Not many women were convinced with the idea and there came a point when our proactive POC (also a woman!) did the disappearing act stating that she was busy! And, in stepped the new POC…who else but the Sardar with the sword…oopss…pen…oopss keyboard! Well, there were a few more drop outs and new additions who replaced the dropouts. A Facebook page was created for brainstorming ideas, and also a WhatsApp group. Though, not many people preferred being connected by WhatsApp. Simardeep, Ankit, Nivedith, Nidhi, Avantika, IIakshee, Deepika, Swati, Nikita and of course Vinodini…what a super team it was?! Team ‘Story Weavers’ (that’s what we called ourselves) was all set to roll! In spite of so many bright ideas, we were getting nowhere with a concrete story line and running out of time. Finally, after lots of agreements and disagreements each of us started writing our post with a loose story line that we had come to decide.
The biggest challenge we faced was that, most of us were 9 am to 5 pm (of course it goes without saying that we never get off at 5 pm…sometimes it is 10 pm or much beyond!) working professionals who would get back home in the crankiest of the states and try to organize our lives to keep up with the deadlines of the contest. We also had a soon-to-be mother in our group! Ridiculously, every time I asked for a slot to write my post, that very day I would invariably be working late and would end up dragging myself home. After a whole night of going through the previous posts to make sense of where the story was going, through sleepy eyes, I would get up early next morning and start typing my post in my groggy state, first thing in the morning before I got out of my bed! It did not help that I have a fetish for writing the last cliffhanger post, and I insisted on doing that.
It was super exhilarating when the results for the first round were announced! The suspense was killing us. The fact that we were 7th on the list of all 30 teams who made through the first round sent us riding high! The second round was more structured and we decided on the story’s shaping step by step.‘ The Siege Saga’ the title of our story, was shaping up into a thriller of sorts with a little bit of everything thrown in…violence, thrill, drama, suspense, fiction, terror, love, trauma, humor and a range of other emotions. And guess what? We made it to the third round! In spite of all the optimism we did not really expect to reach this far. There were commitment issues from some bloggers, since no one had expected this to stretch so long. Especially the very pregnant Avantika, with her due date coming closer. But hell…we all pitched in, motivating each other, pushing each other to go that extra mile!
There came a point when I had yet again self-designated myself to write the last post of the final round and the person who was supposed to write the post before mine fell ill! The second last post was all action laden with live bombs that Ankit had left throbbing in his post which were to be diffused by voice passwords and the works! Being a low-tech, peace loving person, I could hardly make the head or tail of the outline for that post. Thankfully Deepika stepped in, and so did the ill Swati swing into action at the last moment and the second last post was written…phew! While they were at it, I had already completed my last post with a sweet little happy ending, wishing them good luck for wiping out all the terrorists and diffusing all the bombs!
I’m going to miss the late night chats, the brainstorming, the leg pulling, the disappearing acts, the quick fixing of jigsaw puzzles, filling in gaps and missing links across posts, and the last minute of ‘pakaoing of khichdi’ to serve the jury and readers with, before the clock struck twelve (with our poor POC chasing us to submit the posts, so that he could compile it and then get some of his precious sleep!). So, chaotic though it was, we finally did manage to wind up writing ‘The Siege Saga.’ Whether we make it to getting published or we don’t, I personally think each of us did a splendid job! Group hugs guys!
The Siege Saga Makers! |
It has been a great journey. 10 bloggers from different parts of India came together to chase their dream of getting published, all thanks to Blogadda for their amazing initiative – Game of Blogs.
Story Weavers is not just a team now but also a family where we not just discuss plot but also laugh and enjoy together..cheers m/
I agree Ankit. We're more a family than a team now. Really enjoyed every bit of the experience!
Coming together as bloggers teaches us team spirit. I loved it too.http://blogatcynthia.blogspot.in/2014/10/inspiring-quotes-from-alchemist.html
Yes Cynthia. Its the ultimate test of team spirit in such contests.
ohh wow Vinodini great, I am also taking part in the contest and my teams name is By lines. All the best for the final round.
Tina from The Sunny Side of Life
Awesome Tina! I hope you enjoyed being a part of it.
I so regret missing this
Mina, there's always another chance. Don't worry, there might be something similar coming up soon.
It was so much fun blogging as a team with you guys!
You bet Avantika! Loved it too. Hope you give us the good news soon!
I don't know how you did it..It's so hard to write a story together no?
All the best for the next round
Random Thoughts Naba – Found You!
Nabanita, it was challenging for sure, but quite a learning experience. We have finished all rounds. Just awaiting the results ๐
Wow! Congrats on 7th place, and then 3rd place: how exciting!! I've read bits and pieces of your Story Weavers' saga and I have to admit, the ones I read were SO suspenseful!!! ๐ <3
Thanks Elly. We were at 7th place in round 2 but I'm not sure which place we are now, since round 3 was the final round. We are still awaiting the results. Thanks for reading the stories…I'm glad you enjoyed them.
Hey Vinodini, congrats and I've been following your write up. Absolutely love it. Great job for holding your audience hooked:)
Thanks Vishal. I'm glad you read them and liked them. I haven't been so regular on your blog though ever since you've gone off Facebook. Will catch up soon, I promise.
it was such fun ๐ i loved every bit of writing in the group! way too new for me and this was just my second story writing attempt!!!
Swati, the feeling is mutual. You did too well for a second attempt at story writing!