WORKBOOK

Ruskin
Bond
TEACHES WRITING
ABOUT
RUSKIN BOND

Born in a small town of Kasauli, India, Ruskin Bond is a prominent

Indian author of British descent. Known and loved by children
and adult alike for his compelling storytelling, Ruskin Bond has
been the master of his craft for six decades now. He wrote his
first novel at the age of 17 and he hasn’t put his pen down. After
writing over 500 short stories, several novellas, numerous essays
and poems, he still has the same passion for writing as he had
when he first started writing The Room on The Roof in his teens.
His novel has been an inspiration for many feature films
including The Blue Umbrella and 7 Khoon Maaf. His devotion for
the art of writing has got him Sahitya Akademi Award, Padma
Shri in 1999 and Padma Bhushan in 2014.

Ruskin Bond | 1
WHAT’S INSIDE?
This workbook contains everything you learned in the unluclass and more! It provides you with a lot of
knowledge and helps you apply the lessons in real life. The workbook has chapters for all the topics
covered in the unluclass. Furthermore, this workbook is easily printable for comfortable use.

TOOLS

The workbook has assignments and daily exercises that

are highly recommended for a better learning
experience. The assignments and exercises entail
different real and reel life experiences. All you require is
an internet connection and a pen to complete these
assignments. No, you don’t need a notebook, there are
sections in the workbook after every chapter where
you can write notes.

COMMUNITY

The workbook allows you to work on assignments

which are shareable. We encourage the exchange of
assignments, notes and experience with other
students. Share them here, your unluguru will be
looking at all the messages and might provide some
valuable feedback!

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HAPPY
LEARNING!

Let no man take your

dream away.

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 01

LESSON 1

WHY WRITE?

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 LESSON 1
LESSON 1

WHY WRITE?

To become a good author the first question you need to ask

yourself is “Why?”. Becoming an author is a huge responsibility
and requires a lot of time and effort.

“Why does anyone want

to write?”
When Ruskin poses this question, he talks about several different
reasons as to why someone would want to become a writer. Your
reason to become a writer could be different from another, some
have a creative bent, some can get inspired by a book they read,
or some might just do it for the fame and money. But every
writer’s ultimate goal is to tell a story.

A writer needs to be able to communicate well in their preferred

language which makes ‘Practice’ a crucial part of every writer’s
day to day life. In order to write as fast as you think without
losing any thoughts, a writer must have a good grip on the
language. If you as a writer, have a good foundation in the
language you write in, you will never be left scrambling for words,
which in turn will leave you a lot of thinking space for new ideas.

Most writers usually start with keeping a diary. Keeping a

personal diary inspires a lot of stories related to every day events
in the writer’s life. A personal diary not only helps the writer note
down and keep a track of their observations, it also keeps them
engaged enough to regularly practice the art of writing.

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 LESSON 1
LESSON 1

ASSIGNMENT
Keep a diary!
Get a good diary that speaks to you and start noting things you
see every day. Feel free to write about anything!
Here are some pointers to help you start with:.

Write about something interesting you heard during the day.

Note down something about someone you met and observed
Add the highlight of the day to it
Pen down any strong feelings along with the incident that
sparked them

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LESSON 1

NOTES

Johnny lever | 7
 02

LESSON 2

RUSKIN BOND’S
JOURNEY

Johnny lever | 8
 LESSON 2
LESSON 2

RUSKIN BOND’S
JOURNEY

“Why does anyone want

to write?”
Ruskin Bond through his journey explains to us that
determination can take you places. From the time he was just a
little kid, Ruskin had decided that he will one day become a
writer. In 1951, when Ruskin first picked up the pen, becoming a
writer was not a fancy job; you didn’t become a celebrity if you
became a writer. There was barely any fame or money attached
to the profession.
The only reason he picked this profession was for his love for
writing and the urge to tell his stories to the world. He was
inspired by the books he read and wanted to emulate his
favourite writers.

