The storyteller by night!

Juggling multiple hats with élan, Sandeep Das, an alumnus of IIM Bangalore, calls himself a director with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) by day and an author, anchor and columnist by night on his LinkedIn page.

No matter what he calls himself, Sandeep is absolutely comfortablespending his free time writing. The author of a fiction tale, Yours Sarcastically, and a crime thriller, Satan’s Angels, has, on the side, hosted the Bangalore Business Literature Festival and spoken on industry topics, storytelling and alternate careers at various business schools.

Talking to us about what motivated him to turn an author, Sandeep says, “One day, the manager at my first workplace came up to me and said, ‘Your job is to interview sixty size-zero South-Bombay women over the next few weeks. Spend time with them, get to know them and understand how they look at life.’ To me, the opportunity was too good a story not to be written about. It was the genesis of my first book Yours Sarcastically.”

The nitty-gritties

Every writer has a different method of writing. For Sandeep, everything is in his mind. “I believe writing is all about discipline. I wake up at 5 am on most days and write for about 90 minutes. I have been doing this for a long time, and it has served me very well in managing both my primary and alternate careers. As a writer, I find it important to work on my style and keep working on improving it every day.

In fact, one of the ways I work on my storytelling is to consciously watch hit web series every other day. I find it a great way to learn the art from the best in the business,” he says.

And as with most disciplinary rituals, sticking to his routine has helped Sandeep in better dealing with the ‘writer’s blocks’ and getting past creative slowdowns.

Finding his plot

Penning different stories requires different approaches and inspirations. Sandeep believes that one’s surroundings are the best place to find inspiration. “Every person has a story to narrate, just as every person is a potential character. After all, the greatest stories are stories of everyday people told in a style that is simple, minimalist and engaging,” points out Sandeep.

Sandeep has just finished writing his third book, a non-fiction titled Millennials to Millionaire: Guide to Business and Life. Sandeep, who believes that the book will help millennials excel in their corporate careers as well as their lives, is presently gearing up to get it across bookstores.