Creative writing workshop
The Department of Languages, Literature and Aesthetics at School of Liberal Studies,
PDPU organized a three day creative writing workshop, from November 14-16, 2017,
with the acclaimed author Salil Desai based in Pune. With the cordial coordination of
Prof. Neeta Khurana and the department, twenty-ve participants came under one
roof to explore the nuances of popular ction and writing. Salil Desai, an alumnus of
FTII, journalist and a novelist, popular for penning “Three and a half murder” discussed
a wide spectrum of topics as he engaged the young minds with spontaneous writing
exercises, the content analyzing and open discussions.
The workshop was carried out over the course of three days with activities and
creative intentions etched right in place for students to make most of the workshop.
On day one, in order to set the right expectations, the students were asked to
introduce themselves, what were their motivations to attend the workshop and what
they look forward to. From the minute concepts of words, sentence and paragraphs
to the building of a character and a situation, all the topics were discussed and the
students unlearned and re-learned the basics. Analyzing content is an important part
in the process of creativity and writing and to facilitate the same the students were
distributed a handout of a short story to make a note of tight sentences and the
beginning paragraphs of famous texts to absorb and discuss what makes for an
interesting read.
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