While like Ruskin, you need to define a purpose before you set off
to write, you also need to develop certain qualities to make sure
that you succeed. In order to become a writer of that stature you
need to work very hard, bring discipline to your life, work towards
feeding the writer in you, sharpen your skills, practice everyday,
and most importantly, believe in yourself.

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 LESSON 2
LESSON 2

RUSKIN BOND’S
JOURNEY

Writing is a 24-hour job. Ruskin talks about how a writer never

stops writing. A writer is always observing, thinking, collecting
characters, and looking for inspiration in the surroundings. The
process of writing doesn’t just involve sitting at your desk and
penning down your thoughts; It involves going out, exploring,
meeting people and making a mental note of all the things that
help you build your stories and your characters. We will learn
more about all this in the coming lessons.

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LESSON 2

NOTES

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 03

LESSON 3

FINDING THE
WRITER IN
YOU

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 LESSON 3
LESSON 3

FINDING THE
WRITER IN
YOU

“Read well, write well. Let

that be your motto!”
As humans, we are all born storytellers, but in order to become a
writer, one needs to hone their writing skills by practicing and
exploring the language they write in. The stronger your grip on the
language, the better you will communicate yourself on paper.

But before you start sowing seeds of your career as a writer, you
need to identify what kind of writer you want to be. What drives
you?

There are all kinds of writers out there. There are the ones who
write from their personal experiences and the ones who invent the
story. The two different types Ruskin talks about are Subjective
and Objective writers.

Subjective writing entails writing from one’s personal experiences.

Most subjective writers, write in first person and as mentioned
earlier, derive from their personal experiences. A subjective writer
enjoys incorporating their surroundings as they are. Often,
subjective writers may fictionalise their real life experiences and
use added detail to help the reader visualise their story better.
Subjective writing, as very well explained by Ruskin, is passionate
writing that comes from the heart. A very good example of
subjective writing apart from Ruskin Bond himself, is Emily
Bronte’s ‘Wuthering heights’.

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 LESSON 3
LESSON 3

FINDING THE
WRITER IN
YOU

While subjective writing deals with the writer’s true emotions,

objective writing is more about fiction. An objective writer might
take inspiration from their real life, but they never put
themselves or real life events directly into the story. Objective
writing is more of a fictionalised form of writing. It’s often written
in third person and is very inventive. Stories like Harry Potter,
Huckleberry Finn, Percy Jackson are good examples of objective
writing.

As a writer, you need to explore and find out which writing style
you are inclined to. More than often, writers find themselves
switching between the two options depending on the story they
are inspired to write.

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 LESSON 3
LESSON 3

ASSIGNMENT
Make a list of books that inspire you to write.
Pick up each book and identify the writing style used by the
writer.
See which writing style you have been reading the most, and try
to write in that style and see if it comes easy to you.
This doesn’t mean that you restrict yourself! Once you have
practiced writing in the style you picked, try out the other one
too. Compare the two and see which writing style helps you
write more engaging stories and comes to you naturally.

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LESSON 3

NOTES

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 04

LESSON 4

STRUCTURING
YOUR BOOK

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 LESSON 4
LESSON 4

STRUCTURING
YOUR BOOK

Planning and structuring your book is of utmost importance. You

can’t just start writing right off the bat, you first need to create a
road map for yourself. A well planned book will make sure to
provide you with that road map and the direction that you need
through your writing journey and to avoid creative block.
Planning provides you with the best chance at completing your
book. Without planning there are major chances that you’ll end
up with multiple unfinished works.
Planning and structuring of your book involves the following:

Defining the plot: If you want to start writing your novel, you will
of course need a plot, there is no question in that. Write down the
plot first and use that to work on the next steps.

Building character profiles: Once you have defined the plot, pick
out the main characters and try to visualise them. How do they
look physically, how they talk, what kind of past they had, what
is their life like in present, etc. Ask yourself these questions. It is
not necessary for you to use all these details in the novel, but it
sure will help you write better in the long run.

Defining the timeline of events: Think about the events in the

novel, is the story spread over a few days, months or years?
Accordingly, define what happens when. You don’t have to add a
detailed description of all the events. Just put pointers against
time.

