WRITING RIGHT!
Just looking at something the other way round can make all the difference.
Pankaja Srinivasan
I hope you all read The Tale of the broken pot (The Hindu, page 20, May 13). The story is narrated by a mud pot. The article is all about literacy in ancient Tamil country.
Most of us would have dismissed it as ‘Boring’. But, just by moving away from the usual way of writing, and making a mud pot do the talking, the writers Iravatham Mahadevan, an expert on the Indus and the Brahmi scripts, and S.Rajagopal, an archaeologist, made it an enchanting tale that entertained as well as educated. That is what imagination and originality in writing is all about. That is what makes J.K.Rowling, Sukumar Ray, Roald Dahl and all those wonderful story tellers so special – the ability to make even the ordinary sound extraordinary.
Here are a few things that should help you in making you next writing project exciting.
- Try and keep a diary handy. Jot down things that catch your interest; it could be an odd-shaped nose someone has, or the cockroach that emerges from the crack in the wall, exactly the same time every day.
- When you are watching television, reading or just hanging out, some ideas are sure to pop up in your mind. Whether you know what to do with them at the moment or not, write them down. You could always use them later.
- I have often written down funny words or sentences that I have liked the sound of. It could be something you always thought of saying, but did not know how. Write them down! Otherwise, they will vanish from your head.
- If you are good at drawing or sketching, then have a scrapbook for your drawings. Who knows you may be publishing your doodles down the ages when you become a famous cartoonist or artist!
Courtesy: ‘Young World’, Supplement to The Hindu, May 27, 2008.
Grateful thanks to Ms Pankaja Srinivasan and The Hindu.
Just looking at something the other way round can make all the difference.
Pankaja Srinivasan
I hope you all read The Tale of the broken pot (The Hindu, page 20, May 13). The story is narrated by a mud pot. The article is all about literacy in ancient Tamil country.
Most of us would have dismissed it as ‘Boring’. But, just by moving away from the usual way of writing, and making a mud pot do the talking, the writers Iravatham Mahadevan, an expert on the Indus and the Brahmi scripts, and S.Rajagopal, an archaeologist, made it an enchanting tale that entertained as well as educated. That is what imagination and originality in writing is all about. That is what makes J.K.Rowling, Sukumar Ray, Roald Dahl and all those wonderful story tellers so special – the ability to make even the ordinary sound extraordinary.
Here are a few things that should help you in making you next writing project exciting.
- Try and keep a diary handy. Jot down things that catch your interest; it could be an odd-shaped nose someone has, or the cockroach that emerges from the crack in the wall, exactly the same time every day.
- When you are watching television, reading or just hanging out, some ideas are sure to pop up in your mind. Whether you know what to do with them at the moment or not, write them down. You could always use them later.
- I have often written down funny words or sentences that I have liked the sound of. It could be something you always thought of saying, but did not know how. Write them down! Otherwise, they will vanish from your head.
- If you are good at drawing or sketching, then have a scrapbook for your drawings. Who knows you may be publishing your doodles down the ages when you become a famous cartoonist or artist!
Courtesy: ‘Young World’, Supplement to The Hindu, May 27, 2008.
Grateful thanks to Ms Pankaja Srinivasan and The Hindu.
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