If you’re reading this post, it’s highly likely that you’re a writer yourself or aspire to be one. After all, not only is writing a wonderful medium for one’s creative expression but also an essential life skill. Think about it – how many times have you stressed over the correct phraseology to be used in a work email where you don’t want to sound over-effusive, yet want to get your message through in a professional manner? Wouldn’t it be great if you had firm command over the correct words and phrases to be used?! You may also secretly be harbouring dreams of being a published writer or novelist or journalist. Or better yet, you may have noticed a raw talent in your children and felt the desire to hone their writing skills from a young age. Now, you have the chance to learn the intricacies of good writing through the Queen’s Brigade x Megha Bajaj writing workshop.
This exclusive one-on-one guided mentorship program is being conducted by Megha Bajaj, the award winning author of multiple books. It has been facilitated by Heena Sodhi Khera of Queen’s Brigade, at an exclusive, one-time-only, highly-discounted rate of Rs 11,000, and it will begin on September 11, 2021 for a period of 11 weeks. There will be two live sessions at the beginning and the end, and email consultations and handheld guidance for the 9 weeks in between.
Reserve your seat to become an author now!
https://www.queensbrigade.com/discover_the_author.php
As a candid preview, Megha Bajaj shared her writing journey and details of the upcoming workshop with me. Excerpts from the interview:
Noor Anand Chawla (NAC): Hi Megha, thanks for joining us today. Tell us about your foray into writing. How did you decide to pursue this vocation?
Megha Bajaj (MB): Thank you, I’m glad to be here! When I was a young child, I used to bunk school to sit on a tank and stare at the sea, while dwelling on the mysteries of life. I had questions that school wasn’t answering for me – about relationships and life in general, and so I began penning my thoughts and that’s how my journey as a writer began. I was just a scribbler back then, and I never knew that I would become a bestselling author one day.
When my book ‘Thank You, Cancer’ published by Hay House, won much media acclaim in 2009, I knew I was where I was meant to be – pursuing my passion and helping people as much as I could. Through this book, I was trying to spread the message that people can heal themselves. Then came ‘I Inspire’ published by Jaico, ‘Happiness in the Age of Ambition’, a Rupa publication and my latest which is ‘The Breakthrough’ which has been called ‘One Of The Most Inspiring Books of 2020’. In addition to these, I have penned over a thousand articles for internationally renowned magazines and newspapers, and am on my way to writing a film script for one of the best production houses in our country.
NAC: That’s wonderful! Tell us about your most recent book and your writing process when you were working on it.
MB: My most recent book ‘The Breakthrough’, is a selection of eleven inspiring stories of real-life trailblazers. It was an almost spiritual experience for me to write this book. In order to bring the truest level of authenticity, I decided to actually live with each of the subjects of these stories for a period of time, and it was amazing to absorb their energies and understand their stories.
I strongly believe that one must be 100 percent committed to one’s craft. Only when that happens, can one achieve their dreams, whatever they may be. For me, this commitment has enabled me to have popular books to my name and also to be able to teach the craft of creative writing.
NAC: Amen to that! How did you meet Heena of Queen’s Brigade and how did this collaboration come about?
MB: Heena tells me that she first came across my work in 2009 when she read my book, ‘Thank You, Cancer’, and kept up with all my new releases after that. When ‘The Breakthrough’ also did really well, she reached out to me asking me to appear on her Youtube show called #qbtherealcelebs. We got on really well and she came up with this idea of initiating writing workshops for children and individuals above the age of 11 years, as a collaborative exercise.
I already conduct specialised workshops for children, and I was very happy to do this with Heena, as our visions are aligned. Through Queen’s Brigade, Heena encourages every individual to share their story in the most authentic manner. And I personally believe that writing is an activity that heals emotions and inspires us to connect with our own feelings – it is the best and most real way to share our stories. Also, writing is a potent tool to elevate one’s personal brand.
NAC: Why are your workshops aimed more at children and the younger generation?
MB: I truly believe that writing is an essential life skill, which must be inculcated in children from a young age. Kids should be encouraged to write journals and eventually taught the art of writing other works, in order to make each piece impactful in its own way. This skill allows them to score well in exams and also helps them achieve their highest potential in life. You see, with the simple act of putting pen to paper, you are connecting with your subconscious self. Also, the act of writing connects the left and right parts of the brain, which brings on a meditative process. According to me, writing facilitates miracles!
Of course, writing as a career is often misunderstood, as many people believe that it does not pay you well. Mostly people pursue it as a hobby without ever developing the ability to earn money from it. The fact is that since technology took over our lives, we have stopped introspecting. Now the pandemic has given us a reason to share our stories once again. Humans are a compilation of millions of stories, an expression of which allows them to heal, inspire, uplift and earn well too.
NAC: What can one expect to learn in your upcoming workshop?
MB: For our workshop on September 11, 2021, the curriculum consists of two live sessions and one-on-one email consultations. The best performers of the workshop will get a chance to co-author with me on an article as well.
The Key Takeaways of the Workshop will be as follows:
- Experimentation with blog writing, article writing, story writing, poetry as well as writing for social media
- Knowledge on structuring your content in the right way
- Skills to write powerful words that make an impact
- A deeper understanding of yourself as a person – your strengths and weaknesses which you will discover through your writing
- Ideas on where you can publish and a candid discussion of publication platforms that pay
- The opportunity to not just earn back, but earn double of what you invest if you are talented and find a home for your content
- Working on your vocabulary, your visualisation as well as the craft of writing
- Dwelling on emotions and the ability to create pieces that draw the right emotions
- How to say it in brief – ideas on how you can say what you want to, using minimum words
- Developing short content and long content skills
- The basics of drafting powerful Whatsapp messages and professional emails
NAC: Thank you Megha! I am sure your workshop with Queen’s Brigade will be a tremendous success!
Register for the writing workshop here: https://www.queensbrigade.com/discover_the_author.php
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This post is in collaboration with Queen’s Brigade
This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with BakezbyDaizy.
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