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 LESSON 4
LESSON 4

STRUCTURING
YOUR BOOK

A defined passage of time along with strong character profiles

and the plot you have in mind will make it easy for you to
communicate your story to the reader in a clear fashion.

Once you are done planning your book, you are all set to sit with a
pen and paper and start writing. But don’t be mistaken. Planning
doesn’t just involve planning the book. It also involves planning
your life too. To start a career in writing you have to keep in mind
your current and future financial well-being and you have to set
deadlines for yourself to avoid procrastinating.

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 LESSON 4
LESSON 4

ASSIGNMENT
Plan out your novel. Chart out a simple plot, and a timeline of
events in the story. Along with that, list out the characters you
have in the story, don’t develop them yet! Go through the next
lesson before you start building you character profiles.

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LESSON 4

NOTES

Johnny lever | 21
 05

LESSON 5

BUILDING
CHARACTERS

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 LESSON 5
LESSON 5

BUILDING
CHARACTERS

Strong characters make stories memorable. Characters have a

real impact on our minds. A reader actually feels real empathy
towards the character they are reading or watching on television
which makes the characters one of the most important aspects
of your writing.

Like we studied in the last lesson, detailed out character profiles

help the writer visualise how the characters change with the
passage of time.
For example, if there is a boy in his late 20’s in a story, a writer can
use words like strong, agile, sparkling blue eyes etc. to physically
define him.
As years pass by in the story, the boy grows older with time and
changes physically.
At the end of the novel, let’s say he is 70, what do you think the
author can define him now as? The boy has now grown into an
old man, as old age does to every human, he has grown weaker,
he sits in his favourite chair on the porch which says that he isn’t
agile any longer, wears big glasses which cover his blue eyes
which still haven’t lost the sparkle they always had.

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 LESSON 5
LESSON 5

ASSIGNMENT
Take another look at the example shared in this chapter. Add
more details to the character of the boy and his older self. Try
and go as deep as you can. Ask questions about his physical
appearance, mental state, family and friends, surroundings, etc.

Once you are done with this sample character. Move on to the
next aspect of this assignment i.e. defining your own characters.
Remember the list that you made in the last chapter? Use that
to define each character one by one and build their profiles in as
much detail as you can.

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LESSON 5

NOTES

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 06

LESSON 6

SIMPLE
THOUGHTS TO
POLISHED IDEAS

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 LESSON 4
LESSON 6

SIMPLE THOUGHTS
TO POLISHED IDEAS

Considering the way a writer’s brain functions, small incidents,

meeting, day to day life even dreams can trigger several different
stories. Through the story of the fox and the boy, Ruskin explains
how just a simple encounter can be turned into a beautiful and
enjoyable story.

It is not an easy job to turn real life events into stories, mostly
because writers can think too close to the real event and cling to
the details of it while ignoring the narrative. To turn such an event
to a story, you must learn to let go of tiny details and logic that
real life provides. Taking the fox incident as an example, had
Ruskin stuck with the commonly perceived notion about foxes
being cunning, he wouldn’t have been able to come up with such
a beautiful story. He thought of the fox from a fresh perspective
and found truth in his version of the fox.

Once you start visualising a story, let it flow. Don’t argue with
logic and realism, that can be dealt with once you have the 1st
draft in front of you.

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 LESSON 4
LESSON 6

SIMPLE THOUGHTS
TO POLISHED IDEAS

Another thing to keep in mind when you translate a real life

incident to a story, is to add as much detail as you need to help
your reader visualise the story. Now, you can add the details from
the event that actually happened, or you can invent details to
make the story more powerful and interesting. In the lesson,
Ruskin adds a simple line to his story and says,”obviously he (the
fox) is invading people’s property and being chased by dogs and
irate businessmen…”. This simple line which explains the amount
of effort the fox is going through to bring a piece of meat to
Ruskin, not only just talks about the fox’s loyalty, it also speaks
loads about how he sees a friend in Ruskin and without dialogue,
helps us understand what the fox is feeling.

