Neha's Notebook

 Objective correlative – A visuals-based concept in creative writing that helps writer express emotions more intensely through a character, scene, or visual detail.   Objective correlative is a concept made famous by the poet T.S. Eliot.   It is the “art of finding a physical object, a scene, or a chain of events that, when described in a story, will automatically evoke a specific emotion in the reader, without you ever having to name that emotion directly.”   In simple words, it is a feeling converted into an object that serves a symbolic purpose in the story.   For instance, instead of writing that the “character feels sad,” the writer paints a concrete picture using “visual or sensory details,” something the reader can see, hear, or feel, that perfectly matches the internal state of the character. This method adds depth to the writing, while avoiding generic emotional declarations.   If you want to convey a character’s grief, you woul...

Writing a script is baking a cake. Think: Ingredients list Method Precision and specific measurements Decoration and presentation

 “Image hopping” is a cool trick to kick-start your story writing process when you don’t have any idea how to proceed. The technique involves using vivid, descriptive language to appeal to the reader’s senses by creating mental images and “connecting the unconnected.”   The process Find a compelling image, expose it in rich detail, brainstorm elements within it, and then “hop” to a new, seemingly unrelated image to spark unusual, new connections and expand your horizon of narrative possibilities. Create strong, memorable images to grip the emotion of the reader. The goal isn’t to describe the images, but to use them as springboards for character, plot, and theme.   Example: Domino's “It happens only with pizza” VISUALS Shot 1 Image of a muppet dancing in a disco-like setting with the word “Happening” flashed in cool blue bold font (transports the viewer into the emotion of partytime)   Shot 2 The muppet image cuts into the image of real people...

Sensory layering is a writing device that engages the reader on a multi-sensory level (touch, sight, sound, smell, taste) by painting a picture that illustrates multiple details without taking up too much of their narrative time.   In copywriting, for instance, sensory layering looks like product descriptions or visuals that appeal to multiple senses of the customer, allowing them to “experience” what you are selling before they even touch it. Sensory layering allows the writer/creator to create something that will build a strong mental picture in the mind of the customer as well as a deeper connection with their emotional center, beyond just a logical decision making or emotional triggers.   Take the example of a high-end coffee, both while selling it through only written word, and through written word plus visuals.   Instead of just “Our coffee tastes good,” a sensory-layered description of this coffee would read something like this:   “Wake up to t...

“Echoes through time” is a storytelling concept that revolves around a present-day character, object, idea, or experience that reverberates a long-forgotten event from history. This concept is used to add mystery to a story or a piece of writing that the reader unravels by piecing together these “echoes” and uncovering the full, poetic truth of the past. “Echoes through time” is an insightful tool that also makes the reader realize that the past isn’t truly gone. Rather, it is subtly imprinted on the fabric of the present and it reveals itself little by little through clues that lurk in the depths of the present moment.   Anushree works in an art renovation company called RenoKaro, based in New Delhi. Her boss sent her to an old, dilapidated library located in Delhi’s Khapchi Gali for a renovation project. As she stepped inside the library, the bag of tools slung from her shoulders, she coughed. The library was shrouded in a thick veil of dust and sprinkled with gossamer cobweb...

Freytag’s Pyramid is a writing technique, crafted by the German novelist Gustav Freytag. The technique involves five key processes that writers can use to write everything from short stories to articles.   The first step is “Exposition.” Exposition refers to the introduction of the subject, the setting up of the scene, and a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory. The second step is “Rising Action” Rising Action refers to “The development of the central conflict, problem, or interesting aspect.” This is where the tension builds, complexities are revealed, and the "plot" of the story/article unfolds through scenes, characters, research material, and anecdotes. The third step is “climax” Climax is the turning point or the most significant moment of revelation, insight, or development within the article's scope. It's often where the core question posed in the exposition is addressed, or a major challenge is confronted. The 4 th st...

 What is “In Media Res”? "In Media Res" (Latin for "in the midst of things") is a powerful storytelling technique where the narrative plunges the audience directly into a critical, exciting, or significant moment of the story, skipping over the initial exposition and setup. Instead of beginning with a traditional "once upon a time," the reader/viewer is immediately immersed in the action or a pivotal scene. It jolts the reader directly into the “heart of the action.” The preceding events, character backstories, and the "how we got here" are then revealed gradually through flashbacks, dialogue, or indirect exposition as the story progresses. This method is designed to grab attention immediately, create suspense, and cultivate a sense of mystery, compelling the audience to understand what led to the current situation.   Let’s take the example of this story opening paragraph to understand the concept of “In Media Res”   The Case of the Mis...

