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I am : a vagabond traveling first from one US state to another and now from country to country. Some call me a female Jack Kerouac, minus the box cars and the Buddhism. Well, not really, but it sounds cool, doesn’t it?

Presently biding my time : editing my first draft and drinking lots of filter kaapi in Bangalore

As I secretly follow my dreams of : being a commissioning editor at a major publisher

Part of the : Creative Writing Mentorship Program from 6th August – 28th October, 2016

My Blog : JeanSpraker.com
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About being a part of Anita’s Attic Creative Writing program

I came to Anita’s Attic with one goal: Finish the damn book!

For almost two years, I had floundered in an undisciplined hell called my own mind. First, there was the crazy, funny, and a little too autobiographical draft, or as I like to call it: Damn! You mean my life is supposed to have a plot?

I realized after about six months that this wasn’t the book I wanted to write. So, I started a new, more experimental draft for NaNoWriMo in Korea in November 2015. I managed to write only 25,000 words and promptly froze. Fear overtook me. I didn’t work on the draft even once after November. Self-doubt and worry set in. I wasn’t blocked—I wrote plenty of blog posts and short stories during this time—but I was stuck. In May 2016, I heard about Anita’s Attic and knew the program would help me confront the fears that were blocking my progress.

In coming to Bangalore, I hoped to find three things: a renewed energy, discipline, and guidance from a professional writer. I found all three here at Anita’s Attic, just as the tag line promised. Anita’s greatest gift to me was helping me work through major structural issues. Issues I was blind to, proving that even editors need editors. I’m proud to say that I am now editing the first draft.

Jean’s Bio

Jean Spraker is an American writer/editor who used to be an editor/writer. One day, she hopes to be a whole person without the “/.” She is an award-winning technical and marketing communications editor whose clients have included HP, Weatherford, and Baker Hughes. She blogs at jeanspraker.com, where she writes about her travels, reviews books, and occasionally shares her short stories. Jean loves Indian food and has been published on India Food Network. Although it’s probably difficult to tell from reading this bio, Jean has a silly side and won HarperCollins’ Silliest Autobiography Contest. Her story has been published on the HarperCollins Harper Stories blog. Her short stories Hot Toddy and The Gulab Jamun have been published in Unbound e-Magazine.

Jean Spraker ‘s story on Gnosiophobia

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I am : librarian at 7, stand-up comic at 10, archaeologist at 12, storyteller forever

Presently biding my time : taking off my high-powered glasses and 15-year-old corporate gloves to build my own storytelling venture in between bouts of Sufi music and liberal doses of humour

As I secretly follow my dreams of : being able to answer “I am a writer” when the flight of imagination takes off and the pilot asks “Is there a writer onboard?” as she tries to make an emergency landing at the airport of curiosity.

As good as: the last joke or the next dream

Part of the : Creative Writing Mentorship Program from 6th August – 28th October, 2016

My Blog: No Small Talk
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About being a part of Anita’s Attic Creative Writing program

An incorrigible reader since childhood, I never cried when Sachin got bowled out for a duck or when Shahrukh Khan died in a movie. My tears, my smiles and my admiration were always reserved for writers, who could create a magical world in which I could find my realities and my dreams.

Having read most of Anita’s books, I was in a state of complete tongue-tied awe that I would get a chance to meet her, an author whose work I had admired for long. As the program started, I started admiring the single-minded focus with which Anita urged us to work on one story idea and to keep developing it over the twelve weeks as she gave insightful feedback on each element of writing and storytelling. For many of us who try to juggle full-time corporate work with part-time writer-in-waiting dreams, it is easy to let go of the words that no one other than us seem to be waiting for.

It was fascinating for me to see the discipline and dedication with which Anita mentored each of us and helped us hone our writing voice. The one-on-one feedback made my effort more real and meaningful than I had dared to think it could ever be. The interactions with fellow writers, literary agents and publishers gave concrete shape to both the art and the business of the writing world.

Questions that I had always asked myself while reading books were now answers I heard from Anita about the origin of story ideas and the importance of fact-checking and researching every element of our work. And through it all, the warmth and humour of Anita the person, made the brilliance and insight of Anita, the writer, even more real and humane. The program is the inspiration first-time authors need as they try take their own writing seriously.

Excerpt from published work:

The boat took them deeper and deeper into the forest of green shimmers and blue ripples. A lone crane glided forward, as if nodding a gentle hello. The trees that hugged the shore bent over, as if trying to protect an untold secret. They had almost reached Poovar, a lost island locked between the land, the backwaters and the sea, the sound of the silence broken only by the lashing of the waves and the flight of the birds.

Read the story here

Debleena’s Bio

Debleena is a Bangalore based storyteller, writer, start-up advisor and entrepreneur. She has spent over fifteen years working in Strategy, Analytics and Venture Capital. Her articles on Strategy and Entrepreneurship have been published in multiple magazines such as Huffington Post, Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP), DataFloq, KD Nuggets, Data Science Central among others. She is a frequent speaker at Strategy and Entrepreneurship conferences. Her short stories and poems have been published in Deccan Chronicle, Literary Yard, Spark and e-Fiction magazine. One of her children’s short stories has been published in Class 3 ICSE reader and her first children’s novel is slated to be published next year.

She is currently working on a crime novel and is also writing a book on Entrepreneurship.

Debleena Majumdar’s story on Metrophobia

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I am : A Banker turned Entrepreneur

Presently biding my time : Coaching, Mentoring, Consulting & Healing. ( All are the same )

As I secretly follow my dreams of : A Story Teller, Writer

Part of the : Creative Writing Mentorship Program from 6th August – 28th October, 2016

My Blogs: CV Subash Blog & Regal Unlimited Blog
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About being a part of Anita’s Attic Creative Writing program

Among the numerous roles I play, story-telling is relevant to all. I always wanted to be a writer too. I applied to Anita’s Attic without any hope of being selected. I was surprised when I was selected. Was elated. Did not join batch 3, my calendar was an excuse! Thanks to family’s push, joined batch 4.

It has been a beautiful journey with the mentor (Anita Nair), the batch (each one already a writer) and the guests.

Takeaways : The power of discipline even in a creative activity such as writing, power of subconscious, being truly present, overcoming writer’s block/self-limiting beliefs, nuances of character/crafting/storytelling, art of mentoring, etc. Writers are normal human beings!

Subash’s Bio

A banker for 21 yrs, now a Leadership/Executive Coach, ICF Mentor Coach & Healer. I work with corporate executives/leaders and professionals. My other interests include holistic living, practical spirituality, and alternate therapy. As a founder partner of a boutique firm, Regal Unlimited, I firmly believe in the firm’s tag line, ‘ROI of Enchantment.’

Subash C V ‘s story on Mythophobia