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 LESSON 4
LESSON 6

ASSIGNMENT
Hope you have been writing the diary we spoke about in the first
lesson. Pick out a real life incident from your diary and try and
translate it into a story.

The challenging bit: Your story must have more than 2

characters and one of the characters must be fictional.

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LESSON 6

NOTES

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 07

LESSON 7

USING YOUR
SURROUNDINGS

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 LESSON 7
LESSON 7

USING YOUR
SURROUNDINGS

”In life, wherever you go,

you will never run short
of material if you keep
your eyes and your heart

The biggest writers take from their surroundings. The stories we

all know and love, “Malgudi Days’’ by the legendary R.K. Narayan
were all based in the small town Malgudi which was inspired by
R.K Narayan’s hometown Mysore. He took inspiration from real
life stories around him and fictionalised them into interesting
stories which took place in the town he invented. The narrative
and setting of the stories were so well defined that it almost
became nostalgic for at least three generations in India.

A writer must try and expand his surroundings as much as they

can. Expanded surroundings increase your chances of
encountering fresh stories every day. Once you pick up on the
technique of observing your surroundings and filtering the
stories you gather everyday, let your imagination run wild! But
remember, not everything you notice can become a story,
sometimes, it’s just worthy of an anecdote, so don’t force it until
it comes naturally to you.

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 LESSON 7
LESSON 7

ASSIGNMENT
Pick up a Ruskin Bond book or any other fiction novel that
interests you. Don’t just read it, but observe it as a writer, and try
to figure out what all might be true and what you think is a
product of the author’s imagination. Think about the incidents
you think might’ve triggered these stories then.

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LESSON 7

NOTES

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 08

LESSON 8

INFLUENCES

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 LESSON 8
LESSON 8

INFLUENCES

“As writers we are all

influenced by the writers
we read when we were
young”
The biggest writers take from their surroundings. The stories we
all know and love, “Malgudi Days’’ by the legendary R.K. Narayan
were all based in the small town Malgudi which was inspired by
R.K Narayan’s hometown Mysore. He took inspiration from real
life stories around him and fictionalised them into interesting
stories which took place in the town he invented. The narrative
and setting of the stories were so well defined that it almost
became nostalgic for at least three generations in India.

A writer must try and expand his surroundings as much as they

can. Expanded surroundings increase your chances of
encountering fresh stories every day. Once you pick up on the
technique of observing your surroundings and filtering the
stories you gather everyday, let your imagination run wild! But
remember, not everything you notice can become a story,
sometimes, it’s just worthy of an anecdote, so don’t force it until
it comes naturally to you.

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 LESSON 8
LESSON 8

ASSIGNMENT
Pick up a Ruskin Bond book or any other fiction novel that
interests you. Don’t just read it, but observe it as a writer, and try
to figure out what all might be true and what you think is a
product of the author’s imagination. Think about the incidents
you think might’ve triggered these stories then.

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LESSON 8

NOTES

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 09

LESSON 9

WRITER’S
BLOCK

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 LESSON 9
LESSON 9

WRITER’S
BLOCK

The nightmare of every writer - writer’s block, is something which

is totally out of anyone’s control. Or is it? Ruskin believes that if
as a writer you plan your story in advance you will never face the
much dreaded writer’s block. A well planned novel or story as we
discussed in our earlier lessons provides you with a road map for
the journey ahead and prevents any kind of confusion or
disinterest. Confusion and disinterest are two very big reasons
which mostly lead one towards a writer’s block.

In order to avoid confusion, planning is a must. Apart from

planning, you should research your story well and read up on it
for a while. If you have a fictional story in mind, think about the
details, look up related topics on the internet and note down
small details which might help you visualise your writing along
the way.

If you are facing a block even after planning, structuring

researching, and visualising your story/novel, it most probably
means you have lost interest in the story due to some reason. In
this case, Ruskin suggests putting it away for a while. To avoid
the anxiety and stress related to writer’s block, you must put the
story out of sight for a while. Then go about your life as usual,
write more stories, go for a walk, exercise, meditate, read. Pick the
story up once again once you feel like after a week or a month,
depending upon your level of interest and motivation and try to
give it another shot with a now fresh perspective.

