It's been a short while since my latest limited audio-series "Silsila Ye Chaahat Ka" ended, so in this episode of Storytalking With Lakshya (#119) I give you a spoiler-filled breakdown of how that story and podcast came together! Also I might have teased my next podcast in this one. I'm writing this description a couple days after recording it so I'm not sure.

Storytalking with Lakshya

"This is not a love story"

Writing dialogue is my thing. Monologues are a lot of fun, and that's where all my recent podcast work has gone due to external factors, but writing two people talking is my first love. And the thing about writing two voices talking to each other is that I know they're both coming from my head, but they don't know that. To them, they're real people with real and often opposing feelings. So how do you turn voices in your head into real people who know themselves just like you know yourself? That's what I talk about in this episode of Storytalking (#118). If you have any questions about writing and stuff, you know how to find me!

"You are a character in my story"

I have two creative voices - the English Lakshya, and the Hindi Lakshya. For the past year, the Hindi voice has been really active, leaving the English voice dormant and feeling neglected, which drove him straight into a writer’s block. He’s back now, and he has a story to tell. About how he got his voice back - and it has something to do with... a romance with endings. That’s what I talk about in this episode - the first episode of season 4 of Storytalking With Lakshya. If you have an answer to my question, you know where to find me. 

"How does the end begin?"

"How do you go from hopeless to hopeful?"  2020 has been unexpected. The unexpected, by nature, comes unannounced. Isn't that hope's shtick too?  In the season 3 finale of 'Storytalking with Lakshya' (#116), I recap some of the planned vs unexpected things that happened this year, along with some behind-the-mic stories from writing and recording my lockdown audio-series "Tumne Kisi Se Kabhi Pyaar Kiya Hai?" and "Pal Bhar Ke Liye Koi Humhe Pyaar Karle". Happy new year listeners, and I wish you hope for 2021! 

"We're hoping for fiction"

"Kisi ko poora samajhna hai, shayad yahi pyaar hai". This episode of Storytalking with Lakshya (#115) is the end of this mini-BTS-series about "Tumne Kisi Se Kabhi Pyaar KIya Hai?" -  and in this one I tell you all about the process behind the last 3 episodes the show, and I also reflect back on what this journey has been like. Plus, some teasers about season 2!

"Love is understanding"

"Pyaar bekaar hai." In this episode of Storytalking With Lakshya (#114), I continue to break down the plot and process behind select episodes of my ongoing audio-series "Tumne Kisi Se Kabhi Pyaar Kiya Hai?" (all episodes of season 1 now streaming on JioSaavn). This episode covers parts 13 to 18 of the show. I also use sports analogies and talk about time travel and multiple choice questions.

"Love is unnecessary"

Hear-ye hear-ye, in this episode of Storytalking With Lakshya (#113), I continue to break down the plot and process behind select episodes of my ongoing audio-series "Tumne Kisi Se Kabhi Pyaar Kiya Hai?" (which is currently playing exclusively on JioSaavn). This episode covers parts 7 to 12 of the show. Do not listen to this if you haven't heard them yet!

"Love is an illusion"

Back after 8 weeks to give you episode #112 of Storytalking With Lakshya! This one is all about how my new show “Tumne Kisi Se Kabhi Pyaar Kiya Hai?” (now streaming exclusively on JioSaavn) came to be during this global lockdown. I also break down the writing process behind first six episodes of the show (parts 1 to 6). Spoiler Alert: listen to this AFTER you’ve heard those episodes, obviously. 

"Love is a long story"

Creativity in the time of quarantine. We're living through uncertain times, and being creative during this time requires focus and patience. So in this episode of Storytalking With Lakshya (#111 btw) I talk you through my quarantine-schedule to stay creative while still being on the right side of sane.   The episode title, btw, is from a line I wrote for my WIP novel which I talk about in the episode!

"You, my love, stopped improvising"

I'm in the first phase of working on my book - which basically involves a lot of "rulemaking" and "structure". So following some great advice I received from bestselling author Ashwin Sanghi - I'm using an excel sheet to create the groundwork for my book. And since the story is about a marriage told over six scenes over 20ish years, I'm basically creating a marriage using numbers. It's really fun. Tune in to listen to the process, as well as some updates on my other shows - "Play Me Life", and the newly announced "Natakshala"! 

"I'm creating a marriage using google sheets"

Play Me Life launch. One More Night With Meera hits 10,000 listens. Jaipur Literature Festival 2020 memories. Oh and by the way, I think I'm going to write a book. Listen in.

"I think I'm going to write a book"

I'm starting off 2020 with a very eventful January, so this is a jam-packed episode (#108!) of Storytalking With Lakshya, where I first give you updates on all our shows (Jaipur Bytes, Poetry Darbaar, Play Me Life), AND then I have a chat with two super talented storytellers: Varud Gupta and Ayushi Rastogi, who have created a truly unique graphic novel titled "Chhotu: A Tale of Partition and Love". You can find it on Amazon, it's worth it. Also, Play Me Life's first audio-play is coming out on January 17! The trailer for "One More Night With Meera" is out now, listen here. 

"This is a Tale of Partition, Love, and Aloo Paranthas"

A year ago, at the end of 2018, Launchora had just one podcast - this one. We're ending 2019 with five podcasts produced - Storytalking With Lakshya, Jaipur Bytes, The Vision-Nari Podcast, Jazz India Circuit Podcast, Poetry Darbaar - with a total of 230 episodes released so far. AND, in January 2020, I'm finally going to launch our sixth podcast: my long-time-in-the-making audio-play series "Play Me Life". So in this episode (#107) of Storytalking With Lakshya (the final episode of 2019 / season 2) I talk about what I've learned as a writer / podcaster / storyteller in 2019, and what I hope to learn and unlearn in 2020.

Learning and Unlearning in 2020

“You’re this, but you’re also that.” How you start a story requires a lot of attention, especially if you want your audience to stay till the end. Another #AskLakshya special, in this episode (#106!) of Storytalking With Lakshya, I talk about how to write the opening scene of a story that draws in your audience immediately. Using my current work-in-progress audio-play “Subconscious Uncoupling” (still a working title!), I reframe the whole story using the opening scene, which in this case is a monologue and very crucial to the rest of the story. I walk you through the process of writing this 3 minute scene, which will end up taking days and maybe weeks to get right. if you’ve ever struggled with how to open a story, this is the episode for you. Keep sending in your questions, listeners!

The This and That of Writing the Opening Scene

You asked, I listened, and then I talked... this episode (#105!) of Storytalking With Lakshya is all about how I deal with writer's block. A listener asked me earlier this week about how I manage to find my way out of not being able to write. I had a lot to say about this (as you can tell by the episode length!). But really, this should be of use to you if you've ever been afraid of a) not being able to write anything new again, b) not being able to write anything "good" ever again, or the worst: c) not being able to write anything ever again. Spoiler alert: you're not alone, and yes, it can be fixed. Also, send me more questions! Tweet, DM on Instagram, DM on Launchora. I'm going to call this the #AskLakshya series. Maybe.

Talking About Writer's Block... (An #AskLakshya Special)

Lakshya is a storyteller, so he started a podcast where he could talk about stories - some real ones, some made-up ones, some inspiring ones - while also talking to different kinds of storytellers about why and how they do what they do. Produced by Launchora.

hubhopper

Storytalking with Lakshya

hubhopper