Category: On Creative Writing

  • When a writer falls in love with you, here’s what life looks like

    Have you lost your heart to a writer?  Loving and being loved by a writer is a different experience altogether. It isn’t easy but it’s rewarding. With innumerable thoughts churning in their mind, here’s what life looks like when a writer falls in love with you. 

    1. It adds newness to life

    No two days are ever going to be the same for you. You might walk into a house cluttered with crumpled bits of paper. Or you might sit up until the wee hours of the morning to discuss a story idea. Your partner could break into a happy dance or convince you to do something you never imagined doing.

    2. An imprint of your identity is left behind in their words

    You become your partner’s muse. That occasional love note or the poem on your birthday will indeed make you feel special. A writer being observant in nature notices things about you that might ordinarily escape one’s eyes. The wavy curls of your hair, or the crinkles around your eyes when you smile. Anything and everything about might be a source of inspiration to your writer partner. Your love story will remain as a memory even after you.

    3. You learn a thing or two about resilience

    A writer has been through all of it, the pitfalls and the successes. But one thing that helps a writer sail through these situations – is an undying spirit and hope. This quality of theirs has a positive impact on their relationships. Because come what may your writer partner is going to try to make things work.

    4. Your gestures don’t go unnoticed 

    It is often said that the writer has the memory of an elephant. So don’t be shocked in case your writer partner randomly brings up something you mentioned 6 months back. Most importantly, your acts of kindness and your selfless sacrifices will be thought of with gratitude. But the same policy holds good for the times you inflict pain.

    5. You have found yourself a problem- solver

    A writer has an innate ability to think about situations from every angle. This makes a writer look at things in a rational way. Whether it’s a work-related issue or a family crisis your writer partner with their vivid imagination is sure to give you a solution.

    6. You are going to make sound decisions

    A writer is required to read and watch content as a part of their preparation. As a result of which, a writer gains insights into various kinds of people and their perspectives. Hence, your partner wouldn’t go wrong in assessing a person. If your writer partner offers you advice pay heed to it.

    If you are in love with a writer, your partner is vulnerable and requires space. But with all that said and done, you are going to be loved with an intensity that’s going to turn your life around. Even with their moodiness, and writer’s block, the way a writer loves is special. The world needs more such people don’t you think? Is there a writer hidden in you? You can hone your writing skills at Anita’s Attic.

  • Creative Writing Tips – Try these 6 easy & effective ways to record those ideas

    What’s the one thing which transforms the urge to write into actually writing?

    Apart from that stroke of inspiration, it is an idea. It will suddenly spring up in your mind and catch you off-guard. Maybe, while running an errand. Or it could dawn on you while walking your dog in the park. You promised yourself that you would remember what it was. But are you having trouble recalling your idea? Stop berating yourself, a writer’s mind draws inspiration from nothing and everything. Hence, an invaluable writing tip is to record those ideas. In order to record those precious thoughts, you need a full-proof method. Who knows? One of those ideas could turn into a masterpiece for you. Here’s presenting techniques that you could toy around with to devise a method that works for you.
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    1. A Notebook


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    Old fangled as it might seem, one of the most common writing tips is to maintain a Notebook. You could partition it into sections or just jot down anything that inspires you in a manner you deem suitable. Take some time to deck up this book, so that it resonates with the things that you stand for as a writer. It could include a quote that inspired you, a line from a book, a journal entry, just a random thought, song lyrics, a dream, a to-do list, or a bucket-list.[/symple_column]

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    2. Bullet Journal

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    If you’d like to step up and organize your notebook you can always opt to start a bullet journal. It is an excellent way to forecast your plans, record your ideas, track your writing habits, and meet your writing goals. Whether you believe it or not having a bullet journal, notches up productivity, and enhances creativity. But if using a notebook isn’t your preferred method of writing you could always set up a Digital Writers Notebook. [/symple_column]

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    3. Voice Recordings

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    If jotting down your ideas seems tedious, you could always record your thoughts. Those ramblings in your head and those brainstorming sessions with yourself can be recorded here. This process eliminates the distraction of correcting those typos and deciphering your own handwriting later on. It’s easy to implement and listening to your thoughts, later on, gives more clarity.  This exercise even helps in maneuvering around a writer’s block.

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    4. Pinterest


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    As a writer, your mind is always on alert mode, even while surfing the internet. You might stumble on an article that could inspire you to create content. But where does one save all these links? You can use Pinterest and create a private board that functions as a storehouse of your ideas. Furthermore, you can create a public board, and share all your writing inputs, such as your blogs, reading recommendations, and techniques.