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 LESSON 9
LESSON 9

WRITER’S
BLOCK

For some people, writing through the block works well to. They
keep writing despite the fact that nothing worthwhile is coming
to them and their brain suddenly charges up and comes up with
new and fresh ideas. If this isn’t you, then another thing which
helps is figuring out the end of your story and working
backwards.

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 LESSON 9
LESSON 9

DAILY EXCERCISE
This is less of an exercise and more of a lifestyle choice. As a
writer, try to expand your surroundings as much as you can. Go
out, meet people, collect stories, keep noting them down, read
well and most importantly keep your mind from jumbling up
thoughts by practicing something like meditation or
mindfulness. Some people also prefer physical sports to clear
their minds. Pick whatever interests you and practice it regularly.

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LESSON 9

NOTES

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 10

LESSON 10

FIRST TO
FINAL DRAFT

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 LESSON 10
LESSON 10

FIRST TO
FINAL DRAFT

“The first draft of anything is shit.”, said Ernest Hemingway who

himself wrote the first part of ‘A farewell to arms’ fifty times
over.

Often, we are too close to our work to realise how it actually is. A
writer or any artist for that matter will not be able to find
mistakes in their own writing. If we left everything to the writers
to decide then the industry would have been quite different and
most probably not so interesting after-all. An editor is very
important to your work. They are a pair of fresh eyes and
someone who can give you feedback from a reader’s
perspective. Once you are done writing the first draft of your
book you need to find a good editor. The editor can be someone
from your friends or family who knows the job well or it can be
someone you hire as a freelancer. Ruskin talks about his
experience with different editors. He emphasises on picking up
the right editor for your work. A wrong choice for an editor might
lead to further mistakes in terms of the story, the setting and
other such important aspects of the novel. Some editors tend to
change the story itself in order to make it more commercial and
sellable which might result in your story losing its true essence.
Once you’re done with this process it’s time to move on to the
publishing stage. Sometimes as it may happen, and a publisher
might not agree to publish the draft that you shared with them.
That’s when you need to believe in your story and not give up.
Give it another shot! Ruskin himself has had to write multiple
drafts for several stories and books.

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LESSON 10

NOTES

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 11

LESSON 11

EDITING AND
PUBLISHING

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 LESSON 11
LESSON 11

EDITING AND
PUBLISHING

The process of getting your book published needs a lot of

patience. Once you are done writing your novel there are three
different paths you can take. One includes hiring an agent, who
will then take your book to several different publishers and help
you get published. Most big publishers don’t accept books
unless they come from a credible agent.
The second way of doing this is going directly to the publisher.
This works best if your book belongs to a particular niche. The
boutique presses who publish poetry, academic, history and
other such genres are ideal in this particular scenario.
After that comes self-publishing which has it’s own pros and
cons. As compared to getting your book published via a
publisher, self publishing provides you with more creative
freedom and choice. It also earns you a larger cut in royalties. Self
publishing also comes with a 100% ownership of rights and you
can control the date and time of launch.
When self-publishing, you need to take help of other freelance
writers, editors, marketers, designers etc. in order to do your book
justice before it launches.

With multiple tools and services now online, self publishing has
become an easier choice for many new writers. Ebooks, print on
demand services etc. have helped aspiring writers showcase
their work to the world without compromising on anything.
While there are several pros to self publishing, There is also a
major con which Ruskin talks about in the lesson video - it
becomes very difficult to sell a self published book unless you
have good distributor relations.

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LESSON 11

NOTES

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 12

LESSON 12

BOOK TITLES
AND
COVER DESIGN

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 LESSON 12
LESSON 12

BOOK TITLES
AND COVER DESIGN

No matter how many times you hear or say “don’t judge a book
by its cover” people will always have a bias in their minds
towards a good cover and title. A good cover and title doesn’t
mislead the buyer, it rather gives the reader a glimpse into the
world which is inside the book, while the title works almost like a
teaser to a film.

