Category: Creative Writing Workshops

  • The journey to Anita’s Attic | An alumnus fondly remembers

    [symple_box color=”blue” fade_in=”false” float=”center” text_align=”left” width=””]Sonakshi Kandhari, from Season 5 of Anita’s Attic Creative Writing Course & Mentorship program fondly recalls her ‘moment of truth’ from her discovery to being a part of the class at the Attic.[/symple_box]
     
    Sonakshi--D-Kandhari-Writers-Profile-Anitas-AtticDismally hitting backspace on your Word document, you wondered “Am I suffering the proverbial writer’s block?” You began researching writing tips and stumbled upon Anita’s Attic, a creative writing mentorship program for anyone who wants to learn the writing process. Admissions were round the corner and the selection criterion was a 400-word write-up. You switched off your laptop and busied yourself with the day’s chores. The tagline “You will find it here!” was the ear-worm of the day. The voice in your head urged you to give the write- up a shot and the result left you pleasantly surprised. You mustered the courage and finally submitted the write-up.

    Frantically waiting for a response, your heart skipped a beat when your phone flashed with a new mail from info@anitasattic.com. With heady disbelief, you kept re-reading “Congratulations on being handpicked by Anita Nair for the Anita’s Attic Creative Writing Course Mentorship Program.”

    Countdown to the Attic

    After overcoming the initial euphoria, unwanted thoughts threatened to burst the bubble. In the bleakest of moments you wondered, “How will I keep up?”, “Have I been doing the right thing all along?” and worst of the lot, “Do I have it in me to be a writer?” All I can say is, shed aside these inhibitions and wait with pleasant anticipation for the sessions to unfold.

    Haven’t you always yearned for a confidante to discuss story ideas? Anita becomes that and more. On a blank parchment, pen down probable story ideas and let your subconscious guide you to the most relevant one. Your ideas will now receive the able guidance of Anita Nair. Listen in carefully, that Word document saved in your laptop possibly could wind up in a publishing house.

    To prep up, perhaps you could look back at the reading list and get some reading done. The best way to understand the craft of writing is to study it.Browsing through the achievements of the previous batches on the website will give you the much needed confidence. What are you waiting for? Encircle the date on the calendar and get set to go to the Attic.

    On the other side of Anita’s Attic

    Are you curious to know what awaits you? Anita is equally eager, waiting to welcome you into her world. As a writer you are suddenly struck by inspiration but what do you do otherwise? Anita’s sessions will help structure your fragmented thoughts find its groove and write seamlessly. Thriving in a community of peers who are unified by the the love for writing and being nurtured by Anita’s mentorship would be the one definitive step to nudge you towards taking up writing professionally.

    Here is wishing you all the delight and hardwork the Creative Writing program will bring you at Anita’s Attic.

  • Class Lunch out – Season 4, Anita’s Attic

    anitas-attic-creative-writing-program-season-4-class-lunch-out

    Writers who eat together stay together

    Just in case anyone thinks Anita’s Attic is just about writing and writing only, it’s also about having a good time while doing so..

    It’s about reading, conversations, observations and finding the courage to soldier on.

  • Delving into Kiran Nagarkar’s Cuckold at Anita’s Attic, Season 4 sessions

    Book : Kiran Nagarkar’s Cuckold

    group-discussion-creative-writing-anitas-attic-kiran-nagarkar-cuckold

    One of the highlights at Anita’s Attic is the group discussions. And the post mortem of a character from a book all of us had read ( Meera from Kiran Nagarkar‘s Cuckold ) was both fun and informative offering the writers an insight into what makes a character unforgettable. Here is a sneak peek at impressions of the class.

  • Anil Ananthaswamy at Anita’s Attic

    anil-ananthaswamyFor the first time ever in four seasons Anita’s Attic had as its guest speaker a non-fiction writer. The brilliant Anil Ananthaswamy who kept the class ( 12 in the room + 1 online from New Zealand) and an alumnus from a previous season and I transfixed in less than five minutes.

    For an hour, each one of us travelled with Anil as he took us on his journey from techie to science journalist to author of two acclaimed books of non-fiction.

    It was both an honour and joy to have you at the Attic. Thank you Anil, you star, you.

  • Jayapriya Vasudevan of The Jacaranda Press at Anita’s Attic

    As a writer gets closer to writing ‘The End’, the next preoccupation becomes: How do I get my work published?

