On this episode of Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora, it's a twofer. You get my analysis, and a story by my sis, Rachita Vora, based on a prompt from Day 1 of my five-day free creative writing challenge. That day, we talked about the imagination and how to let it loose. Cultivate our inner child. I discuss the techniques Rachita uses in writing her story, including being specific, using repetition, metaphor, personification, and more. It's a lot to unpack, in a good way. This week for your weekly prompt, write about a moment of change or transition.

If you love the podcast, say good things! We'll be thrilled if you leave us a review, and pleased as punch if you tell a friend. If you do both, well, we'd be ecstatic! 

On this episode of Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora, we have a very special guest. Tammy Kim is a magazine reporter, a contributing opinion writer at The New York Times, and a retired social justice lawyer. In our conversation, Tammy shares her top creative writing tips, where she looks for inspiration, and a writing prompt for you. As always, if you feel inspired to write a short story under 100 words, do send it to me at cuttingchaistories AT gmail DOT com.

Resources:

Tammy is co-host of the podcast Time to Say Goodbye, which talks about all things Asian-American, leftist, and internationalist. You can find it here: https://timetosaygoodbyepod.substack.com/ 

She mentions the magazine writer Ian Parker as a master of profiles, one of her favorite stories is here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/09/12/pete-wells-the-new-york-times-restaurant-critic 

Tammy references the graphic novel Grass: https://www.drawnandquarterly.com/grass

Her website is here: https://etkwrites.tumblr.com/

On this episode of Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora, you get two stories based on last week's prompt: being grateful for something about the place you live, and writing a love letter to your town, city, neighborhood acknowledging your gratitude. Jayati writes about community, and Deeba Syed writes a love letter to her hometown (also Jayati's hometown) of Bombay aka Mumbai, India. Learn about stream-of-consciousness writing and how a flow of thought can impact pacing. The writing prompt for next week is to think of a song, any song, and write a story of under 100 words inspired by the song. If you write, and would like to share, you can email your story to cuttingchaistories AT gmail DOT com.

Also, this week is Jayati's 5-day LIVE creative writing challenge on her Facebook group, also called Cutting Chai Stories, and on her Instagram feed, at 12 p.m. EST April 27 through May 1. 

On this episode of Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora, everything you need to know about Jayati's FREE five-day live creative writing challenge on Facebook and Instagram. Join her at 12 p.m. EST every day for five days from Monday, April 27th, to Friday, May 1st, for about 45 minutes to an hour. On Facebook, she will live in her group, Cutting Chai Stories. On Instagram, you can follow her at her page Jayati Vora. You can catch replays later, but if you follow along live, you can get feedback on your stories and on Day 5, Jayati will give away an exciting prize. She will cover how to use your imagination in service to your writing; how to break rules (and get away with it); how to edit your own work, and more. You will finish each session with one or more pieces of creative writing--woo hoo! 

Plus, thanks to Himandri Patel for sharing her story based on last week's prompt about recipes. And a new writing prompt!

If you do write your own cutting chai story, and want to share it, please send it to [email protected]. Thank you for tuning in! 

On this episode of Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora, we'll talk about building description into your writing, and how that can be different from just using adjectives. You'll hear two mini stories sparked by last week's prompt of looking for treasure, one by me and one by Shabnam Faruki. And you'll get a writing prompt for next week: Write a mini story, 50 to a 100 words long, about a recipe. It could be in actual recipe format, with ingredients and instructions, or you can use the idea as a springboard. If you write something, do send it to me at [email protected]. I'm on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jayativora and I have a Facebook group, also called Cutting Chai Stories, where I'll be making an exciting announcement about new offerings for later this month. 

This week we talk about how to make an impact with the simplest of words, how to use contrast effectively, and the power of a twist at the end. Thanks to Trushna Jhaveri for sharing her story that imagines the first day out after being under lockdown for the rest of 2020. And here's a writing prompt to kick off your mini story: Write about a time that you discovered treasure. It could be something physical, or something abstract. What does treasure mean to you? 

If you do write something and feel like sharing it, or even if you just want to drop me a line, you can reach me at [email protected]. 

And if you liked this podcast, share it with a friend! See you next Thursday.

Imagine a world where we were all locked down for the rest of the year. What would the first day of freedom look like? That's the thought that prompted these two stories, one from me, and one from another writer. Get some writing tips to help you write your own mini story, the perfect length to enjoy over a half-cup of Indian tea, otherwise known as cutting chai. 

Cutting chai, a half-serving of chai, is for those in-between moments—a caffeinated gulp without the guilt of multiple cups. Join Jayati Vora as she shares her short stories, roughly 30 seconds long, about topics as universal as friendship, nostalgia and loss, and as quotidian as parenting or the quiet beauty of a walk in spring. Each episode also features a writing prompt for listeners. Episodes air every Thursday.