Random Buzz

Swati Avasthi, author of Split, joins on the buzz boards on February 8! Ask Swati a question or give her a shout out here!

Posted Jan 22, 2010, 03:10:24 PM

ifra asked:  wow this book sounds so interesting and mysterious and i cant wait to read it. my question to you is "how did you think of the ideas to this book and did this happen in yours or someone you knows life?

Hi irfa,

I’m relieved to say that no one I’ve ever loved (or even liked, for that matter) has hit me. In fact, I was only slapped once in my life and that was by an irate teenage girl when we were squabbling over a volleyball game. And, I’ve never witnessed any violence either; my parents have been happily married for 45 years.

Split was born out of my professional experience. I coordinated a domestic violence legal clinic, where I interviewed thousands of survivors who came in seeking orders of protection.

When I told people what I did, I was almost always asked, “Why does she stay?” Honestly, I got to the point where that question made me angry for a couple of reasons. First, it implies that leaving is easy, which it isn’t. Second, it subtly blames the victim. After all, no one was asking me, “What’s wrong with him? Why is he hitting her?” (Sorry to use gendered terms here. It’s easier, but I don’t mean to imply that guys can’t be DV victims and that girls can’t be abusers.) Both are logical questions, but only one was getting asked.

That’s only a partial answer, though. The rest of the answer contains a spoiler, so when you’ve read it, visit me at www.swatiavasthi.com for the rest.

Last Modified Feb 08, 2010, 05:41:16 PM

Hi Pink Daisy,

Um... yes.  .

Hope you enjoy Split.

Posted Feb 10, 2010, 10:41:06 AM

Merurah wrote:  Let me first say- Welcome to Random Buzzers!! Your book sounds very interesting!

The plot sounds refreshing! Not to mention the protagonist is a male!
Where did the idea for the plot come from?

Hi Mevurah,

Thanks.  It's good to be here.  The idea for the plot came from working in a domestic violence legal clinic.  I listened to thousands of domestic violence victims tell their stories.  It was very rewarding work, and I became increasingly impressed by the strength of these survivors.  When I told people what I did for a living, most of them responded by asking me "Why does she stay?" People, who didn't understand how difficult it is to be in an abusive situation, judged the survivors as weak and what I was seeing everyday required such bravery.  It bothered me.  What bothered me even more was when I realized that the question, "Why does she stay?" subtly blames the victim and lets the abuser off the hook.  No one was asking me "Why is he hitting her?"

There's more to the story, really.  But to tell you the whole thing, I'd have to give up the spoiler in the book.  So, once you've read it, visit me at www.swatiavasthi.com and read "The Story Behind" under Split.

In the meantime, thanks for the question.

Last Modified Feb 09, 2010, 09:16:53 PM

Whiskers asked:  Welcome to Random Buzz.  When did you first realize you wanted to write a book, and how long did it take you to write Split?

Hi Whiskers,

Thanks.  I'm happy to be here.  I knew I wanted to write books in general when I was 5 and read Little House in the Big Woods.  I was convinced that I was like Laura in personality and, since she was a writer, I wanted to be one, too.  When I was 16, I felt like I couldn't make a living at being a writer, so I branched out into different fields, only returning to writing when my son was born and I was staying at home.

It took 26 months to write Split, so just over 2 years.

Last Modified Feb 08, 2010, 05:42:28 PM

Hi, the question was from summerrain5621:  "Do you like to read the same genre of books that you've written this one in?  If not, what genre do you like to read the best?"

Answer:  Thanks so much!  Plenty of my favorite books are in the YA genre and it is my favorite genre to read. I started reading YA about 10 years ago, when I picked up Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.  I read Speak straight through.  After that, I consumed YA books.  I read all of Anderson's YA novels and then went on to Pete Hautman and John Green.  As I learned more about the genre, I realized that a lot of my favorite books fell within its scope:  The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Lois Duncan's books, and some would argue that To Kill a Mockingbird, which is my all time favorite, is YA.

I also like to read adult fiction and adore the classics like the Brontes, Hawthorne, and Dostoevsky.

What about you?  What do you like to read the most?

Thanks for the question!

Last Modified Feb 08, 2010, 03:53:38 PM

The question from JediTears09 was:  "Do you base your characters on people you know?  And if so, do you find it makes it easier to make your characters relatable?"

Great Q.  Some of my characters are based on people I know, but usually not my protagonists. My protagonists start usually from my imagination, from a question that goes something like this:  "what would it be like to be a _______ ?" (fill in the blank).  In the case of Split, I'd fill in the blank with 'a boy who grew up with an abusive dad as his primary role model?'  Surprisingly, as the character's develop, they come to resemble people I know in terms of their voice or their physical characteristics or thought patterns.

My other characters, who I'll call secondary for lack of a better word, are often based on someone I know, usually someone I know vaguely, so my imagination can do the rest of the work.  I've found that when I base them on someone I know, I need to give them a really large distinction from the person I'm basing them on, or they never really come to life.

I work to make my characters relatable in a pretty simple way:  I give them a strong, understandable desire.  We can all relate to wanting and longing.  If my readers can connect to what drives my characters, then they connect to my characters.

Thanks for popping in.

