Edugraph's Creative Writing Workshops, led by Shuktara Lal, conclude on a high note

This summer vacation the students have found an opportunity to hone their skills and discover new interests at the Edugraph Workshop: Summer Edition organised by The Telegraph Online Edugraph. Not only have students from Kolkata-based schools signed up for the workshops, it is heartening to see that students visiting here from other cities, during the vacations, have also signed up! Sri Sri Academy, Kolkata is the venue partner for the event.

The Creative Writing workshop, held from May 21-23, 2024, was divided into two age groups in order to provide a focused learning experience. While the junior batch consisted of students between 8 and 12 years of age, the other batch had students between the age of 13 and 18 years. Through this workshop, The Telegraph Online Edugraph has paved the way for students, across various age groups, to enhance their writing flair and also helped them develop innovative ways of thinking.

The workshops were conducted by Shuktara Lal- writer, editor and teacher, who shared her experience and knowledge with the children to help them understand the various aspects of the craft.

Lal is an eminent personality from the worlds of theatre and publishing with over 15 years of experience. She has taught theatre at The Creative Arts Academy (TCAA), Garden High International School and The Calcutta School of Music.She has also been closely associated with Writers Workshop, a publishing house that has played a seminal role in the promotion and growth of Indian creative writing in English and in the translation of literary works composed in Indian vernacular languages into English. Shuktara holds an MA in Performance Studies from New York University and has also received an international fellowship from the American Association of University Women (AAUW). She also holds another MA in English from Jadavpur University.

Throughout the three-day workshop, the participants learned different creative writing styles and several other methods essential in transforming them into authors of tomorrow.

While the juniors (8-12 years) learned topics like

• The building blocks of a story, i.e. set the plot, tone and character (as and when needed)
• How to plan the pace of a story and formulate the breakdown of the plot into sub-units, choose the correct tense and craft appropriate endings
• How to convey the mood of a place, ambience and character
• Undertake different kinds of writing including descriptive, emotional/ reflective and conversation-based writing.
• The importance of editing - choosing the right words (arriving at precise verbs, adjectives and adverbs) and using punctuation marks correctly.

The Seniors (13-18 years) learned

• Importance of the authorial intention
• How to identify which writing style suits their story idea
• More advanced plot development techniques, including choosing between linear and non-linear story writing, and planning key plot points, twists and resolutions
• To create complex characters whom they can relate to, as well as how to research when crafting characters different from them.
• How setting and atmosphere influence the tone, plot and character development in a story.

"It has been a fantastic experience conducting these workshops for the past three days. While the younger group was provided a foundation on the aspects of creative writing, the older group was focussed on fine-tuning their skills," said Shuktara Lal. She added, "The group between 13-18 years of age had a strong foundation in creative writing. It was exciting to work with them and I was helping them build on their existing craft".

Thanking The Telegraph Online Edugraph for conducting the workshops by bringing together students from different schools, she hoped that such workshops would be organised every year so that more students could participate.

Several other workshops are lined up over the next two weeks at The Telegraph Online Edugraph Summer Workshops which have been tailoured to meet the needs of the innovative young minds. The upcoming workshops are Photography, Comics Art, Mobile Filmmaking, Speedcubing, Cardstacking, Basic Electronics, Life Sciences & more.

So, what are you waiting for? The seats are filling up fast. Take advantage of The Telegraph Online Edugraph Summer Workshops and experience the super summer learning adventure.

Sign up at

telegraphindia.com/edugraph/events/summer-workshops for The Telegraph Online Edugraph Workshops: Summer Edition and watch your creativity and knowledge soar.