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Writer’s Scratchpad

how to write an english ghazal

This is a brief description on how to write or not write an English ghazal with its rules and regulations and do’s and don’ts.

From Spark to Story
From Spark to Story
Author Ramendra Kumar says there’s a story idea hiding in everything - from a random conversation on a bus to a social media post. And for it to become a book, you have to “write what you love and love what you write”, says a story by Harshikaa Udasi in The Hindu, December 24, 2019.
How to Write an English Ghazal
How to Write an English Ghazal
This is a brief description on how to write or not write an English ghazal with its rules and regulations and do's and don'ts.
All About Imagery
All About Imagery
For those who don't know the kinds of Imagery used in Poetry, that there are more than the known five based on the five senses that you can use, here is a brief kind of rule of the thumb, with examples all from one poem, which makes it fascinating, the poem being John Keats's Ode to Autumn.
Dr Santosh Bakaya at the TEDx Talks
Writer’s Block – Myth or Not: Santosh Bakaya’s TEDx Talks
What exactly is 'WRITER'S BLOCK' and how can you overcome the syndrome killing your creative output? Dr. Santosh Bakaya, author of the bestselling 'Ballad of Bapu' addresses this question in TEDx Talks and explains it is all in your mind. A remarkable presentation, exclusively intended for aspiring writers.
Tyger Tyger
Tyger Tyger
What matters is the soul and spirit of the "Tyger" and not its brawn, to Blake. An indepth study of the iconic poem by Dr AV Koshy.
Make Your Sales Letter Sell: A 6-Point Checklist
Make Your Sales Letter Sell: A 6-Point Checklist
A Smart Business Sales Letter Makes an Impact. Where is the space to read a large sales letter? Embrace the change, accept the challenge and be smart.
Weave a Ghost Story Contest
Weave a Ghost Story Contest
Here is a contest for the spirit lying dormant inside you!
Paradiso (Pic: Illustration by Gustave Doré, Danshort.com)
Lectures on Literary Criticism – V (Italy and Dante)
The contribution of Italy and Dante to literature and literary criticism cannot be negated. Literature is studied here from a Eurocentric base.
Śāntam: Peace, Serenity or Tranquility (Added by Abhinavagupta) Pic: Google Image Search
A Digression
This article compares and uses Sanskrit and Dravidian Indian literary criticism with Grecian criticism on English texts, with examples from India mixed in too.
These busts of the Ancient Greek theatrical writers Euripides, Aeschylus and Sophocles are in front of the National Garden and were moved from Kotzia square in Athens.
(Pic: Wikimedia CC0)
Classical Criticism – A Peek into Roman Criticism
Roman criticism and poetry influenced great writers like James Joyce and Ezra Pound and although not as reputed as the critiques of Plato and Aristotle, continues to be a beacon for most masters of literature who look up to these critics for their precision of thought.
Notes on Literary Criticism - Part III
Notes on Literary Criticism – Part III
In this essay on literary criticism, Dr Ampat Koshy analyses the words used in Greek for their category of four loves. It later became part of the Western world view too, through Christianity.
Dr Faustus
Notes on Literary Criticism – Part II
Plato’s opinion regarding a text was that it should be didactic. It should instruct society. But Aristotle questioned Plato’s opinions. He strongly affirmed that a text should be purely aesthetic. Therefore, each critic constructs a different frame around the text.
The School of Athens by Raffaello Sanzio, 1509, showing Plato (left) and Aristotle (right)
Raphael
showing Plato (left), pointing up to the ideals, and Aristotle (right), reaching out towards the physical world. (Pic: Wikimedia Commons)
Notes On Literary Criticism by Dr A V Koshy
The whole concept of literary criticism arises, maybe, out of a question: On what basis do we judge a book/text as being better than another book/text? Is it subjective, based on one’s personal opinion, or objective; based on a set of parameters? Or both?
Afrocentricity's advocate in U.S.A.
Writing, Theory and the Making of Verse.
I prefer using simpler words like writing for literature, making for creating, verse for poetry and thinking for theory.
Curating Micro-narratives: The New Creativity
Curating Micro-narratives: The New Creativity
Creators will not create original work but engage in curating already existing work to CREATE ORIGINALITY.
Wrighteings: In Media Res 
by Ampat V. Koshy
Indian English Literature, Literary Criticism and Theory
While speaking on the present scenario what one has to concentrate on is not "tradition and the individual talent" anymore or whether one's poems are a "spontaneous overflow of emotions recollected in tranquility" or not but something much deeper, which is the philosophical question of what criticism should do today.
Meena Alexander
Keralite Writing in English – II
Why I respect the best Keralite writing... is because it often has this kind of a 'subversive' edge, ...in... writers famous and unknown, like O.V. Vijayan.
Poetry and Keralite Writing in English - 1
Poetry and Keralite Writing in English – 1
The truth is Kerala has always had, like Bengal, Orissa, Kashmir and many other parts of India, an excellent crop of writers in English. They excel in criticism and poetry, mainly, not to mention novel writing and short stories.
Langston Hughes House in Harlem
How To Enjoy a Poem: Taking the example of Langston Hughes’ “Harlem” or “A Dream Deferred .”
We enjoy a poem by looking at its author, the relevant biographical material, the context, the form and structure, the figures of speech, the musical devices, the imagery, the style and the content.
Harold Bloom
(Pic courtesy Mediaisla.net)
Canons
This column is called Literature DIY for a reason, it suggests that teaching oneself for a lifetime is the best method of learning and excelling at the lonely art of reading, thinking or analyzing or writing, where there seem to be no rules.
The 5W's are Who, When, Where, What and Why. The solitary H refers to How.
Building a Story
A short story is a bit like a giant jigsaw puzzle where each piece is put together by the writer and given as a complete whole to the reader.
Creative Writing - How I Improved My Writing Skills
Creative Writing – How I Improved My Writing Skills
The only major difference is the experienced writer knows the correct mindset to adopt as opposed to the beginner.
Write to please yourself. And find as much pleasure as you can in the company of your work.
Choices Before an Aspiring Writer
Write to please yourself. And find as much pleasure as you can in the company of your work. But don't try to draw others' attention to your work. They shall find nothing in your work to sustain their interest.
The Lady With The Dog and Other Stories by Anton Chekov
The ‘Open Ended Story’
In an open-ended story or narrative, the reader is left to draw her/his conclusions from what is presented to her/him.
It is a natural and artistic technique by which the poet associates words and ideas.
Metaphor: A Play in Poetry
Metaphor is an ornament of poetry. It lends to the word to which it gets associated clarity and exactitude.
The ultimate purpose of every short story writer is to communicate an aspect of the truth of life.
The Writer’s Perception of Truth
The ultimate purpose of every short story writer is to communicate an aspect of the truth of life.
As Rabindranath Tagore has so aptly said -- a short story doesn't end even when it ends.
Writing Short Stories
Of all forms of literature, the short story is perhaps the crest jewel of good writing. It is not too long and therefore ends before one's attention is diverted to something else.
The secret of good writing
The more you write, the better you get at it.
Tools for the New Writer
Agatha Christie, the famous writer of detective stories found that the best times for planning a book was while doing the dishes.

Today’s Motivation

<div class=at-above-post-cat-page addthis_tool data-url=https://learningandcreativity.com/learning-and-education/></div>It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
~ Aristotle <!-- AddThis Advanced Settings above via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Advanced Settings below via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons above via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons below via filter on get_the_excerpt --><div class=at-below-post-cat-page addthis_tool data-url=https://learningandcreativity.com/learning-and-education/></div><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt -->
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." ~ Aristotle