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    4. Take a Picture


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    As a writer, you can use your smartphone to your advantage. Capture pictures of things, instances, and scenarios along the way. You could further save all this in a separate folder. Who knows? Scrolling through these stills could inspire a share-worthy blog post. It is more or less, a gallery of your thoughts. Looking for an idea for your next story? Charge your phone, step out, go for a walk, and capture a picture of the first thing that inspires you.

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    5. Stash it in your notes

    Creative Writing Tips
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    The notes feature on your phone is excellent to list down your thoughts. Being glued to our phones all day makes it easy to type that idea. The play store has many note-taking apps with additional features to amplify the note-taking activity. It is convenient to capture that stray thought which springs up in your mind from nowhere. These work as excellent story openings and might also result in the stringing of a sad sonnet.

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    6. Index Cards

    Creative Writing Tips
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    Writing is incomplete without research. Hence, you could use Index Cards to organize your research. To begin with, broadly classify the subject you are writing and researching in categories. For example: – your categories could be the introduction, problem, solution, advantage, and disadvantage for a blog post. You could color code it by using different colored pens or sticky notes. All these little nuggets of information can easily be woven into a blog post.
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    Which method are you going to use to record that next idea of yours? One of these could prove to be useful for you. Besides this, if you are looking for writing tips and aspire to become a disciplined writer, sign up for Season 8 of Anita’s Attic, you’ll find it here! Submissions are now open.

  • Covid-19 and its impacts on Reading and Writing

    The Lockdown has shaken up the economy in unforeseen ways. Migrants have been desolately displaced, salaried employees are striving towards attaining job security, and entrepreneurs are struggling to achieve stability. People are getting through day after day with a sense of helplessness. But amid all this misery and strife, there’s a silver lining for writers. Life has presented them with an opportunity to hear their inner voice. Here’s a deeper analysis of Covid-19 and its effect on writers.

    1. Time for Knowledge Acquisition

    The pre-requisite for a writer is to be an avid reader. Wouldn’t you agree? At the beginning of every New Year have you determinedly taken up a reading challenge that you’ve been unsuccessful in finishing? The Lockdown has given writers a chance to complete those long-pending reading lists. This time devoted to reading and introspecting is setting the foundation for new stories. A new genre of literature called  ‘Lockdown Literature’ is taking shape. The few published works born out of this time include Love in the Time of Quarantine, The Day before Today: Lockdown Stories, and Lockdown Liaisons: Leaving and other Stories

    2. Pending Planning Done Now

    In today’s digitized world, pre-planning, editorial calendars, and ideation are the need of the hour. But in our rush to meet the crushing deadlines, this element is somewhere ignored in the process. The Lockdown has given writers the time to research, catalog ideas, forecast, and draw out plans for their brands, books, or blogs.

    3. More people turned to write

    Many people with a flair for creative writing have done nothing about it because of the pressing demands that daily life poses. The Lockdown has spurred up these writers. The deadliness of Covid-19 and the heart-wrenching situation of everyone around us has resulted in many resorting to writing and venting out their pent-up emotions. Celebrities have turned into poets, bloggers are constantly churning pieces to intrigue their readers, authors are creating compelling stories and scriptwriters are coming up with innovative plots. Empathy is easily expressed through writing.

    4. Establishment of Writing Communities

    Publishing houses, writers, and content creators are engaging their followers with various initiatives. There are a growing number of online literature festivals, live storytelling sessions, and writing workshops. Writing cues, writing challenges and poetry contests have a higher level of participation. All of a sudden there is an ever-growing community of writers who are honing their skills in the course of this pandemic. More and more people are making use of the digitized forms of writing like Wattapad, Your Quote, and Mirakee.

    5. More Meaningful Writing

    With everyone abiding by the norms of social distancing, communicating through words is the only way for one to establish connections. Writers are now forced out of their comfort zone to write content that makes a difference. Today, brand strategies are more conscious and stories are more humane.

    6. Reading goes Digital

    As a result of the Lockdown restrictions, E-books, Kindles, and AudioBooks have gained prominence among the readers. While many people weren’t used to this form of reading it has caught on in India.

    All in all, words are a source of comfort. They are therapeutic to a writer and they heal a reader. It’s a source of comfort in these troubled times. Read and write through the pandemic, it will leave behind a sensitive population in its wake.

  • Creative Writing Tips | Write, write and keep writing

    Go back in time and recall the first time you wrote.

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    What led to it? Were you madly in love? Or was it the pain of a parting friend? These overwhelming emotions propelled the writer in you to compress those emotions into words. Re-reading what you put on paper in a matter of minutes opened up possibilities and windows of opportunity for the creative part of your mind, because it gave you the courage to accept that “Hey, I can write”. With the passage of time the magnitude of any emotion reduces, the writer in you flounders around struggling to seek inspiration. Doubt? Despair? Writer’s block? All these misconceptions plague you and leave you wondering “Can I write more?” Combat all of this by following the golden rule of “writing every day.”

