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...]
Workshops Launching in April 2021
REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR ALL THESE PROGRAMMES.The next reading programmes begin in the first week of June, and the next writing programmes will be held in October. I will also organise three short guest sessions as part of my writing programme. These will be free for those who are part of the programme, but will also be open to non-participants on payment of a fee. More details coming soon!If you would like to receive email notifications about my workshops, please fill this form. Alternatively, follow me on social media - Facebook, Instagram and Twitter - for regular updates. Online Reading Programme Many parents with children in the age-group 7-8 expressed interest in my writing programmes, which made me think about what I could do with such young children. For a writing programme to be meaningful, I feel that children need to be a little older. At the same time, … [Read more...]
Creating Memorable Characters with Sophie
And just like that, the third and last guest session for the current batches of my online writing programme is over. It doesn't feel like very long ago that I announced the programme, wondering whether there would be enough participants. I did not promise guest sessions because I knew it would depend on the response I received. It needed to be feasible to invite guest speakers, both in terms of the number of participants and in terms of my ability to pay the speakers. But here we go, two batches for two age groups are nearly over!Sophie's writing workshop was my third guest session, and it was lovely. Sessions where I learn something about methodology are always extra special. For instance, Sophie worked with excerpts from the classics, something I've never imagined doing. She chose tiny sections from Persuasion, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, The Lord of the Rings and Boy, amongst … [Read more...]
Workshop Anecdotes
So many little things happen during workshops! That's what makes them so much fun.For instance, my reading programme began on Tuesday and I started with Asha Nehemiah's Trouble with Magic. We spoke about all the wonderful things we'd invent because, in some ways, science and magic are pretty much the same thing. One child would invent a door. You step through the door and get to whatever place you want to go. You just have to tell the door where you'd like to be."And what trouble could you have with magic of this sort?" I asked.The boy thought for a bit. "If you don't speak clearly," he said, very clearly. "You could end up in the wrong place."Another child invented this - a vacation machine! Do notice how machine is spelt. Also, I love that the key words are there. No more and no less!At my writing programme yesterday, I had more fun. The children here are older and I … [Read more...]
Creating Memorable Characters
Both batches of my online creative writing programme began in October. Two months out of three have flown by, and I can't quite believe that I've had eight sessions with each batch. We've had two wonderful guest sessions too - one with author Nalini Sorensen and one with Dr. Sreeja Nag. It's time to announce my third and last guest session for this batch, with a multicultural writer-friend, Sophie Gaden.About the FacilitatorSophie is a French-Brazilian writer, teacher, and translator. She spent her childhood in Brazil, but at the age of 12, she moved to India where she lived for eight years. As if three countries with three different cultures weren't enough, she took another step across the world and graduated in English Literature and Creative Writing from Lancaster University. She is now based in London, writing poetry, translating, and teaching English at a secondary school. … [Read more...]
Science Stories with Sreeja
What a whirlwind weekend I've had! With the Scholastic Writing Awards ceremony, a guest session at my online creative writing programme, and a weekend workshop for the ten winners of the Scholastic Writing Awards, the weekend has flown by in the best possible way!As with every guest session, yesterday was special. I've invited Sreeja before and I know how exciting conversations with her can be for a group of curious young writers. She's exciting, warm and generous with her interactions, never dismissing a question or an idea out of hand. For instance, there was a moment yesterday when a child asked her, "Could there be mermaids on some other planet?"Sreeja paused and then responded, "Why not?"Sreeja is a scientist at NASA and also leads a team at a start-up that is building and deploying what could be the first self-driving robotic fleet on public roads. She has a PhD in … [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 ISTAbout the guest facilitatorSreeja 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...]
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...]
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...]
Creative Writing with Children
Every time I work with children on creative writing, I realise why I enjoy it so much. Each interaction is full of laughter, fun, and most joyous of all--moments when children finally understand something and it shows on their faces. I'm still elated after yesterday's online creative writing session!Since I launched the programme on the 5th of October, I've had a regular routine. Early in the morning, I log on to my forum. What will I find? Which of the writers would have contributed something delightful?One morning, I discovered a letter to be placed in a high technology envelope that could be opened and closed with a button. Another morning, I discovered a list of words that one of the young writers loves - goofy, amazing, surprise ... And soon, I will find a set of limericks. I can't wait to read them!Yesterday, as usual, my session was full of all kinds of activities. I … [Read more...]