The cover and the title should be intriguing enough to convert

customers. They should have a certain recall value, keeping
advertising and branding in mind, without compromising with
the truth of the book.

Book covers and titles literally hold the fate of your book and
determine its success. People judge a book by its first
impression which is the cover and the title , then usually turn it
around and look at the synopsis behind, which makes the back
cover of the book almost equally important. Another aspect
involves the insides of the book and the way you have formatted
the text. It is very important to leave decent margins, choose a
pleasant readable font and break it up properly according to the
chapters inside, if any.

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 LESSON 7
LESSON 12

ASSIGNMENT
If you have a story in mind, design a cover for it. You can draw, use
photoshop, powerpoint, or just write down a simple concept for
your imaginary cover designer.

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LESSON 12

NOTES

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 13

LESSON 13

MARKETING
& CRITICISM

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 LESSON 13
LESSON 13

MARKETING
& CRITICISM

In order to become a successful author you first must be able to

sell the book. If the story is good and the book doesn’t sell then
what is the point of going through the effort of getting it
published?

A lot of people write books which are forgotten very soon; they
don’t even sell enough copies to keep the writer motivated or
financially sustain them. This is where marketing comes in. Only
the writers who focus on marketing their books get to see the
fame and money.
Good marketing for a book involves networking with publishers,
going to book signings, talking about the book in order to
increase word of mouth for it, give multiple interviews, etc. These
days even social media has become very important for writers to
sustain and market themselves. As an author one has to
maintain their presence on platforms like Twitter, Instagram,
Facebook and LinkedIn depending on the kind of audience they
think will buy their book.

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 LESSON 13
LESSON 13

MARKETING
& CRITICISM

With good marketing, you get more readers, and with more
readers comes a lot of criticism. Criticism can be hard to handle
for any kind of artist. Some who take it too harshly, demotivate
themselves and grow anxious of their work which makes them
think twice before pursuing their dream again. It can also result in
writer’s block for some. In order to be a good, successful author,
one needs to learn how to take criticism. People love sharing
their opinions especially on art pieces and books. Sometime you
will get constructive feedback and some could just be hate
comments. An author needs to understand what the readers are
saying and filter the good, constructive ones from the bad. If you
do get some constructive criticism it is best to take it as
feedback and work on the highlighted problems and implement
change in your next work.

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LESSON 13

NOTES

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 14

LESSON 14

RIGHTS
AFTER
PUBLISHING

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 LESSON 14
LESSON 14

RIGHTS AFTER
PUBLISHING

Once you have found yourself a publisher, the battle is half won.
Now you will be offered a contract by the publisher which will
specify the royalty you will get on different editions of the book.
It will also state different subsidiary rights like movie rights,
translation rights, theatre rights etc. You ideally should go
through the contract and see which rights belong to you to avoid
any kind of misunderstanding. Along with the aforementioned
details the contract will also mention the time period within
which the book needs to be published. In case the publisher is
unable to bring out the book in the said time period, the writer
has the right to withdraw and go to some other publisher. You
also get a few free copies of the book once published. In case you
want more copies you can buy them from the publisher at a
discounted price. Once the book sells around 10,000 copies, for a
publisher it means good business and it’s very likely to be
reprinted. In the case the publisher decides not to reprint it, the
contract ends there and you can go to another publisher for
printing. Some books can stay in print for many years while
others can go out of print within a year.

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LESSON 14

NOTES

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 15

LESSON 15

POWER OF
OBSERVATION

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 LESSON 15
LESSON 15

POWER OF
OBSERVATION

People often talk about creativity. You’ll find tons of articles on

the web on ‘How to increase creativity?’, ’10 ways to bring out
the creative writer in you’, ‘Creativity in writing’, etc. The most
common thing in all these articles and the key to staying up to
date and creative is - Observation.
Observation makes for a very powerful tool for a writer. It is
rather necessary for all writers to be observant. Imagination
spreads its wings but it can only fly when it feels the wind of
observation.

