Book A Writer / Nuraliah Norasid

ABOUT

Nuraliah Norasid is a writer and educator with a penchant for research, spreadsheets and understanding how information is organised. She graduated from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) with a Doctor of Philosophy in English and Creative writing (2015). Her novel, The Gatekeeper, won the Epigram Books Fiction Prize in 2016 and the Best Fiction Title for the Singapore Book Awards in 2018. It was also shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize (2018). In that same year, Nuraliah received the Most Promising Young Women Writer from IndiaSe Magazine. 

Her other writings, both fiction and non-fiction, have been published in magazines, journals and anthologies such as Mynah Magazine, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore (QLRS), and Perempuan: Muslim Women Speak Out.  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• 2015 – The Gatekeeper (Singapore: Epigram Books)

ACHIEVEMENTS

• 2018 – Most Promising Asian Woman Writer by IndiaSe Magazine

• 2017 - Nanyang Outstanding Alumni and Creativity-Leadership-Innovation-Community (CLIC) awards from NTU

WORKSHOPS

INTRODUCTION TO FLASH FICTION
For: all students; 8 - 25 pax
Availability: 2 hours or 2.5 hours per session; single session
Description: In this workshop, participants will be introduced to the history, characteristics, and conventions of flash fiction as a genre. Flash fiction is generally categorised as short works of fiction not exceeding 1000 words in length and can even be as short as 6 words or a line. Participants will learn about character, plot and setting development in flash fiction, and will be given a series of scaffolding writing exercises that would give participants the space and opportunity to craft their own works of flash fiction. 
Learning Outcomes: Participants will understand what makes a story a story, understand the characteristics and conventions of flash fiction, learn how to plot and develop work of flash fiction.

CREATING FICTIONAL LANGUAGES
For: Upper secondary / junior college; 8 - 25 pax
Availability: 2 hours or 2.5 hours per session; single session
Description: Language plays an important part in any story, often reflecting the political, cultural, and historical contexts of a society or a community. As such, there are authors who create their own languages for use in their fictional world. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to fictional languages, their origins and use in the works of fiction that they have been featured in, and how these languages would often draw inspiration from existing ones in our world today. Participants will have the opportunity to use what they have learnt to craft their own fictional languages for their stories. 
Learning Outcomes: Participants will learn how language shows the political, cultural, and historical contexts of the group that speaks it learn why and how different authors create different languages for their stories and learn how they can create their own fictional languages for their stories.

CREATIVE NON-FICTION: INTRODUCTION TO THE PERSONAL ESSAY
For: all students; 8 - 25 pax
Availability: 2 hours per session; single / multiple sessions
Description: Lee Gutkind, founder of magazine Creative Nonfiction, defines the genre of creative nonfiction as “true stories well told.” The memoir in creative non-fiction is autobiographical but focuses on one aspect, one period or one incident. Participants will learn the basics of writing a personal essay about an incident they have experienced.
The focus in the workshop will be on developing scenes through description, dialogue and personal voice. Relevant examples will be explored as a class and all participants will have a chance to share and receive feedback.
Learning Outcomes: Developing ‘thick’ description, finding the self in the scene, harnessing memory to build an evocative context

FICTION FROM REALITY: USING THE REAL WORLD TO CREATE FICTION
For: all students; ; 8 - 25 pax
Availability: 2.5 or 3 hours per session; multiple sessions
Description: In writing, we tend to draw a lot of inspiration from our observation of the world around us and our own experiences. Authors often have to conduct research on a particular topic, carry out interviews, go for walks, record observations, use their knowledge of subjects that they have studied in school, and even experience new things as part of their writing process. In this workshop, participants will learn how to collect these materials and use and/or transform them into compelling and imaginative stories. 
Learning Outcomes: Participants will, learn about the types of process work that goes into work of fiction, learn why it is important to do such process work for writing, learn to hone their observational and critical thinking skills and learn to use the materials that they have gathered to write their stories.