Let’s take the example of a fictional novel called “Simi’s Memory Journal.” Here are some excerpts from “Simi’s memory journal” a diary in which this character records her memories, feelings, details of everyday experiences, dreams, fantasies, obsessions, ideas, notes, observations, and just about everything.   October 17 th – A recurring dream "The old house again. That creaking floorboard in the attic. Always the same grey light filtering through the dusty window. The hum of the old radio, even though I know it's been broken for years. The same old crow and its same old caw-caw." November 5 th – An observation “A woman in the bus caught my attention today. Her amethyst-colored scarf reminded me of my mother. For a split second, I almost reached out to her to ask who gave her this scarf.” December 12 th – A cryptic note about the memory of a past event “He said the words, but I heard something else entirely. The way the fierce winds whipped and the way ...

1.     Polyptoton is a figure of speech that involves the repetition of words of the same root used in the same sentence with a variety of differing contexts, inflection and voice; Derived from the Greek word polúptōtos, meaning “having many cases”. This device is often used to embellish the poetry and poetic sentences with musicality and tone. Ex: "I dreamed a dream in times gone by.", "The bread rolls rolled down the counter.", "They waited impatiently in the waiting room." Read more stories related to  Vocabulary !  

  Epistolary: A piece of writing written in the form of letters. Alliteration: A writing device that involves emphasized repetition of the initial consonant sounds in the words of a sentence or line. Ex: Betty Botter bought a bit of butter. Zeugma: A writing device used to denote a single word/phrase to describe two thoughts or two different contexts. Ex: She lost her necklace and her heart. Palindrome: A word, number, phrase, sentence, writing, or a sequence of characters/symbols, that reads the same backwards as forwards. Ex: Wow, mom, radar, Mr. Owl Ate My Metal Worm Epigram: A short poem, phrase, or witty saying that expresses an idea in a clever, paradoxical, or amusing way. Ex: I can resist everything but temptation. Anthropomorphism: Attributing human traits to non-human objects. Ex: the character of an animal, toy, or object in a story/movie that speaks in the language of humans Anadiplosis: A writing device that involves repetition in which a word of a phrase appears both ...

  Today morning, I recalled these amazing lines from Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird" and I think, they encapsulate just the perfect POV to look at writing, perfectionism, and all the things that inhibit a free flow of writing. Read it below: “When we have a wound in our body, the nearby muscles cramp around it to protect it from any more violation and from infection, and that I would need to use these muscles if I wanted them to relax again. I think that something similar happens with our psyche muscles. They cramp around our wounds – the pain from our childhood, the losses and disappointments of adulthood, the humiliations suffered in both – to keep us from getting hurt in the same place again, to keep foreign substances out. So these wounds never have a chance to heal. Perfectionism is one way our muscles cramp. In some cases, we don’t even know that the wounds and cramping are there, but both limit us. They keep us moving and writing in tight, worried ways. They keep us s...

When I was a child, I had an ornamental wooden box in which I used to collect trinkets and knick-knacks of all kinds – broken hair clips, bracelet beads, scraps from newspaper and magazines, paper poems, jewel pieces, glitter ribbons and likewise. As I grew up, I started writing poetry and making lists and jotting down diary entries and creating art journals. We humans have a deep-rooted appetite to recording our thoughts and experiences. Just look at the famous collections of poetry, at the great monuments and at the things and inventions. Everything is someone’s way to record and capture their innermost thoughts and experiences. Everyone has their own way to capture their thoughts, feelings and experiences. And journaling is a writer’s way to do this. Many of the famous writers including Anne Frank, Susan Sontag, John Steinbeck, Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Ruskin Bond, CS Lewis, Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Didion and others used to maintain their writer’s journals and diaries. ...

You sit down at your typewriter (or computer).   You stare blankly at the screen. You roll your sleeves but soon enough you end up rolling your eyes like a mad animal. You think about all the bad things that have happened to you, all the people you like and dislike; what they said and what they didn’t say, all the foods that you must eat, all the shopping that must be done. You are still rolling your eyes. You think about what you wrote the last time you sat on the typewriter (or the computer). In another moment, you realize that you are going crazy, because there seems nothing to write about. The muse is the goddess that is not at all easy to please. And so you keep waiting for the muse to show up. You feel as if your inspiration is like a mimosa flower, the moment you try to feel inspired, it detects your lazy vibration and turns away from you. You think about the 86400 seconds in a day and how you seem to be wasting them, and you think about the 86400 billion neurons i...

Miss Anne Lamott’s book Bird by Bird is one of my favourite books when it comes to creative writing. It is also one of the first books that I did read when I started getting interested in writing. While there are other books written by her as well, the one that focuses on creative writing is Bird by Bird. So, I have curated some of these snippets and lessons from this book.   Starting with,   1.    Blennies are boring. Write with Open Mind. Blenny is the type of an undersea fish that lives in the deepest areas of the sea, usually in rock bed. It keeps on sitting there in its tiny cave with its partner and kids. Most of the blennies, in their short life, don’t even rise to the surface of a sea let alone look above in the sky.   So, if I chose to write like a blenny, then most of my writing/poetry will be about one corner of a rocky seabed. Not very interesting.     Saying this, Miss Lamott writes,   “ Who knows what this urge ...