An author in our midst – Ms. Shreya Jindal!

Did you ever realize there is a published author and successful screenplay writer in our school? If you didn’t, let me introduce you to Ms. Shreya Jindal. Ms. Jindal teaches seventh grade English and ninth grade Acc English here at SMIC-I, and her passion for writing started when she was young.

“I have always loved reading, but my love for writing began in the 7^th Grade,” Ms. Jindal revealed. This all began when Ms. Jindal began reading Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings fan fiction. She says that after getting interested in fan fiction, she began posting her own work on www.fanfiction.net. She received many comments and reviews, which made her want to actually publish her work in hopes of gaining a wider audience.

Through desire and sheer will, Ms. Jindal was able to publish her first book in 2012, titled Another Chance at Life. After just two years, she published her second book, called Simply Complicated. “They are both realistic fiction books about the trials and the tribulations of young people in India, their complicated love lives, friendships and parental relationships.”

Even though Ms. Jindal accomplished her goal of being published, she did not stop there. She was able to work with some prominent Bollywood actors by co-scripting a short film on YouTube. The film was called ‘Kuch Spice to Make it Meetha’, collaborating with her high school friend who was working in a film company called MadMidas. She did not have high expectations, but the short film was really successful. “Best of all, the movie was a surprise hit and received over a million views when it was first released in 2012,” said Ms. Jindal. With such success, Ms. Jindal’s friend from the film company, Adeeb Rais, recently contacted her again to collaborate on another short film.

Pulling from her own life experience, Ms. Jindal gave some great advice to students who are interested in creative writing. “Write! Expand your assignments for English class. Write poems and free writes…You could also try writing fan fiction, which gives you a chance to write for an audience and find a community of others who are also trying to be better writers.” However, Ms. Jindal says that writing takes discipline. Even if you get bored and stressed in writing, you should never give up. “It’s important to get used to pushing past inertia, stress and writer’s block, and to set targets that you sometimes have to force yourself to meet.”