This interview was published in the Indian Writers' portal, www.chillibreeze.com in February 2010.

1. Interview with Moumita
Moumita is a writer/editor at an electronic news media company and works from home. She has a
post graduate degree in Applied Psychology. Married to a defence officer, she has stayed in myriad
places in India, and is currently living in Delhi, with her husband and nine year old daughter.
1. What drew you to writing as a career?
When I was staying at this small town in Tamil Nadu, I discovered that I could pursue writing as a
profession; from home and all I required was a computer and the internet. I got my first break as a
freelance writer for a bridal magazine. It put me on the track of a professional career in writing. The
magazine was published from Delhi and I wrote from Arakkonam in Tamil Nadu, all the while never
even meeting my editors.
2. Have you faced any hurdles in becoming a writer? How did you cope?
I have people asking me why I haven’t searched for a ‘normal’ career? Working from home is also a
big hurdle, as people automatically assume that you are available to attend all social activities and
explaining deadlines often needs a lot of persuasion. Also, the most difficult thing as a writer is of
course the constant requirement to prove oneself to others. No matter how many published articles a
writer has to her credit, each organization she works with will demand that she writes to prove her
mettle.
3. What kind of writing do you enjoy the most?
I enjoy all kinds of writing, from news reporting, to feature writing to blogging away my opinions, to
storytelling.
4. If writer’s block strikes, how do you cope with it?
Writer’s block is something I feel is best dealt with physical strenuous activity. Sitting in your study
and facing a writer’s block may be best dealt with playing a game of tennis or badminton or going for
a run with your best buddy.
5. What is the best feedback you received about your work?

2. Even when I wrote for free, and had my work in printed form, the biggest feedback came when my
first article was published in the glossy. People who never knew I wrote, wanted to read my articles,
and that being my first brush with fame, was of course wonderful.
6. How do you see the internet changing the way writing works?
Internet has already changed so much for a writer today. Writing is of course one of the few jobs that
can be completed in the electronic media from A to Z. As a writer, I am thankful for the internet for
the opportunities it has given me to grow in my profession. I have found jobs, researched, written,
edited, and mailed stories, received feedback, sent accompanying photographs, interacted with my
editors and even got paid through the internet. For a person like me, who changes her address every
alternate year because of my husband’s many transfers, my career as a writer would have never
taken off had I not had an internet connection ever. If all these things can happen in last six years,
then next ten years can only speed up things for writers.
7. What inspires you to write?
I am inspired by everything and everybody in this life. But most importantly, it’s the human nature I
find to be the most intriguing, and when I write freely, I often find myself writing about people and
their lives.
8. What would your autobiography/biography be called?
The Journey.
9. What is your dream as a writer? Any publications you’d like to see your work in?
If I have ever nurtured a dream as a writer, it is to publish a book. Although I am still very vague
about it, I am sure one day I’ll know what the book is going to be all about.
10. Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself? Perhaps something
interesting about you, that people are always surprised to hear?
Anything else about me?!! Well, I have been a rebel all my life, testing authority and raising
questions. People are really taken aback when I mention that apart from having a collection of works
of Tagore, Ray, Jhumpa Lahiri, Marquez, Khaled Hosseini and John Grisham, I also own a stash of
romantic novels! It is my kind of heaven, I guess.
http://www.chillibreeze.com/interviews/chillibreeze-writer-interviews-moumita.asp