ve been writing since 2019, for about 3 years. I initially wrote on an app called Wattpad but now I mostly try to write the “Rooftop” series separately. 

• How did you know you wanted to be a writer? How did you get started?

I used to create a lot of scenarios when I was younger and one day I decided to put them down on paper. I would continue the image in my head and what would happen next. You know, develop a storyline and no sooner had I realized, I was writing a full story. I really enjoyed doing this and that’s when I decided I’d love to become an Author.

• Are you a pantser or a plotter? (i.e., Do you outline and plan your story or do you just sit down and write?)

I would say that I’m a bit of both. I originally decide on the main plot of the story, like what I wanted to happen. Then I would just sit and write how it happen. I just sit and write how the story would progress into what my planned plot was. Yes, of course, I would tweak the plot at times when I get sudden ideas - I don’t usually stick to one plot. I might be writing and getting into it, the story would just magically progress into something and I’d go along with it. So overall I’d say I was a plantser that leans more onto the pantser part.

• Do you have a daily or weekly writing schedule, or do you write only when you are inspired? How many words or pages do you complete in a typical day?

I usually do some writing weekly. I don’t have a particular amount I write in a day or week. I just write as much as I can, as much as I am inspired that particular week. Some weeks I write more than usual and some less than usual. 

• Where do you get information or ideas for your books?

A lot of people get ideas from many random and different places. I also get my inspirations and ideas from very random things: like I’d see a picture or hear music that I’d feel gives a particular message, gives particular feelings and I’d get many ideas from that. I also read a lot of other teen-fiction books and watch movies so yeah- I think that’s where most of my information comes from.

• Do you read reviews? Or do you hear from your readers much? What kind of thing do they say?

Yes, I hear from my readers a lot. Actually, this was recent – I think a few days ago – a close friend of mine checked out my book and she loved it. She said it was very like for me to write such a book of romance. Most of my friends, family and audience really like my book and I’m very grateful for that.

• What is the best advice you could give other writers or someone who wants to become an author about writing or publishing?

My advice would be to realize that writing comes naturally. A lot of people, including me, get writer’s blocks and that’s really a struggle. Just giving it time and letting the writer’s block go away on its own is a good idea. Don’t force yourself to think of something and what to write. A writer’s block is not something to force against. Of course, everyone has different writing styles and processes and I feel like I follow a very chill writing style. But I think it’s still important to not stress too much over writer’s block. 

Another piece of advice is always to record your ideas, in a journal or diary or something. This is really handy because any small idea could turn into something great with life brought into it. That’s how “On The Rooftop” came to me. An idea suddenly popped into my head and I recorded it and continued it to form a story. I’d definitely encourage other authors to always record their inspirations and ideas.

• When did you write your first book and how old were you? (tell us a little bit about your experience).

I wrote my first book back in 2019 when I was 12. It was a book called “Glass heart” on Wattpad. Sadly I never got to finish it and it’s not on Wattpad anymore. I feel like I just grew out of the book and plot so I discontinued it. It was a fun experience, although short, and I really loved writing and got into writing after that.

• What do you like to do when you are not writing?

As mentioned previously, I really like listening to music and I’m doing that most of the time. I also watch movies and read books to look for inspiration and simply enjoy them.

• What does your family think of your writing?

My family really supports my writing and most of my family got my book and read it – they really like it and are very proud of me.

• What were the most surprising things you learnt from creating your own books?

The most surprising thing was that I could write in itself. It really took me off guard because I didn’t have confidence in writing and never tried it before. But it turned out I could and that was just amazing. Especially after “On The Rooftop” was published, my confidence in writing really grew and I can’t wait to explore my writing skills and boundaries.

• How many books have you written?

So far I’ve written one official book, my recent “On The Rooftop” which is published and I’m currently working on the second book in the Rooftop series.

• As a child, what did you want to become when you grew up?

My dream job/ work often changed as it does for kids, but I remember the most prominent being becoming a singer. I was and still am obsessed with music and I’d love to, maybe in the future, also pursue music. But right now I think I’ll focus on writing.

• What is your favourite book and author? How has that book changed you or what did you learn from the book? 

My favourites also change often – I’m a bit indecisive I guess – but right now my favourite is Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan. It’s mainly a middle-schooler type book but I love it. I love Rick Riordan’s writing, he does so much research in his stories and he writes them so well. I find it fascinating how he makes the characters and accurately grows the series further. 

• What does being a successful author look like to you?

Personally, being a successful author isn’t about how much money you get from your books. Reaching out to people and sharing something, is really satisfying. Seeing that you can change someone or make their day different than it usually is, makes something they like, that’s really what an author like doing. If your audience enjoys your books and you’re impacting their lives somehow – that’s a successful author for me. 

Now tell us about your online presence…

Where can readers learn more about you and your books?

Please feel free to contact me through my Gmail: dishupdhy@gmail.com or contact: +250785182856