Wow!  I am writing a book

Challenge:   I am a home maker married for 21 years now and enjoy every bit of my  family life.  My challenge is to write an impactful handbook on the  dynamic role of women in a family. Why I took “writing a book” as a  challenge is because for a long time, I did not know where to start my work  from and what would be the tone of the writing, serious or funny.   I  wanted to put in all my life experiences into it, but I was afraid it would be  very boring or sound too philosophical for young married girls to read.   I  wanted that my book brought an impact in women’s lives, but I was afraid  that my book would become too heavy to digest.    Selection:   So, after listening to the four design thinking technique lectures, I selected  the “Story Telling Technique”. It struck me that I can make short stories in  my book for each chapter as it has emotional connection to the reader.     The video in “week 2 lecture” about story telling gave me 3 ideas.   The first one – “Know your audience, where do they come and what they  need”.  So, I thought I must meet both accomplished women and insecure  women to hear their stories first so that my book will be more realistic,  covering different real stories and not just mine.  The second idea – “Clear sequence of events”- So I thought I can take the  reader through a journey of married life from young to old age slowly  covering the common events in life.  The third idea- “Create suspense questions and answer them; don’t leave  them hanging” – Now I thought I should give hard facts and real solutions  to help women solve their problems rather than just sharing only the  problems of life.    Application:   I have started off with the preface of the book.  I have imagined that my  daughter would be reading my book 10 years later and started the first  lines with my story 20 years back. On a positive note, I have listed the many  roles women can play in the family and how she should enjoy every bit of it  like a leader of a team in a company. Next I talked to a few of my friends  who were giving up on family life.  I helped them with my ideas of

managing stress and they are trying to settle down. I would say their story  in some chapters.  In the coming chapters, I would be allotting one chapter  for one problem and say how a friend solved it.    Insight:   The insight I gained from applying the story telling tool is the life in the  writing. My challenge was “impactful writing” that can keep the reader  attentive and interested till the end of the book. Repetitive reading is also  what I wanted so that the reader can refer to the book at times of crisis and  re-assure herself that it can be solved by her efforts. So real life problems  and solutions in a story capsule is a great idea.    Approach:   With the same “Story Telling design tool”, I would like to conduct  workshops for women, workshops for family as a whole and help them lead  a peaceful and accomplished life.     In the worshops I would like to use the other three design thinking tools l  viz; Visualization, Mind Mapping and Learning Launch. My inclination to  helping families would grow more as my book gets successful. I would like  to really connect with my readers and learn the truth from them. I would  like to be more empathetic, bring like minds together and help the society  at large. I would work towards re-establishing the family life in most  people’s lives.      Priyanka Ansari

