daily sun | education | ?We all are writers here

?I was waiting excitedly for the day as it was a different sort of a day altogether. On that day was held Brine Pickles? workshop on ?Creative Writing and Performance?. Brine Pickles is a group of Bangladeshi creative writers who write in English, and I had a chance to work with them. No doubt, I relished their performance. Seeing a poster of the workshop, I managed to submit a write-up. The instructions of Tanvir Hasan Malik, an Assistant Professor of the Department of English, Eastern University, helped me a lot in submitting my write-up.

I did not expect what I experienced on the day of the workshop. Though it was a hectic day for me but I learned and was privileged to be with the talented people. The workshop was at Omni Music in Dhanmondi. It was conducted by Professor Razia Sultana, Head of the Department of English, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB).

Reaching there I caught sight of the notice in the downstairs. I moved to the lift and saw two girls approaching it. Both of them were speaking in English and it continued. So, English was in the air. On reaching the ?Omni Music?, I found Sabrina Apu of BRAC University, doing the job of registration for the participants.

There were 18 participants. Susmita, a student of the Department of English, University of Dhaka, was found busy. The participants were coming one by one. Hasan Ameen, the Coordinator, and Munasir Kamal, the Assistant Coordinator of the workshop, were busy contacting Professor Razia Sultana Khan. I was observing the activities quietly. Everybody was talking to each other lightly. There were students from North South University, Independent University, East West University and Dhaka University, and a student of O? Level. I was the only person from Eastern University.

What had increased my numbness were the deliveries from the participants. Their thoughtful write-ups and poems were simply astonishing. My one was only a description. The inspiring line from Professor Razia Sultana Khan was ?We all are writers here?. She was speaking without sitting for long hours. It was an interactive workshop and not boring.

At first, Prof. Khan drew a map of the names of the participants in her mind so that she could call us by name. ?Take a minute to write!? was the first sheet to work with. Then, each of us was asked to pick a photo and describe it. I took the photo of an African woman wearing a yellow ?sari?. I took it as she seemed akin to the conventional women of our country.

The most interesting part of the workshop was the segment called ?Showing vs. Telling?. The speaker advised us to avoid using unnecessary adjectives which kill a write-up. For instance, I chose two topics???I love my mother? and ?The food was bad?. The speaker?s point was putting emphasis on the description so that readers can see what a writer?s intention is. As a result, it will not be a mere ?telling? but ?showing?.

The final part was ?Writing Prompt; Creating a Character?. It deals with understanding of oneself. It should begin with getting positive and negative comments about him/her. And to know oneself thoroughly one should pick the negative comment (s) received from others. He/she has to spend a little time dealing with them.

In addition, Prof. Khan put emphasis on maintaining a journal. It is essential for a creative writer. She also suggested keeping a small notebook to jot down something new, for example, a word or a quotation. It does not matter where you are and what situation you are in. She said, ?You might be in a transport where you can?t sit steady. People may think of you as a freak. But don?t think about that. Do your job?. Writers can be freaky ?an echo of zeal filled the room.

Though the camera was clicking throughout the workshop, we had to pose for a group photo at the end of the workshop. We left the Omni Music with obvious relish.

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