Yash Tiwari, 18 Years Old, Has Delivered 4 TED Talks And A Josh Talk, Is An International Youth Mentor, Mental Health Awareness Advocate, An Award-Winning Author Of Two Books, A Public Speaker, A Youth Influencer, With His Critically Acclaimed Debut Novel “A Celebration In Tribulation” Written At The Age Of 16. He Recently Has Also Authored PANDEMIC 2020 – Rife Of The Virus – World’s First Fiction Novel On The Ongoing Corona Virus Outbreak, For Which He Has Received The “India Book Of Records” as well as the ASIA BOOK OF RECORDS International Award For Being The “Youngest Author To Write A Fiction Novel On COVID19.”
1) How did this journey of being an author begin?
Well, this is a fun story. I have been passionate about literature and writing since as long as I can remember. I used to write poems and stories even at the age of 6-7. But in 2018, I had a 22 days holiday period between the end of 11th and beginning of 12th standard. So I decided, “why not give my passion a chance?” And I, just at the age of 16, started writing my now Internationally acclaimed and Awarded Debut Novel, “A Celebration In Tribulation”. As life would have it, unintentionally, I was able to finish off writing the entire book within a record time of just 22 days, just like I have now written my second book “PANDEMIC 2020 – Rife Of The Virus” within One Month. My debut novel started to garnish a great deal of international and national recognition, acclaim, and awards. Soon enough, I was invited for my First TED Talk (fun fact, it was scheduled right in between of my 12th Boards Exams, haha!)
That’s where my journey started.
2) Tell us something about your new book.
We have four distinct yet interconnected tales narrated through my latest novel, Pandemic 2020 – Rife Of The Virus. Huiqing – an impoverished boy in China, Alanna – a helpless doctor in the U.S., Terrell – a stranded traveler in Italy, and Yash – a blooming journalist in India – Pandemic 2020, My Internationally Awarded Fiction Novel On The Novel Corona Virus Outbreak, provides a harrowing look at how the pandemic turned the lives of everyone around the world upside down. The twisted, globally-interconnecting tales are based on actual stories, events and facts, intriguingly blending majorly affected regions around around the world through characters facing the severity of one common pandemic, the Corona Virus outbreak. For my latest Novel, I have been Awarded by the ASIA BOOK OF RECORDS (International) as well as INDIA BOOK OF RECORDS (National) for setting the Record of being “The Youngest Author To Write A Fiction Novel On COVID19 Outbreak”.
3) The book narrates a part where it talks about how important the platforms of media and news are in a time of the global pandemic. Can you elaborate a little on the same for the audience? What are your views regarding the subject?
Absolutely. One of the 4 major storylines is of Yash Sharma, an ambitious journalist in India who is striving to understand the rights and wrongs of the society, that too in the midst of a global level COVID19 Pandemic. Yash Sharma’s storyline is very interesting, because it does not provide an absolute judgement on whether the news channels/platforms are more towards the good or the bad. It just narrates what goes down, and gives the freedom to the readers of the novel for making their own conclusion based on the reality. There was a time when Corona Virus was perhaps the most sensationalized topic on News Channels. Yash Sharma’s story in my Novel is more about interpretation of the same.
For me, personally, I sometimes do overlook the flaws of our News platforms because of the utmost admiration I have for the great impact these platforms have on the masses. We need to look at and appreciate the good that the media creates as well, which is hardly done by the folks these days.
4) What inspires you while penning a book down?
“PANDEMIC 2020 – Rife Of The Virus” is my tribute, or eulogy, or dedication to the sufferes and warriors of the COVID19 Pandemic – whichever way you’d like to put it. The idea came to me back in the month of April, when every day some or the other saddening story or heartbreaking incident was being reported on our television screens – how the medical workers were overwhelmed, or the helplessness of the poor ones, etc. because of the global level Outbreak of Corona Virus and the way it brought the entire world to a standstill. That is what, really, inspired me to write a book based on it. I can say that PANDEMIC 2020 is my tribute to the unsung tales (not just the heroes, but the stories) from the ongoing COVID19 Pandemic. All the storylines I’ve written (four, specifically) narrate about the scenarios that took place during this Unanticipated Outbreak all around the world. I felt the need to pen it down – to pay my tribute to the ones who fought and are still fighting against this yet-incurable flu through my words. That is where the motivation came from.
5) How do you deal with writer’s block?
I cannot emphasize enough on this word – Conceptualizing. So I deliver online workshops for people to learn how to write their own novels. And on the very first day, there are always a lot many students who ask me that how do we fight against the writer’s block? The answer is as simple as it can be , Conceptualize, before you even begin writing the book or a story. The reason why a lot many writers feel stuck at certain moments while writing a story is because they did not create a clear outline of what their story is going to be all about, how will it begin, where will it end, and what precisely will each chapter be about. If you create that basic outline of 2-3 sentences per chapter before you begin with the writing part of your novels/stories, trust me, it will act like GPS Navigation tool for you, helping you with directions wherever you feel stuck because of writer’s block. Just conceptualize a proper plot outline before you begin writing. That does help in dealing with the block.
6) What are your other interests apart from writing books?
Working as a Global Youth Mentor, a Mental Health Awareness Advocate and a Motivational Speaker, I definitely can affirm that apart from writing, my greatest of passion is of public speaking and creating an impact on the masses with my words and voice. More than a passion, I would say that it gave joy to me. I do have an interest in sketching, photography, and watching come quality content over Netflix every weekend as well! But yeah, public speaking and writing trump it all.
