The Stories We Tell

A call for applications for Creative Writing Workshop (Non-Fiction)

Apr 23, 2025

There's a unique power in shaping our lived experiences into compelling narratives – the heart of creative nonfiction. For the past ten years of my life, I have been a memoirist. Be in my poetry, or in my prose, I have put myself, sometimes just in the footnotes, other times all over the page. My life, the people who populate it, the choices I have made, the choices I have been forced to make, the films I watch, the music I listen to, the books I read, the conversations I have with my friends, the panic attacks and bouts of depression I go through, everything makes it to my writing some way or another.

That is the occupational hazard—or the privilege—of being a writer.

If you are friends with any, you know you will find a place in their writing in flattering and unflattering ways. My ex used to be extremely angry that I wrote about our fights in my poem. He was scared of being found. But that’s where I began hiding my stories.

My poems were a treasure map of trauma. When I finally found the courage to tell my stories out loud, I turned to nonfiction. In my essays, I began writing about my childhood abuse. I hid the names, I hid the personalities, I hid the gory details, but I wrote. The more I wrote, the braver I became to control the ghosts of my past. The more I wrote, the more allies I found. The more I wrote, the more I realised that I am on my side.

That is what writing has been for me. It’s not a catharsis. It is life. It is something I cannot imagine living without. It’s the way I think, the way I make sense of the world, the way I process joy and rage and disappointment. It’s my home.

During the pandemic, I invited a few people to this home to learn a few tricks from me, that includes structuring a personal essay, finding your voice, ethical considerations in CNF, how to deeply read nonfiction, how to find that balance between emotion, authenticity, and the difference between truth and facts— all components of good nonfiction writing.

I began giving writing workshops, and I realised how much joy it brought to me. I know that there are stories within us bursting to come out. I have been through this process of learning and unlearning and learning again. And I enjoy sharing it with the world.

For those who don’t know, I have written, what some might call (not me, some people) a critically acclaimed memoir— It’s all in your head, M. I also have a poetry collection called ‘Origami Aai’, and a chapbook of poetry called ‘Dental Hygeine is Very Important’. I have so far taught five such workshops, including one for the Ahmedabad University. And people who have participated seem to have enjoyed it.

If you're ready to explore the power of your own story and learn the craft of creative nonfiction, I invite you to consider joining my month-long online workshop which I will start in the first week of May. Those interested in joining the workshop, please leave a comment, and I will write to you with more details.