Writing down the bones

What is writing and reporting? Many people ask me this and I take my time to explain them all. It’s a craft that demands understanding and simplicity at the same time. You need to be thorough about your subject before you hold fort on it. And this demands a reasonable command of the language, patience, research, and perseverance. You can’t afford to be lazy.

Here is where one book I read the other day did the job with alacrity. Not by dwelling on it but showing it with examples. Take a bow, Natalie Goldberg, for your book, Writing Down The Bones. With this book in hand, I can conduct a writing workshop with more satisfactory results.

The book shows. Not tell. From a list of topics for writing practice to zen meditation in writing, it’s autobiographical and simple at the same time.

Read it and you will know what I mean. Highly recommended. And I dont recommend that easily.

Now if you are wondering why I should be reading that when I know that already, I am only as good as my last piece of writing. I have to keep my writing healthy and alive and what better way than reading good writers.

For all those wanting to write, my advice is to read first and write often. Make it a discipline to write so simply that even a 5 year old should be able to understand.

Good luck.

Creative visualisation

The other day I read Creative Visualisation, a self help book by Shakti Gawain.

Among all the books that I have read in this genre, this is the best.

It’s simple and yet very powerful. The techniques and exercises given here can make you a super human being. All you need is faith and a meditative bent of mind.

This book beats books by such luminaries as louise hay, betty shine, brian weiss, wayne dyar and walsh. Pray why? Coz it explains and summarizes the various techniques in the market and offers remedies to everyday problems with daily affirmations and creative Visualisation techniques.

The upshot? If you want to change the way you live? Realise your dreams quickly? Become a better human being, this book is recommended reading.

Posted by Wordmobi

Aamir Khan’s blog

Just read a few posts of Aamir on his blog (http://www.aamirkhan.com/blog.htm) and came away happy with the feeling that here is a guy who tries to expell everything he holds closer to him and interacts with the others like any normal human being. I think this is important at a time when stardom is as fickle as it can get. What remains is the kinship you’ve bred and nurtured over the years. It could be with your fans, your colleagues, your business associates or childhood sweethearts…

I went to Aamir’s blog for a reason. Being a journalist, I could have easily procured his cell number and spoken or messaged him on what I had to say, but I thought of taking the road less taken by journalists… and what I saw humbled me. Here was a guy who was talking to his fans through blog entries and chat transcripts. Coming from a much admired superstar of recent times, it’s no less a feat.

Coming to why I was on his blog. I simply wanted Aamir to read my friend Christina’s book whose theme coincides with that of his new film, TZP. So, i wanted him to read the book whenever he could, and to help him get a feel of the book, i also posted my review of the book that appeared on Trendy.in.

This is how the review went… Do let me know what you think, dear readers:

Ginger Soda Lemon Pop for the child within

Soft toys and stick ice-creams. School friends and warm cuddles. A little part of you holds on to those single-digit years long after the 21st birthday party. When Aamir Khan, in his new movie, says every child is special, he echoes what your heart already knew.
Ginger Soda Lemon Pop

In her debut book Ginger Soda Lemon Pop, Christina Daniels — an LSE grad and Wipro employee — articulates the EQ further. Through the ups and downs of a five-year-old girl’s second year in kindergarten, she tells a universal story of love, hate and loneliness with a sense of fun and empathy.

The humorous storytelling is punctuated with the little protagonist’s deep life lessons. Self discovery is a journey; not a destination. The thrill of life is always the strongest when it seems like it’s all going to end.

Written in childspeak, yet profound (”my mother told me that my father was good for nothing. I felt nothing”), the book can be finished in one sitting but lingers long afterwards.

Perfect for those times when you need a hug.

Ginger Soda Lemon Pop by Christina Daniels. Dronequill Publishers. Price: Rs 225. Available at leading book stores nationwide.

Book review: Ginger Soda Lemon Pop

Read this book to awaken the child within

Hello everyone. I am a five-year-old girl going on six. I have not seen my father since I was born. I think God is love. And she probably looks just like my mummy. In my second year of kindergarten, I have learnt my own little big lessons. I would like to share some of them with you:

1.      Those who go away never really leave us. There is an eternal fragrance that lingers on.

2.      The thrill of life is always the strongest when it seems like it’s all going to end.

3.      We own nothing. We lose nothing. Only life continues.

Now, I am an adult. But when I look back, I remember praying to Mrs God that I would only be a Big Girl and never be grown up. When I related my story to Christina Daniels, she could relate to the child within all of us. And the result is Ginger Soda Lemon Pop. She’s a first-time author who graduated from the London School of Economics and landed up at Wipro to manage their Intranet communications. I am glad my life appealed to her. Do read and let me know what you learnt from the book.

PS: Aamir’s new film says, ‘Every child is special.’ This book couldn’t have been better timed.

Ginger Soda Lemon Pop. Dronequill Publishers. Price: Rs 225. Pages: 133. Available in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai.

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