A masterclass with Amita Murray
by Omair Bin Nayyar
Amita Murray (latest publication: Unladylike Lessons in Love, Harper Collins) took the first masterclass for the Write Beyond Borders (WBB) 2023-24 edition. On an autumnal Saturday afternoon in October, I joined eleven writers from the UK, UAE, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, for a lesson in writing compelling settings in our stories.
The OED defines setting as ‘the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned’. When it comes to storytelling, a limited understanding could constrain the writer to simply list the colour of the carpet or shape of the room. Over the course of the next three-quarters of an hour Amita expanded on why setting is much more than describing the environment, time, shapes and colours.
She used two excerpts to illustrate the power of setting: The Jasad Heir, a novel by Sarah Hashem, and “Let’s Go Kill Ourselves”, a short story by Colin Barrett. Even from reading only a few paragraphs, the settings of both the stories couldn’t have been more stark. While Hashem’s character spoke of slain monsters and belching frogs surrounded by exhaling rivers, Barrett’s protagonist was despairing over a wet cigarette and annotated books by French philosophers on a cold night in small-town Europe.
Personification is a one of the tools Hashem uses incisively. In the opening lines of the extract, the river exhales, the trees are skeletal and the frogs have a defensive strategy. This anthropomorphism informs the reader that they are entering a fantastical world. Another technique Hashem uses well is the application of sensory words, such as the ‘belching’ alarm by the watch-guard frog or the use of ‘tromping’.
During her masterclass, Amita also spoke about the need to layer our stories. The mixing of beauty with grime. She told us that beautifully textured writing is not pretty. The question writers should be asking themselves is how to layer the pretty with the grime. The overall tension needs to increase as the story progresses and a good writer knows how to use setting to build tension. She also used Hashem’s excerpt to show the importance of a well-placed metaphor (‘weave a storm of curls into delicate braids’) and the use of heightened voice (‘Hirun exhaled its opaque mist’) to add richness and texture to the story. Finally, she pointed to the use of strong nouns – ‘Hirun’ river, ‘Essem’ forest – as another technique used by the author to create an immersive setting for her readers.
In Barrett’s short story, the absence of a watch on the narrator’s wrist helps in setting the plot along early on, leading us closer to the questions every writer needs to know about their characters – their desires and their fears. Another role of setting is to create a mood and Barrett does this brilliantly. In just a few sentences he weaves melancholy through the disappointment of a soggy cigarette, an empty town and freezing temperatures. The choice to use adjectives such as ‘exorbitantly’ that new writers are usually asked to avoid, are well placed. Learn the rules so that when you want to break them you know why you are doing so, explained Amita. Specificity and quirky details (‘rear of Pearl Hotel bus shelter’ and ‘Dunvale town’)were also some of the techniques that were discussed.
Towards the end of the class, Amita took a few questions from the mentees. One of my fellow mentees wanted to know about her editing process. Amita explained how she personally prefers coming back to what she has written the previous day and edit it before moving on to the next part of the story but every writer needs to create their own editing process. She also recommended that we do not rush to submit our stories but come back to them after a few weeks or even months. Doing so can help elevate the story even further. The process of culling and taking out the extra stuff is what leads to amplified writing. She also used the session to speak about the importance of journalling and reminded the group that practice is the only way to find one’s authentic voice. She also advised us not get too precious about our writing nor be in a hurry to get others to read it.
The first masterclass was the perfect start to this edition of the WBB mentoring program. Through her effortless teaching style, mastery of skill and great excerpts, Amita Murray taught my fellow mentees and myself how important setting is to be able to immerse the reader and what are some techniques for writing engrossing settings. The next masterclass cannot come soon enough, but before that, it’s time to practice.
Write Beyond Borders 