As a young person, you may want to become a writer and at this point in time and age such a desire can be general. However, if you do decide to become a professional or recognized at this job, many choices need to be made. The job of a writer is highly specialized, technical, and demanding. It always requires a unique point of view, a way of looking at the world that is interesting. Good writing also requires research and background, and a high level of technical expertise. In the society today, most of the ideas come from material that is written down. Whether you are watching TV, movies, reading stories or newspapers, listening to opinions, they are in many ways backed up by material that is on paper or on the computer written down. Even the most creative writer will only be able to reach a limited level of success if he or she does not know what is being written about. We will discuss some of the key areas of writing and support it through simple exercises:

Your own voice

Writing is about saying something. What do you have to say? What is it about what you are saying that is different? Because if you are saying the same thing as everyone else is, what make the fact interesting? Ram says: Politicians need to be honest. Shyam says the same thing. Maya says the same thing. Everyone knows the fact that politicians need to be honest. So why would readers be interested in what you are saying? New information? A different presentation? A unique insight? [Discussion on examples taken from "Fragments".] Exercise: Say something different. 15 minutes. A poem written by Kristina Kansakar during the workshop follows.

Helping my grandmother
by Kristina Kansakar

Whenever Dasain came,
I used to hate it.
I had to help my grandmother
prepare for it.

She used to scold me everyday,
saying that was not the right way.
I had to do the same thing twice.
To please my grandmother, that was the price.

Thinking of it now,
It’s quite funny.
Maybe next year,
It’ll become enjoyable and funny.

Your own content

In today’s world people say that everything has been done before. This is not true in many cases, particularly in a culture like that of Nepal where we have 55 ethnic languages, thousands of hills and mountains, and people that are very diverse. Make use of this diversity, range, and opportunity as a writer. See what is around you and find your own content about things that may be very general to look at. [Discussion on examples taken from "Among Strangers" and "The Hill", a short story by Greta Rana.] Exercise: Write a short piece that is original. 15 minutes. A poem written by Prakriti during the workshop follows.

The other side of the counter
Prakriti Y.

Working from dawn till dusk
until I had burning fever.
Not wanting to smile, yet smiling,
not wanting to work, yet working.
Finally on the other side,
the other side of the counter
hidden behind a blue apron.
Humble words tumble from mouth,
I like to please the customer.
All are so self-occupied.
Now I know what it's like
when irritation is poured on you,
all fingers are pointed at you,
minor mistakes are highlighted
and praiseworthy work forgotten.
There is no change of pace,
the computer's jammed again.
Angry faces, though silent, blame me
for what I haven't done.
No, I don't want to work again
on the other side of the counter.

Research and experience

Know what you are writing about. Meet the people, read the facts, visit places what you want to write about. Lack of research means that the most creative writing can fail in addressing facts and issues. And as all of us have experience, what we have felt and been through can provide rich material to write on. In many cases the most success writers are those that make heavy use of first hand experience and knowledge. [Discussion on examples taken from "Selected Poems of Nepal" and "Young Minds of Twenty Nations".] Exercise: Write about an experience you have gone through. 15 minutes. A poem written by Adarsh during the workshop follows.

The joy of cycling
Adarsh Man Serchan

I check my tire pressure, strap on my bags
With a face mask and a pair of sunglasses
I look no different from a member working in SWAT1

Click, click.

I reach a higher level, changing gears, speeding up
Teasing the SAFA tempo driver
who moves slower, I think, than a slug.

As I see the beautiful blend
of scarlet and orange skies
and a speed to 45 km.

Rip….

There’s my trousers stuck on the gears
and another pair gone to waste.

That’s the way I cycle.
That’s the way I love it.
That’s just the way I hide.
Another pair of my torn trousers.

Technical expertise

As a writer you are expected not to make grammatical errors, keep your text tight and gripping, and present all material within an acceptable level of sophistication. For example you may be writing for 8 year olds, or 15 year olds, or a general audience that ranges from teenagers to those that are eighty, you may be required to write to doctors only or for travel agents. While some publications and publication houses are willing to invest in you as you are acquiring technical skills others are not. [Discussion on examples taken from "Pen and Ink".] Exercise: Write cleanly and try to avoid making mistakes. 15 minutes. A short article written by Mahammed Samir during the workshop follows.

Peace
Mohammed Samir

Peace, a dream most humans dream of, the ray of hope ever so thin, a reality which seems far-fetched even in a fairy tale. Yet there are good people instilling hope and courage to those who desperately need it. They spread their message across as the morning dew drops. These few good people believe in something which seems like a losing battle to most eyes. In today’s world, peace is something which we humans desperately need. It is a desire which seems insatiable and if we don’t start believing in it, I’m afraid there never will be a tomorrow.

