Writer, Writing coach & writing consultant.
Your life ought to be as rich, deep, wide and wild, as you want and allow it to be, both externally and within. It’s your life. And if writing, or a desire to write something, is a part of this life, this moment, let’s talk.
Life as my writing space.
That’s true. I’ve written in my head, on paper napkins, the cell phone, in other people’s offices on their computers, sitting in my car, sprawled on the top bunk in a train compartment, and yes, poetry at midnight curled up on the living room couch. With people and without, with a dog, and at one time, four of them together! They were Soupy, Patch, Boorho and Zee. When I lost them to time and death, I kept them in the written word and tucked that away in a drawer for years. Decades later, something from there got published as fantasy fiction.
Today, I live in India with Dog DustyRay. As I write this, a cold nose has prodded me, and concerned eyes tell me it’s five minutes to food. So just a little bit more! I have spent much of my life a seeker and explorer. Dusty and I are roadies who drive through desert, mountain and forest with some dear and indulgent friends who are up for dhaba chai, highway rides, and the occasional frog in the room.
Writing has been my entry point to most of my professional engagements, across industries, sectors and genres. I have loved the opportunities it has opened out to me :-
Reading, meeting all kinds of folks, travel, historical research, creating characters, writing dialogues, corporate communications, television, and development consultancy. Sometimes listening to experiences shared by grassroots activists at the intersections of sexuality and disability, sometimes sitting under a tent with teachers and children discussing life’s possibilities, using broken crayons and recycled paper. Descending through a vertical shaft into an excavation, in a lift with skilled hard hats. Running away from the ancient, unknown and invisible, lost within the walls of a fort taken over by the jungle. I’ve lived these experiences, they are now a part of all I am, shaped by a life I love living.
Email: shikhaaleyacoach@gmail.com
Why coach? Why consultant?
I write for me. I also write for you, and I support your writing. These are the two ways in which I’ve supported the writing projects of teams & individuals: (1) I do the writing. (2) I work with project teams and writers, including young and first-time writers, who want support with a writing project.
Coaching writers and writing consultancy has emerged as an organic offshoot of my experiences as a writer. I consider this a sacred space of learning and support, and am privileged to be able to do this.
My clients include entrepreneurs, businesses, not-for-profit organisations, and individuals, including authors with a rich writing practice, seeking conversation, feedback, and fireside exchanges. Some of the writers I work with self-identify as neurodivergent, some have lived experience of disability and difficult life events. Everyone I have met in this space has a voice, a story, or more than one of both those elements! And a desire to explore what could emerge from there.