Mukund Gnanadesikan

I'm Mukund Gnanadesikan, New Jerseyan by birth and Californian by choice. I'm a sports aficionado, activist, fan on the underdog, and devout carnivore.

Question 1: What inspired you to start writing?

Mostly oddities of the world around me. For example my first poem was written about a man I saw every summer walking on local bike paths, more haggard and unkempt as time passed.

Question 2: How have your past experiences influenced you as a writer?

Yes. I grew up privileged, in a suburban town, but also "othered" as a South Asian kid in a white community where it wasn't unusual to meet with slurs, threats, and harassment. I also have epilepsy and have at various times battled depression and anxiety. This gives me insight into what it's like to always feel conscious of one's physical and emotional limits, and also informs my tendency to love underdog stories.

Question 3: What have you written that you're the most proud of?

My novel, Errors of Omission.

Question 4: What do the words “writer’s block” mean to you?

For me, I've learned this signifies a lack or loss of confidence. It's not that the words aren't there, or that they "don't want to come", but that I lack belief in their significance, and therefore don't commit them to the page.

Question 5: When did you first call yourself a writer?

I didn't own the identity of fiction writer until I finished my first book, even though by then I'd had about a dozen poems and a couple of short stories published. However I was a sportswriter in college, and for me, that was as much a part of my identity then as anything. It was the one thing I did that gave me a full sense of satisfaction in those years.

Question 6: What is your writing process like? Are you more of a plotter or a pantser?

A bit of both. I know the ending scene before anything, and I decide where and how I want the book to begin. From there I generally map out a vague plan of what the characters might experience or do. Eventually, I come to a cliff's edge in the plot, where I have to decide how to make a bridge to the other side. This is where I "pants", and it may be a quarter to a half of the book's total length.

Question 7: If you could spend a day with another popular author, whom would you choose?

Maurice Carlos Ruffin seems like a joyous guy, and his work is both full of humor and pathos. I also look up to the poet Jericho Brown, whose work is strong, incisive, bold, and yet delicate.

Question 8: What is your kryptonite as a writer?

I think some might find my plots too predictable.

Question 9: Do you play music while you write — and, if so, what’s your favorite?

No. It would distract me too much.

Question 10: What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?

"The first draft is the worst draft."