Drawing Parallels From Your Gardening

There is an interesting parallel between writing and gardening! While gardening, we use our senses to observe how each of the plants are thriving, which plants need more nourishment, which are being overwatered, what is the planting cycle, which soil and climatic conditions suit them best and what plants can be grown as companions.

Trimming trees, planting saplings, removing the weeds - is quite similar to what one does while writing! Just as you take control and make your own decisions regarding what plants need to be trimmed, what can be retained and which ones to weed out while gardening, so it applies in your writing! Each choice of words, each punctuation makes a difference to the way the words are threaded to make a cohesive whole.

Do you garden? What does your garden teach you that you can use in your writing?

Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

Whenever I get a little stuck with my writing, one of the things I do is make a pit-stop in my garden. Being with nature does a lot of good for the soul but it equally relaxes my mind and body too. I don't put too much pressure on my mind - just let my hands and heart do all the work. 

Nature soothes me with the gentle song of the birds, the swaying of trees, the symmetry of flowers, and the flitting of the insects. I don't set any expectations for myself but before I know it, my mind starts filling with hundreds of words, waiting to find an expression in my writing.

I go back to my desk with renewed energy and some fresh ideas inspired by nature. 

What works for me is the change in the surroundings. 

You need to explore the right boost to stimulate your mind. Is it a book, a walk, cooking, playing an instrument, speaking to someone close, catching a movie, daydreaming, exercising, or doing something else? 

Only you can find the source that will change every dimension of your cognitive process and get your creative juices flowing.

Using Creative Writing Prompts

As an author, I've often explored the efficacy of creative writing prompts. 

They work - for me!

When you read about authors who are able to pen 10,000 words per day and I'm barely able to get 100 words written on some days, then writing prompts come to my rescue. They are a great tactic to prompt me to do what I enjoy doing the most, i.e. writing. 

And yes, you can get a little sluggish even with things you love!

We all know that the same prompt can conjure varied scenarios, characters, and plots in different people's minds. I've taken that thought a step further. 

What I try to do is pick up a few random words from a book or a newspaper and try to string them together in different forms. New ideas pop out randomly and lo and behold, before I know it, I'm back to my favourite activity again.

Do you use creative writing prompts? And what is your secret sauce to get your creative juices flowing?

My Passion for Writing

Coming from a family of bookworms, 

I was bitten by the reading bug very early on. 

I did write in bits and pieces over the years 

but  it wasn't until a few years ago, 

I finally took the plunge and left a secure corporate world 

to move 

into a fictional world of words. 

It easily meant that the generous paycheque 

which I had grown used to would disappear quickly 

and instead of others looking out for me, 

I would have to fend for myself.

Not an easy thought to digest considering I was working 

for one of the best companies in the world 

but 

risk is a way of life. 

If not now, then when?

Has the risk paid off? 

No not yet - 

there are miles to go before I sleep 

but for sure, 

my creative instincts 

are being nurtured and soothed with each passing day!

That gives me a lot of happiness and inner peace!

Noel Splashes Maple Syrup

"Noel Splashes Maple Syrup” 

is the third book in 

“The Dribble Quibble Series™". 

This story is set in the fictional 

Dribble Quibble Town™. 

Noel Parker™ 

is an only child 

who lives with his loving parents 

and his two dogs, Stub and Blink, 

in a little cottage on the top of a hill. 

Eight-year-old Noel’s fun escapades 

cause intense worry for his parents 

but his innate goodness and empathetic nature 

rescue him unscathed from his 

various misadventures. 

Noel comes across frightened Mike 

and helps him find his mother, Sandra. 

Meanwhile, the entire town gets into a tizzy 

as Noel is found missing.

-------------

The book can be purchased here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088PWXD4C

Noel And The Basket of Bagels

"Noel and the Basket of Bagels"

is my second book in 

“The Dribble Quibble Series™". 

This children's short fiction 

takes you on a playful escapade 

with the bubbly 

Noel Parker™ 

who is always full of beans. 

He perpetually gets into one scrap or another 

but somehow manages to come out of them unscathed.

Noel romps off to the hillside 

in a fun outing 

where he comes across a stranger. 

His act of kindness 

rewards him with an unexpected bounty.

-------------

The book can be purchased here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087T6ZYQ2

Noel at the Marketplace

'Noel at the Marketplace' 

is my debut short fiction in 

“The Dribble Quibble Series™". 

The children's story 

takes you 

on a 

whimsical adventure 

with the 

irrepressible Noel Parker™. 

The book celebrates 

Noel’s innocence, his innate goodness, 

and caring nature.

A must-read, feel-good book 

for the new generation of 

young readers, 

including those who are perpetually 

a child-at-heart.

--------

The book can be purchased here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087HRVCPH

The Dribble Quibble Series™

The Dribble Quibble Series™ 

chronicles the fun escapades of mischievous 

Noel Parker™. 

Noel Parker is an eight-year-child 

who lives with his parents in 

The Dribble Quibble Town™. 

The town is surrounded by

hills on three sides and

a flowing river on the fourth.

The entire town consists of quaint little cottages,

each dressed in a profusion of colours.

The small town is so called as it has frequent rain, 

dribbling away gently on the sloping rooftops and 

the town residents’ favourite pastime 

is to quibble about trivial things.

A Story Is Where I Live

Have you had experiences where a story just flashes through your head - at all odd times of the day and the most unlikely of places? 

Be it in colour or B&W?

Instances where you may have dreamt a story but wake up as if you've actually lived it? 

Or where you are watching a show or reading a book or doing something else and something strikes?

Totally unrelated to what you are doing but you instinctively know that the thought, the idea is totally meaningful to you?

The stories maybe fantastic or simple, adventurous or mundane, happy or sad, fictional or a true-life experience. 

The genre and style of writing are tools at your disposal. 

Whatever you choose to write, what truly matters is that you need to be true to your story.

This will come through in your story-telling.

You need to experience your story!

"A Story Is Where I Live!"

If you plan to write and you must, then make sure that you live your story. 

Every character, every element, every word in the story should be owned by you. 

It should be an extension of what you are thinking, feeling, experiencing - the narration should come from deep within. 

Only then will your readers fully connect with you! 

Review: Noel At The Marketplace

Noel At The Marketplace by Kolla Krishna Madhavi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

'Noel At the Marketplace' is a highly engaging and entertaining short fiction in "The Dribble Quibble Series™". 

Authored by Kolla Krishna Madhavi, this is the first book in the series, which showcases the fun escapades of 8-year-old Noel Parker. Noel stays with his parents in the fictional Dribble Quibble Town™. He is innocent yet mischievous and is one of the favourites in the hillside town. The story draws you into the innocent world of Noel Parker. It is his innate goodness and empathetic nature, which helps Noel emerge unscathed from his various mis-adventures.

View all my reviews

Review: Noel And The Basket Of Bagels

Noel And The Basket Of Bagels by Kolla Krishna Madhavi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Noel and the Basket of Bagels’ is the second book in “The Dribble Quibble Series™" by Kolla Krishna Madhavi. This children's contemporary story takes you on a whimsical adventure with the irrepressible Noel Parker™.

Outings just never take you on the path you expect to go! 8-year-old Noel sets off on a fun escapade but ends up in an unexpected situation, which makes him stop and ponder. What would be the right thing to do?

A must-read, feel-good short fiction that celebrates empathy and kindness in all its varied hues, the book is suitable for both independent reading and family read-aloud time.

View all my reviews