Writing is a 24-hour job. Ruskin talks about how a writer is always

observing, thinking, collecting characters, and looking for
inspiration in the surroundings. The process of writing doesn’t
just involve sitting at your desk and penning down your
thoughts; It involves going out, exploring, meeting people and
making a mental note of all the things that help you build your
stories and your characters. We will learn more about all this in
the coming lessons.

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LESSON 15

NOTES

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 16

LESSON 16

IMPORTANCE
OF RESEARCH

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 LESSON 16
LESSON 16

IMPORTANCE
OF RESEARCH

For most research sounds like the more boring part of the
journey. Well, most of the writers who don’t pay the required
attention to research and don’t do their homework usually find
themselves stuck at different points of the book or the story
they are writing.

A weak research also means mistakes. You might make certain

factual mistakes in your story which if caught, in the best case
can dilute its essence and worst case can get you into legal
trouble.
There are different tools you can use to carry your research. One
of the most obvious tools is of course the internet! The other
tools that can be used are books, research papers, interviews,
travel etc.

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LESSON 16

NOTES

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 17

LESSON 17

IMPORTANCE
OF READING

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 LESSON 14
LESSON 17

IMPORTANCE
OF READING

Since childhood, Ruskin was a book lover and wanted to emulate

his favourite writers. You’ll find that all good writers are also avid
readers and remember all the different books and characters
they have experienced through reading. Reading helps a writer
by exposing them to new surroundings, the surroundings
experienced by the author of the book. Even though these
surroundings aren’t physically a part of the reader’s life, they
certainly spark their imagination.

Reading will also expose you to different forms, styles, genres,

niches etc. It is the best way to learn from writers who have now
become legends in the field. All their learnings reflect in each of
their written pieces.

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 LESSON 17
LESSON 17

DAILY EXCERCISE
To maintain a healthy reading routine. Keep two books at your
bedside. The first book should be your current read and the
second one should be the book you plan to read next. Read the
book whenever you sit on your bed, or before sleeping and during
the morning tea/coffee time. It doesn’t matter if you read two
pages or two paragraphs. The point is to read whenever you sit
idle on your bed. This exercise will also avoid the ‘reader’s block’
for you. Yes! It’s a thing.

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LESSON 17

NOTES

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 18

LESSON 18

QUALITIES OF A
GOOD WRITER

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 LESSON 18
LESSON 18

QUALITIES OF A
GOOD WRITER

Through the course we have already discussed a lot of good

qualities good writers must possess like being aware of their
surroundings, taking mental notes, reading etc.

Good writers pay much attention to detail in their writing and

keep in mind that the audience won’t magically happen to know
about these details. They are disciplined and keep a schedule to
write which also helps them avoid the much dreaded- writer’s
block.

A good writer helps the reader visualise in the simplest possible

way. They don’t get lost into vocabulary unnecessarily. They also
must be open to changes and not get stuck on the first draft.

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 LESSON 18
LESSON 18

ASSIGNMENT
As a writer discipline is very important along with work life
balance. Make two timetables, one for your regular work days
and one for your ‘cheat day’. The work day should include a
balance of writing, socialising and routine activities while the
cheat day time table can be used to define activities other than
writing.

You might want to skip the cheat day timetable, but it’s
important to give your writing a balanced approach. So don’t
skip that cheat day, enjoy it!

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LESSON 18

NOTES

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 19

LESSON 19

PART TIME WRITER

VS
FULL TIME WRITER

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 LESSON 19
LESSON 19

PART TIME WRITER

VS
FULL TIME WRITER

Deciding one becoming a part time or a full time writer is very

crucial. One needs to be practical and think of balancing their life
with their passion and profession. If you want to follow your
passion you need to make sure that you are also strong
financially. To become a full time writer, means to leave
everything and depend on one source of income from a very
unreliable source (at least during the initial phase).

