Hello,
As I sit to write a post after a long gap, I know that in blogging spaces absence doesn’t make the heart grow fonder. Well, I can only hope it does!
The rain finally decided to call it quits after three long days in Jodhpur, and so I walked to my favourite place this evening, where I met an unusual companion. We sat in silence for a long time, must have been almost an hour, and then I decided to head back home. My friend stayed there, right in that position, unflustered by the vagaries of job, work, food, home, deadlines… and the list is long. I walked back, acutely aware of the fact that such is human life!
This lakeside communion with nature is palpable. It has a rawness that I strive to achieve in my writing, which is infested with so many dos and don’ts. But right now, my words are amorphous, and I know they cannot do justice to the rising waves of emotions. So, I do what I can do best. Write with the hope that I’ll get there when I will.
While we are still talking about writing, in my previous IWSG post I shared that I would be attending the Rama Mehta Writing Grant workshop, which I did from 25-28 July. To write and talk about writing and reading from 9 AM to 6 PM every single day in the company of like-minded people, without a care in the world, is a writer’s dream. I lived that dream and returned home armed with feedback, encouragement, enthusiasm, and learning from some of the best names in the Indian publishing industry. I am now working towards redrafting my story for the second and final round of the grant. Here’s the entire group—twenty-eight writers of Hindi, English, Urdu, and Marwari. The multilingual exchange of stories was the cherry on the top.
In the meantime, I have a flash fiction that was published in The Mean Journal (MeanPepperVine). It is called ‘Air-conditioned’ and you can read it by clicking on the link given below.
Finally, the IWSG question for this month is,
August 7 question – Do you use AI in your writing and if so how? Do you use it for your posts? Incorporate it into your stories? Use it for research? Audio?
Simply put, I have enough inspiration by the lakeside, so I don’t use AI! But that’s on the lighter side. I Google whenever I am stuck. For synonyms and words, I prefer the good old dictionary and thesaurus. I haven’t tried AI either for my stories or posts. I am pretty old school, that way. I take time to warm up to everything.
Thank you, Alex and the lovely co-hosts for this month— Feather Stone, Kim Lajevardi, Diedre Knight, C. Lee McKenzie, and Sarah – The Faux Fountain Pen! To find out more about the IWSG please visit the website here.
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A Hundred Quills 
It’s so good to hear that your writers’ retreat went well! You sound energized. Congratulations on the publication of your flash fiction piece! I enjoyed reading it. Obviously, I can’t avoid AI online, but I don’t use generative AI. I’m not going to let its existence take the joy out of writing for me.
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Thank you, Liz. I so appreciate your stopping by even when there is so much going on with your blog tours. Thank you for reading the flash fiction. The retreat was good. You always come back inspired from such a place.
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You’re welcome, Sonia.
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Such a wholesome uplifting post. I love your photos by the lake, I wish I had somewhere like that nearby to get me in the zen mood I often need. Good luck with your grant, your workshop sounds like such a great experience. And congrats on your flash fiction publication! I just read it, it was beautifully written 👌🏼🌸
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Thank you so much for reading, especially the ff. Appreciate it so much.
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You’re welcome 🌸
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What a lovely post! The lakeside is obviously good for you, as inspiration flows gently through and from you. So nice of you to share. You needn’t worry about redundancy, nature wouldn’t have it.
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Good morning Sonia: I love your photos. They appears very calming, If I was there, I might want to just sit and dream instead of writing. Blessings
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Thanks for sharing your wonderful experiences with us. Sometimes we forget just how lucky we are to do what we do and you’ve reminded us. Congrats on taking those brave steps. Nancy Gideon
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Thank you! It’s taken me a while but glad to be getting there.
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I loved your lakeside visit and the image was perfect. It looks as if you enjoyed your time with those other writers. What a beautiful opportunity to share writing and ideas with like-minded people. Huge congratulations on your publication. You must be thrilled.
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Thank you, Lee. Baby steps, perhaps. I had a great time.
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Your description of the lakeside was beautiful and evocative.
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Thanks Olga.
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Your presence is definitely missed! Always glad to see you back, and to read another one of your incredible posts. As always, your descriptions are absolutely beautiful and a pleasure to read. Good luck with the redrafting!
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Thank you, Damyanti. I am trying to test new waters and that’s taking most of my time. I appreciate you stopping by.
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what an inspiring post this is and loved everything about your retreat.
I am only now learning the ways of AI tools like Grammarly or Prowriting (if it’s considered AI) but like with everything that’s a learning curve .
there’s so much out there ! Really!
And now I am learning Scrivener too 🙆🏽
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Thank you. I know about Grammarly and Prowriting but am too vain to use them 😁 Reason is that I feel they have inbuilt programmes and the suggestions they offer are across the board, which I consider a major reason for redundancy in writing- repetition of phrases, etc. I use Scrivener, though, because it simplifies a longer work by way of division.
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Hi,
I am still going it the old fashioned way too. I enjoy digging into whatever source I use to find out the things that I need to know.
Take care and have a lovely day.
Shalom shalom
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I am always inspired by you, Pat. Thank you!
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Sounds like that retreat was what you needed. And a short break from blogging! I took one the end of July and it was refreshing.
I don’t use AI either.
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Sorry, I should’ve logged in to comment!
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Thank you, Alex. The retreat was a refreshing break.
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I’m glad you had such a good experience at the workshop. And congrats on getting published. I don’t use Al that much right now but will try it for tasks where it can save time.
And I love your pictures of the lake.
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Thanks Natalie. Makes sense to use it for time saving.
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I do miss you, Sonia. But I too am often missing in action, so when I return, I get caught up in reading and commenting.
Are you staying in Jodhpur? I love that city.
How wonderful that you attended the retreat. Another step forward, I would say.
Congratulations on publication.
I will read it later.
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Thank you, Punam. I moved to Jodhpur from Delhi this year. Yes, I too am grateful for these baby steps and feel that they’ll add up eventually. I appreciate your being around.
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