Muse Of The Month May 2016: Inspiration From Kavita Kane

Each month this year, we host a writing theme – the Muse Of The Month, with a ‘writing cue’ from a contemporary female author of Indian origin. The 5 best entries get published here!

What you need to do for May 2016

Step 1. Read the writing cue (which is either a direct quote from the featured author, or a quote from one of their works, mentioned down below) and get inspired.

Step 2. Write your own story/poem/narrative/essay/piece based on the cue. You could use it as the opening line, the closing sentence, or somewhere in between! You could even choose not to use it anywhere in your story – just write a story using the cue as a prompt. (And the ‘story’ can be fictional – or not – as you wish).

Please note: Given the number of entries received, we won’t be able to respond to each, but every single entry is being read through very carefully and is much appreciated.

Deadlines

Please send in your stories by May 17th 2016, Tuesday, 3 p.m. IST. The 5 best stories will be published on Women’s Web between the 23rd to 27th May, one on each day.

Rules

The material should be previously unpublished elsewhere. (Copyright stays with you and you’re free to subsequently publish it elsewhere).

Keep it between 250 and 2000 words. (Please keep this in mind; in past editions, we have had to disqualify some good entries purely due to word count issues).

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Please avoid typing the story as inline text (in the body of the mail) – these will not be considered. Send it as an attachment only.

Prizes

The 5 best entries will each win a Flipkart voucher worth Rs 250. Plus, there will be 10 overall winners at the end of 2016 from among these winners!

Muse of the month (May 2016)

Kavita Kane was born in Mumbai, but grew up mostly in Patna and Delhi. She has been an Assistant Editor at the Times of India, which she quit to become a full time author. With a postgraduate degree in English Literature and Mass Communication, and her past career in journalism, she is a keen observer of human nature, and uses that to great effect in her books.

Her debut novel (2013) Karna’s Wife (review on Women’s Web here) was a bestseller, and is about Uruvi, who is said to be Karna’s third wife. Her second novel (2014) – Sita’s Sister (review on Women’s Web here) deals with another enigmatic mythological personality – Urmila, probably the most overlooked character in the Ramayan. Menaka’s Choice (2015) is about the vulnerability and ‘human’ quality in the famous apsara sent to destroy Vishwamitra’s quest for power.

This is what she says of her characters, and the way she explores them: “most of the characters in the epics are either white or black. Bringing out the greys in them was made it so interesting. Yet they had to be believable and consistent with their character, personality and argument. The facade was there: the underlying layers were deep. And unfathomable.” 

Kavita Kane currently lives in Pune with her husband and two teen daughters.

Cue for May 2016

“Doubling that peaceful sense of contentment was the beaming pride she saw shining in her parents’ eyes.”  — Kavita Kane, Sita’s Sister

Do not forget to send in your entries by May 17th 2016, Tuesday, 3 p.m. IST

And here are the winners

Who’s Afraid Of The Big, Bad Wolf? Winning Entry By Vijayalakshmi Harish

Dreaming Big With Mridul. Winning Entry By Deepa Arun

A Change Of Heart. Winning Entry By Kasturi Patra

Parental Support. Winning Entry By Hip Grandma

Returning Home. Winning Entry by Anindita Roy

Congratulations to all the winners from the Women’s Web team!

Image source: Outlook India.

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