It was a batch of 13 participants at the first off-site creative thinking and writing workshop held under the auspices of Anita’s Attic at SAP Labs Bangalore. A baker’s dozen, I thought with a secret laugh. And how appropriate it was for I love baking and writing holds the same inexplicable combination of art and science that makes some better bakers than others.
Over two sessions held over two weeks, I saw the initial hint of skepticism fade. No one can teach another person to write but what is possible is to identify the strength of a writer and mentor it. It gave me an incredible high to see how well the writing exercises seemed to draw out latent abilities and how with each assignment, the confidence and the voice of the writer grew stronger. The queries at the end of each session became more focussed and more pertinent.
Just as the participants I had been unsure on what to expect from this workshop. But I think I learnt from the experience just as much as each one of them did. To draw out the shy and reticent participant to bridle rambunctious creative energy to step in only when I needed to or for most parts let the creative vision follow its own path.
For Anita’s Attic is not about creating an army of clones but is about shaping your creativity and your voice to be your own.
Dear Anita,
As we grow older I am sure most of us become so accustomed to the rigmarole of life that we lose out on trying so many things. One of the best things, that I have done in the last few years is, write a list of goals to achieve during the year – this list is very exhaustive (almost around 12 to 15 BIG goals and several smaller goals – sometime completing or supplementing or completely new).
I am very happy to share with you that by attending your session I am able to tick mark against at least couple of the items on my list.
The two days of your session was breath of fresh air to me with lots & lots of new thoughts, ideas and new plots for great stories I guess. I liked many aspects of your sessions – it was titillating, teasing and very intriguing. The sessions were easy not hard on mind and was very well spread out. I actually didn’t feel that I missed out on a Saturday or Sunday.
As I mentioned at the end of the session – there many takeaways for me in this session –
a) Some confidence to start writing
b) Approval/Nod from you that I can be “fiction” writer which I think I might be able to do
c) Loads of tips on writing but the biggest one is the first and tenth commandment of your list. WRITE.
Above all I really liked the way you spoke and gave us feedback. The biggest positive was the humility and the love that you showed for this kind of workshop was extremely evident throughout the sessions.
Thanks a lot.
Warm Regards,
Johny
Dear Anita,
It feels so nice to hear from you 🙂 Thanks a lot for writing to us all!!
Hope you are doing well. I have to admit that since the workshop, I often find myself taking the time and making an attempt to write ‘right’. However, I do end up realizing that I need to brush up on basic grammar and hope to find a book that is a bit easier to consume than Wren & Martin.
Many thanks again for all the lovely inputs. I find myself chewing the cud from the workshop more than I had anticipated 🙂
Warm regards from a sunny whitefield morning!