    Make writing a ritual

    Like how it is imperative for a bodybuilder to flex those muscles, a writer has to exercise that writing muscle and make writing a daily ritual. Waiting for that moment of inspiration may turn you into a writer who “makes hay when the sun shines”. Writing everyday will bring discipline in your work and make you write with or without inspiration. Practicing this continually will result in your creativity going up several notches.

    Think about it, if your second sonnet was not garnered with the same appreciation as the first one, would that crushing disappointment blinded you? Is it going to be the end of your journey as a writer? Stop wallowing in self-pity, brush aside the fear of rejection and write everyday. You will only get better at it. Do you have a flair for penning poetry but apprehensive about giving that short story a chance? Writing everyday will broaden your horizons and in the journey you may discover that you can write other genres too. In this fast-paced environment it is difficult to still time, look for the appropriate words and simply write. Writing everyday will enhance your vocabulary, help you gain pace and deliver write-ups fast.

    “What do I write about, every day?” This thought alone can be a stumbling block in the practice of writing every day. Mulling what to write about? Look around you, the room you’re sitting in, the walls, the interiors or anything about the room that is fodder for your imagination – simply write. This will train you to write fearlessly, striving to attain perfection will not make you a best-selling author but practicing the craft of writing will certainly prod you in that direction.

    Writing is liberating

    Writing every day, will fine tune your skills as a writer but will lead to holistic improvement in the quality of life. Bottling up resentment, anger or bitter feeling will affect the state of your mind. Writing enables you to vent out all your emotions and leaves you feeling considerably lighter. It is a journey of self discovery that helps bring order in the clutter of life.

    Research says that writing improves mental health and people who write are happier. When one writes of their problems, it brings and gives the much needed strength to deal with unforeseen circumstances. Suffering from long term ailments, it is advised to  engage in expressive writing it will coax the disease out of your system and heal you.

    Not convinced yet? Pull out your notepad and scribble away, either it will nurture your talent or you will live life feeling happier and healthier.

  • 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.

  • Getting creative with writing | Writing it Right is the Key

    Writing is sacred to a writer. The hours you spend writing is a time of contemplation and a journey of self discovery. As a writer you may be intimidated by innumerable fears. From a blank document to the seeping fear of inadequacy, your mind is in a state of turmoil more often than not. Writing, like any other craft needs practice and discipline. Here are a couple of things that could aid you in the process.

    A Time and Space for Writing

    Writing is personal and doing it in solitude yields better results. In your daily allowance of 24 hours, dedicate a fixed portion of it wholly to writing. Either at the crack of dawn in the company of chirping birds or in the stillness of the moonlit night. At what hour do your creative juices flow ? Set up a space to write, declutter it and place all the things that inspire and comfort you. Tick marking these two things on your to-do list will help in setting your daily writing routine in place.

    A Way to Focus

    Another challenge to overcome while writing is taming your brain. The human brain scampers in all directions disrupting ordinary trails of thought. Popular writer Robin Sharma suggests a simple technique to ensure razor sharp focus while writing. He suggests to keep a blank sheet of paper, and each time you lose focus make a check-mark. A heightened awareness will rid you of this problem and increase concentration.

    It pays to be Social

    Are you bitten by the social media bug ? Twitter & Instagram are the best platforms, along with a personal blog ( we recommend WordPress) than can be used to your advantage. Writing groups, tips by famous writers and opportunities are bounced around for writers on all these platforms. Pinterest is extremely useful for research. You can also use it as a storehouse by creating boards and stacking together all the material you find useful.

    A Journal is your Best Friend

    As a writer you are mostly on alert mode. Anything may strike a chord and inspire you to string in a line or weave a new story. All these snippets may fade away from your mind, hence it is advisable to carry a journal and record everything. Or if you are of the ‘networked’ kind, make use of the notepad options on your smartphone to record those scribbles and thought fragments. Who knows? That tiny bit of information recorded can be instrumental in making your story a bestseller.

    Become a Grammar Nazi

    You may have won several laurels in this literary journey, but stick to the basics. Grammatical errors, scrappy sentences and unnecessary descriptions take away the finesse from a write-up. So write, edit and re-edit to make sure that your write up is crisp and conveys what it’s meant to.

    Reading is as important as Writing

    So clock in a minimum of 20 minutes of reading everyday to better your writing and enhance your vocabulary. So read the books you envision writing one day.

    Writer’s block is a state of mind you can work around, rise above these words and conquer. There is always professional assistance (that is even customised and personal that is available) for creative writing for those who are willing to go that extra mile to hone their craft.

    What are you waiting for? Give these tips a shot and get your name etched on the paperbacks and leave an imprint in your reader’s life.