When my students find their wings.

I opened my inbox this morning and screamed with joy. (Yes, I’m very emotional like that; especially where my students are concerned.)

Priyanka, Arshvir’s mother, had written to tell me that he has won a Gold Award in The Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition 2026.

I could barely sit still. This is what I live for. This is why I chose to teach creative writing to children.

That is Arshvir. He is determined, and, let’s be honest, stubborn. Many a day, I have to steer him gently towards what he needs to do rather than what he wants to do. But once he’s on course, he is unstoppable. His imagination has no ceiling. He is the pilot. I only provide the fuel.

In her email, Priyanka thanked me “for believing in him and nurturing his love for writing.” I think that is all I really did. I believe every child has fascinating stories inside them. They only need someone to believe in them, and to teach them the tools to bring those stories out.

That is what I try to give my students: techniques, practice, and the freedom to let their words take on colour. And then I watch. Stories and poems that never existed before appear on the page, and I am awed every time. The best part is that they get so good, they don’t need me anymore.

And yet they come back. Years, sometimes decades later, to tell me how something I taught them helped at work. Sometimes they hand me their own children. That is when I cry.

I am only the catalyst. They are the artists.

Arshvir, I am so proud of you! Keep that imagination alive. Keep questioning, experimenting and finding your own way with words. And most importantly, never stop believing in the stories waiting inside you. Now, what’s the next story?

P.S. Want to know more about my creative writing course? Message me on 7400498082.