Highlights of the Personality Development Program at Christ Engineering College Campus

START-SLP OutReach Development programme on 27th Oct 2013

START OutReach Development programme on 27th Oct 2013 at Christ University Campus- Kengeri
Time		Track 1 Room 213	Track 2 Room 214	Track 3 Room 215	Responsible  Mentors / Volunteers
12:15-12:45		LUNCH –AT ST.JOSEPH HALL, PARISH ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING			Mr. Saju, Mr. Saji and Mr. John
01:00-02:00		Travel to Christ University Campus - Fun activities on the way			S Gudiya/Joseph/Jeswin  J - Sunil/Maria/Deepa Y - Sony/Roy
		Bus No. 1 Seniors  / Bus No. 2 Juniors/ Bus No. 3 Youth + Mentors &Volunteers
2:15-3:05		Prayer & Announcements			Martin Sir / Mentors
		J - Session by Prof Gladys	S & Y - Session by  Fr. James Pampara		Sony/Martin Sir
03:05-04:00		Quiz by Youth for J & S group - Assisted by Mr. Austin			Mr. Austin
04:15-05:00		Outdoor Games / activities			Mr. Sony, Mr. Issac, Mr. Santosh
05:00-05:20		Tea Break			Mr. Saju, Mr. Saji and Mr. John
05:20-6:20		Elocution Competition			Austin - Junior Group Gudiya - Senior Group
		J - Judges [Mrs. Jesmine, Mr. Don, Mr Issac]	S - Judges  [Mrs. Deepa, Mr. Austin, Mrs. Rincy]	Y - Judges [Fr James , Sunil and Roy )
06:25-07:00		Debate			Austin - Junior Group Gudiya - Senior Group
		J - Judges [Mr. Joseph, Mrs Noble, Johnson]	S - Judges [Mr. Francis, Mrs. Mariamma, Mrs. Tressa]	Y - Judges [Fr James, Francis Sir , Roy ]
07:00-07:30		Prize Distribution / Feedback Form			Guest ???
07:30-07:40		Boarding Bus			S/Y - Gudiya/Sony, J - Sunil/Maria

Creative Writing Module at STARTT-SLP

In this quarter, students of STARTT-Student Leadership Program will focus on sharpening the creative skills. All the programs are oriented towards this objective.

Here is an article exclusively written for STARTT by Sindhu John. All STARTTites are requested to read the article thoroughly and report their progress to respective mentors.

Art of writing

To become a well-known writer is a dream of everyone who writes something or the other.

Writing is an art like singing, dancing, etc. It is done by choosing the appropriate words and putting them together in a specific form to make it a poem, a story, a novel, a script, etc.

But which words to choose?

How to put them together?

Anything that you write must have a theme. That means, you narrate something, or convey a message through your writing to the readers. The theme can be your imagination or real life experiences.

It is very important to select the theme which touches your heart with a positive or a negative feeling. It must be something that your heart wants to pour out. As lyrics and tunes are important to a song, and as the steps and body movements are important to a dance, themes and their expressions are important in writing.

The theme must have an introduction and a conclusion. The rest of your writing will either narrate or explain the situation from the beginning to the end.  Whatever you are writing about, the main focus should be on the story or the message that you want to convey.

Once your theme is ready, you can decide in which form you want it to be presented: a poem, a short story or anything that you want. It can even be an article that narrates an anecdote.

Next is the expression. Your heart must feel what each and every character feels. You must also feel the event in depth. After that you can start writing; but how?

Here comes the importance of your vocabulary. You cannot write a lot with a limited vocabulary. You must search for the right words which will bring out your feeling in its intensity. The one and only tool that a writer has is the collection of words that he knows and their appropriate usage. Always keep the readers in mind and make sure that they will understand what you have written.  Very long sentences with the most complicated words must be avoided, for they may not attract everyone. So, choosing the words and putting them at the right place matters.

Each person or incident can be described by an adjective. Choosing the right adjective is important as that is going to explain everything that you want to say. Though many adjectives can describe the same thing, some are apt in a particular situation.

Each type of writing has a specific style which suits it. A short story is a narration of a theme with sentences split into paragraphs. Whereas a poem is a narration which is written in phrases split into stanzas.

But whatever you are writing, your in-depth knowledge and feelings of the theme and the characters matters a lot. As a good melody or a rhythmic dance, the reader must enjoy the flow and intensity of the theme.

Every art originates inside us; either in your head or in the heart. When you convey something you must include both your heart and head to bring out your thoughts and words without mistakes. Whatever you write, you must definitely like it. And never write for the sake of writing, without the inspiration from inside.

Feelings or ideas put into words will transform them to a piece of writing. The difference between a good and bad writing or an interesting or a boring writing is the way in which a particular thing is written.

Confidence plays a very important part in the writing. Before you write or as you are writing, you must write in a way that captivates the reader. Even if it is a very good theme written in the most beautiful style, don’t expect everyone to like it. As much as writers prefer writing in a style that they like, the readers will choose the one which they would like to read.

But it is not a good idea to worry if the writing is good or not or to doubt if you are talented. You must understand that you feel like writing because you are talented. But then, like any other art, you must constantly practise it and improve it day-by-day. The first draft must carefully be edited and if necessary you may have to correct it as many times as needed to make it presentable to the readers.

Repetition of words has to be avoided as much as possible as it makes the reading monotonous and boring. You must learn the synonyms of each word so that the same word need not be repeated. Also, you need not find the toughest of words to show that you know them all; simple beautiful words convey the message faster.

A poem must look like a poem and a prose must look like a prose. The words may be the same, but the style changes according to each type of writing. Each writer is blessed with one or more types of writing. You must try and choose the area of writing which you are able to do well.

A writer is an artist who plays with words. The sequence of words makes a sentence; some words connect two ideas to make it a sentence; the punctuation marks express different tones. A group of sentences makes a paragraph or a stanza and a group of paragraphs or stanzas will make a prose or poem.

There are many techniques that you can follow while writing, which you can learn from the internet or from several books. Or, you can adapt your own technique. Read a lot and learn the common characteristics of each type of writing. The more you know about writing, the more you grow as a writer.

As a beautiful tune comes out of musical instruments when played with the correct notes, a beautiful composition comes out of the usage of correct words. Its simplicity, elegance and style define its quality.

Each plant gives out a different flower with a unique fragrance. The same way each writer makes different writings with a unique trait. As long as it reveals your talent, there will be someone who likes it.

To write well is your part. And if you love to write, continue writing even if there is no one to read or publish it. As practice makes perfection, one day you’ll be a good writer. So, be patient and perseverant till your dream comes true.

                                                                                                   Sindhu John

To go to the creative page CLICK HERE.