What a thrilling, chilling session we had with Shabnam Minwalla! It was interactive and fun, full of creepy examples and wonderful ideas.Shabnam began by telling us what inspired her book Saira Zariwala Is Afraid--mysterious messages on her daughter's phone. From there, we explored all kinds of things, from settings, to concepts for horror stories. I loved how many participants shared examples of regular places that become sinister! Playgrounds, people who are a little too sweet, mysterious lights ... Even ordinary places like schools and malls have so much potential for horror!One big takeaway for me was the idea that what we imagine is far more frightening than what is written. As a result, an unreliable narrator who makes us feel uncertain works perfectly for horror!Beginning with a setting that has potential, moving to a "what-if" sentence, and then creating a sense of … [Read more...]
The Art of Laughter
Every time I begin a new batch of my writing programme, it feels like the weeks fly by! This edition is nearly at an end, marked by our third and last guest session of the season.This session was conducted by Arundhati Venkatesh, author of a number of humorous books. My book clubbers have read several – Bookasura (which we’re reading again in December 2024), Koobandhee, Petu Pumpkin: Freedom Fighter, Petu Pumpkin: Tiffin Thief and Petu Pumpkin: Cheater Peter. Step by step, Arundhati led us through the writing of a humorous story. To begin with, if you want to write humour, you must enjoy reading funny stuff. This is something I say often---if you don't read, you cannot write. I don't restrict my definition of reading to fiction, though. We consume content in all kinds of ways, including memes and blog posts!Secondly, the core of humour is truth, something that I completely … [Read more...]
PodLab with Menaka Raman
At the Neev Literature Festival 2023, I watched Menaka Raman conduct a session on character development, and I knew I wanted to invite her to my writing programme. She did a session for us today, and what an engaging session it was! Her lively teaching style made the workshop a treat. This workshop was my twenty-sixth guest session, and my very first one on podcasting. Menaka took us through the basics---from what a podcast is to what equipment we need to record a podcast.In some ways, a podcast is like Netflix for audio - it has episodes that are recorded and that you can listen to in your own time. That’s what makes it different from radio, which you have to catch only when it is broadcast!Through a series of writing exercises, Menaka helped us experience firsthand the process of podcast creation. Asking the right questions, choosing a theme, taking our time editing---all … [Read more...]
Art, Music and Movement with Veda Aggarwal
Yes. Each time I invite a guest to speak to my creative writing programme, I realise that the session is as much for me as it is for the children. As a writer, I am often caught in a capitalist circle, writing with a clear goal in sight. What is the purpose of a piece? What do I want my audience to feel?Yet, sometimes, writing is just writing. The arts are interconnected and once in a while, we need to be reminded of that.When we were children and teens, Veda and I spent hours talking about art, music and literature. We read Shakespeare and made notes (which I probably still have somewhere). We discussed Giotto and Matisse, Van Gogh and Gaugin. Veda painted and drew; I didn't. When Veda was ten (I think), she started playing the guitar and we began to listen to classical music together. We talked about Vivaldi and Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven. We thought about and spoke … [Read more...]
All About Research with Dr Shayani Bhattacharya
What an enjoyable writing workshop we had yesterday with Dr Shayani Bhattacharya! Every guest session is fun, and I keep realising that when a teacher plans a session, it is meticulous, detailed, excellent!We discussed what we research, how we research and why we research, but then we went on to something that's important to all of us as writers - how we share research findings. Sure, you're fascinated by time travel and wormholes. You read everything you can about them. How can you get your readers to be interested in the same things? When Shayani stressed the idea of finding our unique voice, my heart gave a little leap. It's so useful when a guest speaker brings up something I've addressed time and time again during my writing programmes!I also loved that Shayani explored the relevance of research in the context of both fiction and nonfiction. Bringing the workshop to travel … [Read more...]
Pirates, Legends, and Historical Fiction
Yesterday's guest session was full of stories! While we are familiar with Long John Silver and Davy Jones's locker, how many of us are equally familiar with Kanhoji Angre and the pirates of the Malabar?We began with a discussion of myths, legends, and historical fiction, and this, I think, is an important idea that is well worth repeating. A myth is not history or historical fiction. It is a story created by human beings in an attempt to make sense of the world. Even if a myth helps us understand something about the time when it was created, it isn't a true tale.A legend is not true either! My mother, Dr Radhika Seshan, told us the story of the emperor Jahangir and his bells of justice. Legend says that a donkey rang one of the bells one day, and Jahangir proclaimed that a donkey deserves justice too. Is the story true? We have no idea, but legends are often built around people … [Read more...]
The Playwriting Module – Reflections and Resources
And just like that, the playwriting module of my creative writing programme is also over! We read two plays, played with props, explored dialogue, imagined the stage, examined the differences between writing scripts for stage and for screen ... And I'm exhilarated. As always, the generosity of the community of teachers and writers online is astounding. Some resources work for me; some don't, but each one I come across is useful.So, it's my turn. Here are a few activities I used successfully in class this time. Writing Natural Dialogue Writing dialogue that reads naturally is challenging. Even though I have been writing for so long, I sometimes find myself using long, winding sentences in dialogue and have to remind myself that we don't regularly use long sentences beginning with 'although' or 'despite'. And can you imagine using them when you're … [Read more...]
Creative Writing Workshops – Reflections and Resources
I spend hours scouring the internet for creative writing resources. I love those hours, even though sometimes I find myself panicking. There are so many wonderful ideas out there! What can I use? I want to use them all! At those times, I need to step away from my laptop and remind myself that I cannot do everything in twelve weeks. The weeks always fly by once I start a writing programme. I'm more than halfway through. Here are a handful of activities I used successfully this time! Rhyming Opposites This seems like an overly simplistic activity, but it works with people (I won't even say just children) of all ages. It is based on something I came across in the book Writing with Children, by Jackie Reilly and Vanessa Reilly and serves as a great way to begin a session on rhyme! How would you fill in the blanks? Musical Writing I have no idea … [Read more...]
Writing about Cyber Crime
What a fun session we had with digital forensic investigator Shweta A. Chawla yesterday! The children had all kinds of questions, and all kinds of stories. Nearly every child had a story of a parent or relative receiving a call and asking for an OTP or bank details. It just shows you how close cyber crime is to us!One child said, "We should keep changing our passwords, but it's difficult to remember them. So I write them in an Excel sheet." Before Shweta could respond, he said, "The Excel sheet is password protected."And I found myself thinking, Do I even know how to create a password-protected Excel sheet?We spoke of how stories no longer need masked robbers going into banks with guns, and the fact that you are much more likely to encounter a hacker online than a smuggler. Sure, we love our Enid Blyton stories of smuggling and crime, but perhaps stories can reflect something … [Read more...]
Writing about Cyber Crime
During my writing programme last year, I met many children who wanted to write detective stories. What would a detective story involve? How did investigations really happen?This got me thinking.What could I do that would be new and unusual? I've never solved a crime. I have no inside knowledge. And if children (and I!) don't want to write about smugglers and private islands and the like, what detective stories can we write?My answer was cyber crime. And that led to the very first guest session of my creative writing programme. About the Facilitator Shweta A. Chawla is an independent digital forensic investigator with over 15 years of experience in digital forensic and cyber investigations. She is the founder and chief investigator at SC Cyber Solutions, and has acted as consultant to various police departments in investigations into cyber crimes. Shweta is … [Read more...]