Lit-Soc Creative Writing (group) took place recently. As always, the entries were varied and ranged from the funny to the serious. Each hostel could choose one out of four given themes: ‘Apocalypse’, ‘Bright Lights, Big City’, ‘Valentine’s Day’ and ‘Time Travel’. Every entry had to have a fiction piece, a non-fiction piece, quotable quotes and a poem.
Tambi: Tambi chose Time Travelling as its theme, with the newsletter ‘Romantik’ set in the Roman era. Their content included a piece on the virtues of negative thinking, a review of ‘The Dirty Play’, a spoof of The Dirty Picture, and an interpretation of the tale of Caesar. The quotes they included were irrelevant, though, and a combination of poor content – there is little that rings of the Roman er a- and ineptly executed humour lowered the quality of their piece. (Download Tambi’s entry for CW)
Saras: Saras’ piece, on the topic ‘Bright Lights, Big City’, won first place. Titled ‘Jigsaw’, the entry, which is about the fictional city Gotham, is notable for its good design and clever theme. The editor of ‘Jigsaw’ being the villainous Riddler, the premise of the piece is quite complex (but slick), as all the articles have an overarching theme- they contain clues to a plan by the Riddler to destroy Batman. The notes by Batman across the newsletter as he attempts to solve the puzzle were a quirky addition to the writing. (Download Saras’s entry for CW)
Sharav: With ‘Dead Hearts’ Society’, Sharav chose Valentine’s Day as their theme, and placed third. Positioning itself as an un-Valentine’s Day Newsletter, ‘Dead Hearts’ Society’ features articles with different perspectives on the value (or lack of it) of romance, with some humorous and some thoughtful articles. The contents include a story about Draupadi, a poem about the disturbing side of the colour red, and a sonnet among others. The pieces are varied, and explore themes of relationships and love. (Download Sharav’s entry for CW)
Alak: Alak’s entry was on Apocalypse, titled ‘Journal 2033’. In the form of journal entries by a survivor of a disease epidemic that has butchered civilisation, their piece is coherent (it is among the better writing of this year’s competition), and the design minimal and simplistic. (Download Alak’s entry for CW)
Narmad: Narmad’s entry is on Time Travel. The piece, ‘Continuum’, is one of the better ideas among this year’s entries. From the first article, the reader is given to understand that scientists have found a way to transfer personalities back in time. What ensues is a personality transplant – the personality of a subject in the year 2041 is transferred into Nazi Germany. While this piece could have been a contender for the prize (it distinguishes itself with its idea and design), the premise was too complicated and could have been explained much more clearly, with less jargon. (Download Narmad’s entry for CW)
Tapti: Tapti’s entry, ‘Rogue Meteor’, dealt with apocalypse. The earth is plagued with a series of disasters- first ravaged by a meteor collision, and then a war among the survivors of the catastrophe. It is a slightly confusing read- what with the multiple disasters that take place, it is hard to keep track of what happens when and make sense of the overall storyline (and the fact that the writers themselves mess up the dates in a couple of places does not help). But overall, a solid theme and good design were its strong points, and it secured fourth place.
Mandak: ‘Off The Cuff’ is a Valentine’s Day newsletter from Mandak, and their creative writing offering. The pieces include an interview with the CEO of a greeting card company, a pseudo-science article on attraction, and a short piece by way of fiction, among others. Mandak’s entry was somewhat lacking in the content department- there were too few different articles- and was clichéd in places.
Ganga: Ganga chose Time Travel as its theme. Their entry was a mishmash of articles- three poems and a fiction piece on a group of time travellers who travel to different periods in time, among others. Altogether a mediocre entry, the inclusion of memes was somewhat out of place, and there could have been more focus on a wider variety of content. (Download Ganga’s entry for CW)
Jam: Jam, which placed second, chose Apocalypse as its theme. Titled ‘Apocalypse Today’, the entry was light-hearted and had plenty of pop-culture spoofs and references. The contents included a piece called ‘What’s Your Apocalypse’, a ‘Horrorscope’ and tips to take over the world, among others. Jam’s entry has very little serious writing, but the humour definitely makes one crack a smile, at least in some places. (Download Jam’s entry for CW)
Results:
1st – Saras
2nd – Jam
3rd – Sharav
4th – Tapti