If you think you can sustain yourself financially while you write,
finish and publish your book, well, you can very well be a full time
writer. If you cannot then you need to find something which goes
with your persona and helps you earn bread and butter while
you set sometime aside to write everyday. For a part time writer
it is crucial to set a time to write every single day and take
deadlines very seriously, otherwise your job can take over and
your passion will get sidelined very soon because of several
different reasons, one of them being writer’s block.

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LESSON 19

NOTES

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 20

LESSON 20

CREATING
YOUR NICHE

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 LESSON 20
LESSON 20

CREATING
YOUR NICHE

Creating your niche as a writer is what makes the difference. The

market is flooded with different writers who have the same style.
What makes you stand out of the crowd? How are your stories
different? Do you have a unique writing style? These are a few
things that can help you define your niche.

Once you have a defined niche you need to figure the kind of
audience you are going to sell it to- your primary audience. Figure
out some books in the same genre and see what works for those
books and what doesn’t.

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LESSON 20

NOTES

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 21

LESSON 21

HOW TO
HANDLE
SUCCESS

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 LESSON 21
LESSON 21

HOW TO
HANDLE SUCCESS

xx

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 LESSON 21
LESSON 21

ASSIGNMENT
xx

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LESSON 21

NOTES

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 22

LESSON 22

SHORT STORIES
VS NOVELS

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 LESSON 22
LESSON 22

SHORT STORIES
VS NOVELS

xx

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LESSON 22

NOTES

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 23

LESSON 23

WRITING
BY HAND

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 LESSON 23
LESSON 23

WRITING
BY HAND

In this lesson Ruskin focuses on the different ways and mediums

to write. He personally prefers using a pen and paper and writing
by hand. He started with a typewriter and slowly moved to pen
and paper. A lot of writers prefer it this way. Others have their
own preferences like using the traditional typewriter, or a
computer. People even have their preferred choice of softwares
they feel more comfortable with, or preferred pens?

It doesn’t have to be the same for everyone. All that matters is

what you as a writer are comfortable with. The more comfortable
you are with the medium, the better your stories will be. And
believe it or not, switching mediums can also help you with
writer’s block, in case you are facing one!

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LESSON 20

NOTES

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 24

LESSON 24

WORLD THROUGH
THE WINDOW

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 LESSON 24
LESSON 24

WORLD THROUGH
THE WINDOW

Ruskin has always been inspired by nature. In one of his books he

even mentions one of his motivators ‘The adventure wind’ which
is basically like a calling. The wind calls out to him and urges him
to set off on a new adventure. The adventure wind is something
which inspires him and motivates him to write or gather new
stories through different adventures. “A writer must have a
window or perhaps two”, says Ruskin. You as a writer need to find
your source of motivation and adventure.

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 LESSON 24
LESSON 24

ASSIGNMENT
xx

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LESSON 24

NOTES

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 25

LESSON 25

CASE STUDY

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 LESSON 25
LESSON 25

CASE STUDY

xx

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LESSON 25

NOTES

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 26

LESSON 26

GENRES
TO EXPLORE

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 LESSON 26
LESSON 26

GENRES
TO EXPLORE

In this lesson Ruskin focuses on the different ways and mediums

to write. He personally prefers using a pen and paper and writing
by hand. He started with a typewriter and slowly moved to pen
and paper. A lot of writers prefer it this way. Others have their
own preferences like using the traditional typewriter, or a
computer. People even have their preferred choice of softwares
they feel more comfortable with, or preferred pens?

It doesn’t have to be the same for everyone. All that matters is

what you as a writer are comfortable with. The more comfortable
you are with the medium, the better your stories will be. And
believe it or not, switching mediums can also help you with
writer’s block, in case you are facing one!

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LESSON 20

NOTES

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 27

LESSON 27

WRITERS
DON’T RETIRE

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 LESSON 24
LESSON 27

WRITERS
DON’T RETIRE

Writing is a full time job you cannot escape and you wouldn’t
want to once you get a taste of it. A writer’s job never ends and
he never retires. A writer’s brain functions differently. No one can
stop a writer from collecting stories until there is that spark in
them.

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 LESSON 24
LESSON 27

ASSIGNMENT
xx

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LESSON 24

NOTES

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