A Magical Writing Journey, a guest post by Swati Teerdhala

What if you could make one wish? And what if it came true?

That’s what the main character of my book, THE BOYFRIEND WISH, gets to contend with over the course of the novel. After a rough romantic rejection at school (partially caused by her annoying neighbor, Vik), Deepa is given a magical jasmine flower from her grandmother, who tells her to make a wish, whatever is her heart’s truest desire at that moment. On a whim, Deepa wishes for the perfect boyfriend. One who fits the list her and her best friend wrote at the beginning of high school. She doesn’t think much will come of it but to her surprise, Rohit moves in next door—the very next day!

That moment was my favorite to write, and the idea that initially made me excited to write this story.

What if a hint of magic could push you in the right, or wrong, direction? What would happen next?

We’ve all wished for something at some point, whether it’s to make the soccer team, ace that presentation, catch the eye of that special someone, or any other number of things. Hope is built into us as humans, and it’s one of our greatest strengths—to dream. And the more I dove into this story, and especially as I started to draft it, I realized how similar the writing process is to a wish as well.

That scene that inspired me, it was only the beginning. Ideas are their own form of magic. They start as a small kernel, a hope of a story, a wish, and it’s up to the writer to nurture it into something larger. To choose the next steps. Just like Deepa does when she decides to believe in the wish. Her grandmother tells her to ‘seal the deal’ she must kiss Rohit. So being the organizer she is, she plans three perfect dates, all leading up to that hopeful moment at their big winter dance.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that writers do the same thing. We put our best plan together based on that initial wish, the hope of a story. We take ideas and build them into plans, into outlines. Even writers who don’t prefer to outline always have some sort of sense of the story they want to tell, either how it ends or how it makes them feel.

But just like Deepa’s wish, even if that plan is laid with best intentions, it rarely turns out exactly the way we expect. For Deepa, she begins to realize that there might have been another “perfect” romance there all along for her, but it didn’t quite look like what she had thought. She has to ask herself what she really wants, and question—what does it mean to have the “perfect” romance?

Writing a first draft is very similar. You have your idea, your outline, but what’s next? Rarely what you think it will be. I’ve never written a first draft where I wasn’t surprised by some part of the story, something I discovered along the way or wasn’t what I initially expected. Many times I have to stop and ask myself what story I want to tell and what I want for the novel I’m writing, and discover that along the way. But ultimately, that’s the most fun part of writing a book.

Cultivating a story idea into a fully realized story is always an unexpected journey. It starts with the wish of a story idea, of what it can be. Then it blossoms into the best laid plans, the outline. After that? That’s the magic. The writing of the story is where you learn the most and where you realize that, maybe, just maybe, the wish you had for that story idea you had is starting to come true—but maybe not the way you expected.

Meet the author

Swati Teerdhala is a storyteller at heart. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a B.S. in Finance and B.A. in History, she tumbled into the marketing side of the technology industry. She’s passionate about many things, including how to make a proper cup of tea, the right ratio of curd to crust in a lemon tart, and diverse representation in the stories we tell. The Tiger at Midnight was her debut novel. She currently lives in New York City. 

Links:

• Website: https://swatiteerdhala.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swatiteerdhala/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/swatiteerdhala

About The Boyfriend Wish

A charming romantic comedy about a South Indian American teen girl who makes a wish upon a flower for her perfect boyfriend…and then a new boy moves in right next door. With love triangles, prank wars, and a sizzling sweet romance—this is perfect for fans of Sandhya Menon and Jenny Han.

There’s only one item left on Deepa Josyula’s high school bucket list: finding the perfect boyfriend. But when her meticulously planned Homecoming proposal crashes and burns thanks to Vik Mehta—both neighbor and long-term nemesis ever since he started their neighborhood prank war—she’s not sure how she’s going to finish the list. To make things even worse, she’s stuck working with Vik on a Student Council committee. So when her grandmother gifts her a jasmine flower and tells her to make a wish, Deepa doesn’t see the harm. She wishes for her dream boyfriend, just like she had imagined when she was younger. The next morning a new neighbor moves into their cul-de-sac, and Rohit D’Souza crosses off everything on her ideal boyfriend wish list down to a tee: thoughtful, handsome, and romantic as hell.

She can hardly believe it. But according to her grandmother, the wish is only the beginning. To earn it, to complete it, the wish must be sealed with a kiss. But Rohit is quickly becoming the most popular new guy both in school and in her friend group, and Deepa hasn’t kissed a boy since freshman year. The more Deepa plans the perfect kiss with Rohit, the less sure she is of what her heart truly wants. Is it the perfect boy brought by magic—or the uncertainty of the boy who’s always been next door?

ISBN-13: 9780063279155
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 02/13/2024
Age Range: 13 – 17 Years

Filed under: Guest Post