    Increasingly as publishers prefer to read manuscripts vetted by literary agents, the role of a literary agent becomes pivotal in the career of a writer and so to talk to Season 4 Writers at Anita’s Attic, who better than star agent Jayapriya Vasudevan of The Jacaranda Press?

  • Deepthi Talwar, the Chief Editor of Westland Books at Anita’s Attic

    Commercial Fiction is the Shylock of the literary world: more sinned against than actually a sinner.

    And so to answer the query of what is commercial fiction, who better than Deepthi Talwar, the Chief Editor of Westland Books, publishers of bestselling authors like Amish, Preeti Shenoy and Anuja Chauhan.

    Thank you Deepthi for speaking to the Season 4 Writers at Anita’s Attic.

  • Author R. Sreeram at Anita’s Attic

    It’s important for a writer to keep faith in one’s ability and work. Sometimes only a writer can make another find that faith through the story of their journey this far. And so the first writer to visit Anita’s Attic during Season 4 was R. Sreeram, author of Kalyug published by Westland Books.

    Sreeram isn’t a literary fiction writer but his words of advise would fit any genre, any kind of writer.

    Sample this:
    – Your genre is important but it’s not a deal breaker.
    – Anytime your spirit’s sagging, show it to your near & dear ones but it’s important to get an impartial opinion.

    Thank you Sreeram.

  • Vinita Nangia & Ajitha G.S at Anita’s Attic

    It was a blazing hot April day but no one was complaining…for the penultimate session of Season 3, Anita’s Attic had a double billing of guest speakers.

    Vinita Nangia, writer & columnist and Director of the ‪#‎WriteIndia‬ project came in the forenoon to share her insights on writing, trends seen in the WriteIndia contest and what constitutes good writing.

    Ajitha G.S., commissioning editor at HarperCollins India spent time talking to the writers on publishing trends in India and what it is that makes an editor grab a manuscript and want to publish it.

    Just the sort of impetus needed as the writers set out on their individual journeys towards authordom.

  • Preeti Shenoy at Anita’s Attic

    What does a best selling commercial fiction author do differently?

    Some of the most readable books are written by commercial fiction writers. Be it Marian Keyes, Stephen King, Conn Igulden or Thomas Harris...as for Le Carre and Rankin, they are poets masquerading as thriller writers.

    Nevertheless the literary establishment and lit fiction writers are such snobs that we look down our toffee noses and think all commercial fiction is crap; lit fiction deals with the human condition, while pulp fiction is formulaic renditions of the human condition.

    Over the last three seasons at Anita’s Attic, our guest speakers have always been literary fiction writers. Some of them have had books that sell many copies but a best-selling commercial fiction author’s numbers and reach is in another league.

    Which is why I thought it important that my writers meet and hear about the journey of a very successful commercial fiction writer. And who better than Preeti Shenoy, one among the top five highest selling authors in India (Source: Nielsen scan)and the highest selling woman writer in India?

    In a session filled with practical tips as much as personal takes, Preeti gave Anita’s Attic writers a whole new perspective on what it means to be a writer:

    • When I am writing, my internet is off.
    • I never set out to improve people’s lives
    • I refuse to believe that there is something called writer’s block
    • Blogging helps; it gives you an inkling of who your readers are !

     
    Thank you Preeti Shenoy for the enthusiasm and confidence you brought into the room and giving Anita’s Attic‬ writers an understanding of your creative process.

  • Jayapriya Vasudevan of Jacaranda Press at Anita’s Attic

    I remember to this day our first conversation. Circa 1997. Satyr of the Subway reading. Prasad Bidappa had said I should invite her to my reading at a bookstore. So I called. She was warm and friendly on the telephone. It felt like we had known each other a long time. And then she said – Do you know what I do?

    No, I said. I had presumed she was Prasad’s friend and that was good enough for me.
    I am a literary agent, she said.
    I had met literary agents in books but never a real one. Did they have fangs? Did they bite? Or did they have floppy ears and were cuddly?
    Did they drink wine or the devil’s brew?
    I was curious and we planned to meet.
    I think of how she took me in hand and guided me through the highs and lows in my writing career. She covered my back for me, no matter what.
    That’s what a literary agent should be like. Though they seldom are.And so I wanted my Season 3 Writers at Anita’s Attic to meet Jayapriya Vasudevan of Jacaranda Press. Super Agent. Super friend. And a truly good person.
    Thank you Jayapriya for being who you are. Mwaaaaaaa.