What is creative nonfiction? What makes it different from regular nonfiction?Award-winning author Mallika Ravikumar led us through the second guest session of the season, teaching students what makes creative nonfiction engaging. From techniques of writing--like showing instead of telling--to research methodology, Mallika helped students understand how to go about writing credible creative nonfiction.An important aspect of writing about true events is perspective. The same incidents can be viewed from multiple points of view. How do we choose a point of view? And what is our responsibility as writers once we've chosen a viewpoint?At the end of the session, lots of participants who had read Mallika's books had questions for her, which was heartwarming! She left them with an exercise that explores perspective and technique, which I hope will give them firsthand experience of … [Read more...]
Mules that Fall from the Sky
How does one write about a book like Mules that Fall from the Sky? As adults, we often feel the need to shelter children from anything disturbing or difficult. I wonder, though, whether it’s because we don’t want to think about these things, rather than for any other reason.Mules that Fall from the Sky is a collection of stories about animals during the war. Of course, having read Michael Morpurgo and others as a child, some of these ideas weren't new to me. Yet, Mules that Fall from the Sky forces you to take off any remnants of rose-tinted glasses you may have and see things for what they were. What happened to animals during the war? How were they treated? What about dogs that were donated to the war effort? What happened to them?This is not a book you can sit and read at one sitting simply because it is too distressing. Yet, I found myself wondering, would I have read it as … [Read more...]