Last Modified Feb 08, 2010, 03:55:58 PM

Allire wrote:

First I'd like to say congrats on your first book! :)

I have a few questions. Have you written other books that aren't published or is your upcoming book the first actual book that you've written? And what's the whole experience of getting your book published like? I can imagine that it's exciting, but when you were trying to get published, did you ever want to give up?

Hi there,

I have written a book, previously.It was a fantasy novel that no one should ever see. It took me five years. When I was tired of it and couldn’t get it where I wanted it, I put it aside to write a few short stories. As soon as I did that, my writing got so much better and I enjoyed it so much more that I never went back.

Getting published is amazing! From agent to editor to reader, listening to people discuss Jace and Christian is fantastic. Writing is, at its heart, communication. And I do love the idea that I can communicate thoughts and emotions through a story.

I did give up writing for a number of years, right after college and persued a legal career. I loved the law, but when I had my son and quit law school, I returned to writing.

Last Modified Feb 09, 2010, 09:45:35 PM

Jada 7 wrote:  What inspired you to write a Young Adult book.

Hi Jada7,

I've heard that you'll end up writing what you love to read, and that was certainly true for me.  I got hooked on YA books about 10 years ago.  I love how YA books can be character-driven and still have a plot, that YA books are unashamedly about story.  I like how streamlined the language is, how less is more, and how they require the readers to do a lot of the work, inspiring our imaginations.

And, I'm interested in the coming of age story, in general, so YA was a natural fit for me.

Thanks for the question!

Last Modified Feb 08, 2010, 05:43:30 PM

Did you enjoy writing this book? Are you planning to write more YA books?

Hi Lindsayphoto,

I loved writing Split.  It was a blast!  Jace's voice was so real to me that sometimes, I felt like I wanted to show up to see what he would say next.  Very fun.  It was also a lot of work, trying to figure out what would happen next and how that would affect the shape of the book as a whole.  Occasionally, I felt sad for my characters, since Split has so many painful moments in it.  But over all, I think writing fiction is the best job in the world.

I finished the first draft of a second YA book last month and am revising it now.  It's working title is BIDDEN.  It's about what happens to a friendship in the aftermath of a shooting and how the two girls work to try to save each other from the well of grief.  No light and happy topics from me.  

Thanks for asking.

Last Modified Feb 08, 2010, 05:40:11 PM

HI Cassandra,

Love your name.  I started writing when I was 5; it was something I always wanted to do.  I thought of myself as a writer until I left college, when the pressure of finances drew me away from the arts and toward something more practical:  the law.  The law is still about story-telling and wordsmithing so I loved that, too.  When I had my son and decided to stay home to take care of him, I immediately started writing again.

I'm very happy to be writing.  It is truly what I've wanted almost all my life.

Posted Feb 09, 2010, 09:20:50 PM

Hi Masquerade1,

Nice to "meet" you.  I am thrilled to be a first time author.  It's been a wonderful experience, partly because I have such a great editor, agents, and publishing house and partly because getting this book out into the world and becoming an official author is what I've been dreaming of since I was 5.

It's hard to pick a favorite part of writing Split, but I'd say that perhaps the best moment was when I was midway through my first draft and suddenly Jace did something I hadn't expected or planned.  It was like my characters had become real enough to make their own decisions.  It was a huge source of satisfaction for me.

I've been writing since I was 5.  I took a 4 year break after college and then returned to it again.  I do love it.  I've written awful poetry and better fiction.

I do have one book that I have stuffed in a drawer that will never, never I tell you, see the light of day.  It's just really bad.  Really, really bad.  But it's the novel I learned on, how I learned to write a novel, so I don't regret the time spent on it.

Thanks for the warm welcome!

Posted Feb 09, 2010, 09:30:53 PM

Hi Swati!

My question is, "How does it feel to be a debut author?"

:)

Ari

Posted Jan 22, 2010, 06:19:14 PM

Is there significance to the $3.84?  If not, why did you pick that amount?

Posted Jan 22, 2010, 06:36:02 PM

HI, and welcome! I was just wondering, what were you doing or what did you see that made you come up with the storyline for this book?

Posted Jan 22, 2010, 07:33:55 PM

Hi Swati, welcome to Random Buzzers... I hope you enjoy your time here... we're a fun lot.

I have a couple of questions.  The first is what inspired you to write a book centering around abuse?  Was it to raise awareness?  Have you had someone in your life who experienced it personally?  (I realize the last part is kind of personal, so you obviously don't have to answer it.)

The second is one that I like to ask everyone (and I do mean everyone).  Was there a certain book that inspired your love of reading or writing, or hooked you on a certain genre?

Posted Jan 22, 2010, 07:50:46 PM

Hi!  Aside from how do you pronounce your name, what made you decide to write Jace's story as a YA novel instead of Adult Fiction?

Posted Jan 22, 2010, 08:19:58 PM

Hi Swati!

Any plans for a second book, either a companion to this one or a totally separate entitiy or do you already have one in the works?

Posted Jan 22, 2010, 08:56:52 PM

I've already had this book on my amazon wishlist for a few weeks. I bet it's cool to hear that your first book is on amazon and ready for wishlisting! I can't wait to read it... it sounds like the perfect blend of mystery and suspense and drama. And, the cover is intriguing! What a great combination!

Posted Jan 22, 2010, 09:19:09 PM