William Dalrymple, the method writer

Award-winning historian and writer William Dalrymple’s writing often oozes his bond with India. It’s a bond never to be severed, which is why he calls India his home. His subjects often revolve around the country’s many histories. And the writer embraces all of it — the eccentricities included. He laughs when you ask him if he finds Mumbai traffic annoying. “Delhi traffic is worse! You can get stuck for hours! So I’m quite ok with the traffic here,” says Dalrymple, who was recently in town for the Mumbai LitFest.

The Scottish writer is right now in the process of penning his next book based on the first Afghan war. Dalrymple is quite a prolific writer given he writes articles pretty regularly. But he likes to keep a gap of four years between the release of his books.

"The big difference between a book and an article is that with an article you can toss up an opinion piece in a day. With a book it’s very important never to do some quickie thing just for the hell of it because fancy takes you. It’s never good to rush out books however compelling your publisher is,” he asserts.

The writer of City of Djinns, The Age of Kali and Nine Lives also emphasises that he only writes non-fiction, which makes his job more difficult. A lot of his books break down into travel books and history books. So what aspects does he take into account when researching? “History books and travel books have very different methodology. With a travel book, you’re out on the road. The difficulty is managing to build something extraordinary in the eyes of the ordinary who travel. There’s an epiphanic moment when you’re travelling, and to select that moment credibly is the challenge. Travel writing is very easy to do, but very difficult to do it well. It’s like photography — anyone can pick up a camera and take pictures, but not everyone is a Cartier Bresson. The key is to make it special and that is very difficult,” he explains. He then goes on to elaborate on how a history book takes shape: “With a history book, if you choose your subject well and do your research diligently, you should have readymade material in front of you. The challenge is to find the right material and write it beautifully.”

Dalrymple didn’t find it easy either. But he stresses that he never had had a writer’s block. “It never goes blank. That happens more to a fiction writer. But yes, you get distracted, start checking emails, your music list etc.” he laughs. Having started young, he’s quite systematic about the writing process. “I wrote my first book when I was 21. When I’m writing, I’m writing every morning. I write six pages, then go back to correcting and so it continues. You see, a writer is advised to write seriously; it should be his ethic,” he signs off.