Last evening, I spoke to the friend who gave me Nomad's Land for my birthday."Are you okay?" she asked. "You sound like you have a cold."I promised her I was fine. "But I just sobbed over Nomad's Land." How does one review a book as beautiful as Nomad's Land? It's one of those books that you just have to put aside once in a while to take the time out to feel, even though you're itching to know what happens next. It's poetic and lyrical, and silly and sweet. It made me cry. It made me smile and roll my eyes because teens and pre-teens will be teens and pre-teens. The book begins with a confession, where author Paro Anand tells the reader that she has deliberately tampered with the historical timeline to set the story in the 2000s and make it more relevant to youngsters today. The exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits took place in the late 80s and early 90s, but the story pushes these … [Read more...]
Five Writing Activities for Children (and Adults!)
As I was preparing to launch my online creative writing programme, I posted one writing activity per day on social media, and I loved the responses I received. Writing activities can be so much fun, and not just for children. They work just as well for adults who want to sit down and start writing too! Here are the first five; you could do one a day for the next five days to get you started. Surprising Similes This one is always a favourite! During a creative writing session, I asked a child to complete the simile as annoying as ____ "As annoying as my sister," she replied. I know that this child has a brother and a sister, so I asked, chuckling, "Is your sister more annoying than your brother?" There was a small pause as she looked up. He was, possibly, in the room. She gave a tiny smile and said, "No, but it's his birthday today." Have fun with your similes! Funny Fairytales We … [Read more...]
Stories of Space Robots and Rockets
A couple of weeks ago, I found myself thinking - an online writing programme is not a lit fest. Wouldn't it be wonderful to invite people who would be able to do something entirely new? What could I do to bring in a new kind of story? And here was my answer: How can I make my science fiction story believable?Do we need more stories about women in science? Fee₹400 per head (UPI: seshanvarsha@okhdfcbank or bank transfer - please contact me for my bank details; my number is in the poster)Age-group 9-13Date 5th December 2020Time 10 am to 11 am IST About the guest facilitator Sreeja Nag is a Senior Research Scientist at NASA Ames Research Center, where she leads a project called D-SHIELD. She is also working on what could be the first self-driving robotic fleet on public roads. Sreeja completed her PhD in Space Systems Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of … [Read more...]
Writing Stories with Nalini Sorensen
Guest sessions are full of fun! Yesterday, I went on not one, but several writing journeys with children's book author Nalini Sorensen. What did I take back from my journeys? Several things, actually! For one, I love Nalini's phrase 'story eyes'. Just like Nalini, the question I hear most often is 'where do you get your ideas from?' Nalini made us close our eyes and imagine an incredible experience. She took us on a journey to the top of Mount Everest, a journey that's unique, special. And then, she told use that we didn't need experiences like that to create stories. All we needed were our story eyes. Look around with story eyes, and even mundane events can become stories. Already, during my writing programme, children have been concerned about uniqueness. What if we copy someone else's story by mistake? Will we get into trouble? Isn't it possible for more than one person to … [Read more...]
Welcome to Nowhere
When I read books like Welcome to Nowhere, part of me reads with a sinking heart for I realise that I don't have the courage to tell stories like this. Yes, I do know that every story matters and each one has a role to play, but powerful books like this are in a class of their own. Elizabeth Laird's books are exceptional. Look at Oranges in No Man's Land, set in Lebanon, or The Witching Hour, a wonderful work of historical fiction. Then there's the wonderful YA book Red Sky in the Morning and the very different Paradise End. Welcome to Nowhere is set in war-torn Syria and told from the point of view of twelve-year-old Omar, an enterprising youngster with dreams of becoming a big businessman. He's smart, friendly and confident, so the stage is set for him to achieve his dreams. Except that civil war breaks out. Omar has always been advised not to talk about politics, but it … [Read more...]
Online Reading Programme
I've been working with the British Library's reading challenge for a long time. I've worked with a range of themes - Circus Stars, Mythical Maze, Record Breakers, The Big Friendly Read, Animal Agents ... And I've enjoyed each one. I love the range of books the British Library has, and the reading challenge collection is always special. Being a British Council trainer was always a huge advantage during the reading challenge season because I got secret access to all these books that weren't yet available to regular library customers! However, as I associated with schools and children at the library, there were two questions that continually stood out to me: Don't we get to keep even one book? Why are there no Indian books? And these are questions I've been mulling over for a while, which leads me to announce this online reading programme. What will we do during the online … [Read more...]
Reflections – Part 1
During the course of any creative writing programme I conduct, about two or three times, I ask children to stop and reflect on everything they've felt and everything they've done during their sessions with me. Now that we're one month into my online programme, it was time. And as usual, I could not stop smiling when I read their work. Afreena, 11, listed everything she's learnt - from acrostic poems to rebuses. She remembered the list poem she wrote, the limericks we read and all the literary devices we worked with. Her reflection was simple, clear and straightforward; I loved it. Sunandini, 9, did something quite beautiful - she wrote a story! The whole story was a grand metaphor for the creative writing programme and I can quite honestly say that I've never read such an original reflection! Here are a few snippets. A few weeks back, I boarded The Great Grammar Express. I … [Read more...]
Out of My Mind
Why had I never heard of this book? Published in 2010, Out of My Mind was on the New York Times bestseller list for two years, and I just read it! When I wrote about Moonrise a few weeks ago, I mentioned how children often ask me which the first book that made me cry was. I usually respond by telling them, instead, about the most recent book that made me cry - and now, it's Sharon M. Draper's Out of My Mind. Eleven-year-old Melody Brooks is smart. She has a photographic memory and a delicious sense of humour. She loves her family, and her family loves her.But she can't show this part of herself to anyone, at least, not until she finds out about the Medi-Talker, a machine that can help her communicate. With cerebral palsy, she is confined to a wheelchair. She can make jerky movements at best, and easily loses control over her limbs. She drools, she cannot feed herself, and she … [Read more...]
Writing Stories with Nalini Sorensen
Each morning, among the first things I do is visit my creative writing forum. I love it. I love that every day, there are new pieces to read, all shared by young writers who are part of my online creative writing programme. I've done four sessions with one batch and three with another; it's time to bring a little more excitement in - a guest session! I spoke to author Nalini Sorensen, and we finalized things super quickly. I'm delighted to announce a one-hour writing workshop with this warm, lively, award-winning writer. While the event is free for those who have enrolled for my online programme, it's open to non-participants too, on payment of a registration fee. Edit: This event was held on the 19th of November. Look out for all workshop announcements on my blog, or on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter). To receive information about my reading and writing programmes … [Read more...]
How to Be a Writer
My online creative writing programme served as the perfect excuse to get a copy of How to Be a Writer. And as I read it, every few lines, I found myself thinking, "This, exactly this!" For the first time, I highlighted sections all over the book (ebook, not physical book, just saying) simply because so much of it resonated with me. In some places, I was drawn to the words as a writer; in others, as a teacher of creative writing. Instead of my usual kind of review, I'm going to share tiny excerpts of the book. If I talk too freely about a story I am going to write, chances are it will never be written. I have talked it to death. This is me! I can never, ever talk about my current works in progress. I used to think it was superstitious nonsense, but I realise that what Bond says above is true for me. It's also the reason why I don't usually plot my stories. If I know what's going … [Read more...]
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