World of Books and Travel

Is diary writing a good habit? Many of you may have the habit of writing a diary to keep track of what is happening in your life. A diary is completely personal. It is particularly helpful for the travel writers in maintaining a diary to jot down their day to day events, so that when they sit down to write their travel journal they can't forget the main things happened during the travel. I remember of keeping a diary since the time I entered high school. It was my brother who encouraged me to write down my thoughts and feelings, including the lessons I learned each day, by gifting me a book-size diary. I soon realized that writing is fun and easy to remember the things I wrote. Even for fiction and non-fiction writers, diary writing is a good habit. Anne Frank and Samuel Pepys are great examples and because of them we know what had happened during their time. Many famous writers had the habit of writing a diary. Five Benefits of Diary Writing 1. You can improve yo...

Recently I had a chance to visit Kerala Kalamandalam, the cradle of Kathakali training in India. It is also one of the most revered places for the traditional art forms of Kerala, and is located at Cheruthuruthy, 32 km north of Thrissur, on the banks of River Nila. Established in 1930 by Vallathol Narayana Menon, the renowned Malayalam poet, this institution is the training centre for Kathakali, Mohiniyattom, Bharathanatyam, Kootiyattam, Panchavadyam, Thullal etc, still following the ancient gurukula system of education. This is the only place where the rich culture of Kerala's traditional art forms are preserved. During our visit, there were international and domestic tourists, who had come to tour the place. Many school children accompanied by their teachers were also there. If you require more information about this place please visit their website. kalamandalam.org

Writing about naked emotions in a story is not easy. All the successful writers tell us "Don't tell, show the emotions in your writing." What does it mean? If we tell the emotions the readers won't feel resonated with it. Some readers may get annoyed by reading what is happening in the story, instead they want to feel the emotions what the character in the story goes through which can be done only through the way we describe what happens while experiencing the emotions. Bet it happy, or pain or angry. If we want to convey the emotion to our readers we must feel it as we write. Every one will talk about this, but very few will show us with examples. The article link given below shows you the examples, and I feel that it may be of help to many serious writers. Interested to know more about it? Read this informative article about conveying the emotions to the readers, written by Mary Jaksch,Editor-in-Chief at http://writetodone.com/how-to-write-better-2/

Every one wants to read their stories read better. Experts say that we can write stories without making use of certain words, which they consider as unwanted. Elimination of these words in a story will read better. 1. That 2. Went 3. Honestly 4. Absolutely 5. Very 6. Really 7. Amazing 8. Always 9. Never 10. Literally 11. Just 12. Maybe 13. Stuff 14. Things 15. Irregardless Want to know why they are unwanted? Check out this article to know more about it.

Vishu is the astronomical or zodiac New Year in Kerala and is observed on the first day of the Malayalam month of ‘Medam.’ From an astrological point of view, Vishu is of immense significance. The day and night are of equal duration on the Vishu day (12 hours). Usually Vishu is held on April 14, but this year (2015) it is shifted to April 15th. This is because Vishu is decided based on the transition of the sun from Meena Rashi to Mesha Rashi (Meda Rasi). Vishu with Vishukkani is observed after the Sun enters Mesha Rashi. This means the transition should take place before sunrise on April 14 to observe it on the day. If the transition is after sunrise on April 14 then Vishu is observed on April 15. Kani konnapoo- image courtesy: Wikimedia.org What are the highlights of Vishu? Vishukkani, Vishukaineetam and Vishubhalam are the highlights of Vishu. Vishu starts with Vishukkani, the first auspicious thing people see on the day. It is during the Brahma Muhurtha or ideal...

1. Write only when you have something to say. - David Hare 2. If you want to be a writer,you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. - Stephen King. 3. I constantly retype my own sentences. Every day I go back to page one and just retype what I have. It gets me into a rhythm. — Joan Didion 4. Do be kind to yourself. Fill pages as quickly as possible; double space, or write on every second line. Regard every new page as a small triumph - Roddy Doyle 5. Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. - Anne Lamott 6. A problem with a piece of writing often clarifies itself if you go for a long walk. - Helen Dunmore 7. The hardest part is believing in yourself at the notebook stage. It is like believing in dreams in the morning. – Erica Jong 8. Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue. The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. But "sai...

We all want to become better writers in our respective fields. Let us learn from the tips from the popular writers. 1. Write in the third person unless a really distinctive first-person voice offers itself irresistibly. - Jonathan Franzen 2. Never pun your title, simpler is usually better: Lolita turns out to be a great title; couldn’t be simpler. - Martin Amis 3. Don’t say it was “delightful”; make us say “delightful” when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers “Please will you do my job for me?” - C.S. Lewis 4. When you catch an adjective, kill it. -Mark Twain 5. Don’t start a paragraph with the same word as previous one. That goes doubly for sentences. - Martin Amis 6. Do not write long sentences. A sentence should not have more than ten or twelve words. - V.S. Naipaul 7. Don't go into great detail describing places and things. Unless you're Margaret Atwood and can p...