Criticism and courage

Not everything that you write has to be positive. There is much room for constructive criticism based on research, knowledge, and experience. You need courage to criticize. Remember most Nobel prize winners have been through persecution and many of them through prison for standing up and saying what is wrong. This courage starts with you being able to criticize yourself and your writing. It also starts from you being able to take criticism and then being able to decide what you feel is accurate and what is not. [Discussion on examples of good writers who have been to prison.] Exercise: Criticize someone, but do it constructively. 15 minutes. A short article written by Akriti during the workshop follows.

Are we truly Nepalese?
Akriti Shrestha

It is really strange that even though we have the resource and capacity to develop, we haven’t really moved forward. A documentary telecast by the National Geographic showed an ancient monument in Mustang. The condition the monument was shown in was indeed dreadful.

A team of foreign conservationists went there to bring it back to its glory. The work of the team was quite simple: cleaning wall hangings, mending the walls to prevent water leakage, etc. For each and every action to be taken, the team needed the permission of the villagers, which was very hard to obtain.

The archaeologists did not have a single Nepali in their team. Considering the fact that Mustang’s lifestyle has not changed in 500 years, isn’t any of us concerned about our culture, sculptures, and the way we live. Aren’t we Nepalese supposed to bring out the best we have? Aren’t we even concerned about our own identity?

It’s a shame to see the degradation of Nepal’s cultural wealth. It isn’t as if activities are not taking place to conserve our wealth but our participation in such efforts isn’t enough. This leads me to raise the question, are we true Nepalese?

I know I am and to preserve what we all have, I want to step forward and help conserve Nepali art and architecture.

Entertainment, learning and interest

If you write for your professor, if you write for the newspaper, if you write for children, everyone reads what they feel is interesting. No one will continue reading if you cannot keep their interest and that is a fact that we the writers have to live with. So when we write about the simplest things, we have to make it interesting. Even if we are only writing for one audience, that is in many cases ourselves, we have to assure that our work grips, informs and, if possible, excites. [Discussion on examples supplied by participants on the writers that they like to read.] Exercise: Try and entertain your audience by writing a poem or a story. 15 minutes. A poem by Paljor and the beginning of a story by Jyotika follow.

Crush
by Paljor Tshering Lama

Look at her.
I just look at her.
So pretty.
I think I care for her.
But why?
What has she done for me?
What have I done for her?
Nothing, so far,
so why this feeling?
Is it just the face?
I don’t care.
Her love I’ll eagerly embrace.
They say it’s impossible
but I’ll still give it a try.
No, I won’t allow that,
I won’t be left high and dry.
She’s walking away now,
nothing I can do.
Wish me all the best,
tomorrow, I’ll try something new.

Editing and tightening

You have to edit your own work and perhaps ask for suggestions from others. There are two types of people when you get help: ones that want to see the writing as what “they” would write it as and the other who just point out the problems (you must have been through both types of teachers as well). Also tighten your work, cut down unnecessary words that do not help you get the message across. After you finish your writing see if certain words can be cut out without damaging your message or creativity. [A sharing of experience of the workshop leader as an editor and writer.] Present a tight and well-balanced poem or article. 15 minutes. Samples presented by Anju and Kristina follow.

Through innocent eyes
by Anju Manadhar

I used to see the world innocent.
To me it was all pure.
Flawless and faultless all, I felt.
For everything there was a cure.

Moment by moment things shifted,
white clouds moved aside.
New things unknown, un-confronted,
revealed along the dark sided shore.

A new world, I saw,
where wrong is declared right,
truth isn't the followed law
devotion is taken light.

Wrong has now been accepted,
truth has now been denied,
away from what I'd known I'm led,
to face unbeatable tides.

My dream
by Kristina Kansakar

Watching TV is one my favorite pastimes. One of my favorite channels is Animal Planet. Just watching animals doing what they do is so much fun. The unconditional love they show is very touching. Watching the vets operate on animals is quite scary even though it is on TV and the happiness I feel when I see the animals become healthy is so good.

I love animals. They are dear to my heart. I feel so sad when I see or hear about animals being mistreated by owners and poachers killing animals and selling their babies. When I become independent, I and my friends are going to open a place for animals that are mistreated. We will find better homes for them, help them lead a happier life. As of now, we know, in Nepal there aren’t places where mistreated animals are taken care of.