It's been a short while since my latest limited audio-series "Silsila Ye Chaahat Ka" ended, so in this episode of Storytalking With Lakshya (#119) I give you a spoiler-filled breakdown of how that story and podcast came together! Also I might h

"You are a character in my story"

Jun 30th, 2021 29m 21s

Writing dialogue is my thing. Monologues are a lot of fun, and that's where all my recent podcast work has gone due to external factors, but writing two people talking is my first love. And the thing about writing two voices talking to each oth

"How does the end begin?"

May 24th, 2021 26m 40s

I have two creative voices - the English Lakshya, and the Hindi Lakshya. For the past year, the Hindi voice has been really active, leaving the English voice dormant and feeling neglected, which drove him straight into a writer’s block. He’s ba

"We're hoping for fiction"

Dec 29th, 2020 34m

"How do you go from hopeless to hopeful?" 2020 has been unexpected. The unexpected, by nature, comes unannounced. Isn't that hope's shtick too? In the season 3 finale of 'Storytalking with Lakshya' (#116), I recap some of the planned vs unexp

"Love is understanding"

Jun 28th, 2020 32m 8s

"Kisi ko poora samajhna hai, shayad yahi pyaar hai". This episode of Storytalking with Lakshya (#115) is the end of this mini-BTS-series about "Tumne Kisi Se Kabhi Pyaar KIya Hai?" - and in this one I tell you all about the process behind the

"Love is unnecessary"

Jun 23rd, 2020 35m 45s

"Pyaar bekaar hai." In this episode of Storytalking With Lakshya (#114), I continue to break down the plot and process behind select episodes of my ongoing audio-series "Tumne Kisi Se Kabhi Pyaar Kiya Hai?" (all episodes of season 1 now streami

"Love is an illusion"

Jun 10th, 2020 26m 59s

Hear-ye hear-ye, in this episode of Storytalking With Lakshya (#113), I continue to break down the plot and process behind select episodes of my ongoing audio-series "Tumne Kisi Se Kabhi Pyaar Kiya Hai?" (which is currently playing exclusively

"Love is a long story"

May 27th, 2020 31m 45s

Back after 8 weeks to give you episode #112 of Storytalking With Lakshya! This one is all about how my new show “Tumne Kisi Se Kabhi Pyaar Kiya Hai?” (now streaming exclusively on JioSaavn) came to be during this global lockdown. I also break d

"Love is a long story"

May 25th, 2020 31m 45s

"You, my love, stopped improvising"

Mar 31st, 2020 21m 40s

Creativity in the time of quarantine. We're living through uncertain times, and being creative during this time requires focus and patience. So in this episode of Storytalking With Lakshya (#111 btw) I talk you through my quarantine-schedule to

"I'm creating a marriage using google sheets"

Feb 24th, 2020 24m 25s

I'm in the first phase of working on my book - which basically involves a lot of "rulemaking" and "structure". So following some great advice I received from bestselling author Ashwin Sanghi - I'm using an excel sheet to create the groundwork f

"I think I'm going to write a book"

Jan 31st, 2020 23m 57s

Play Me Life launch. One More Night With Meera hits 10,000 listens. Jaipur Literature Festival 2020 memories. Oh and by the way, I think I'm going to write a book. Listen in.

"This is a Tale of Partition, Love, and Aloo Paranthas"

Jan 11th, 2020 40m 31s

I'm starting off 2020 with a very eventful January, so this is a jam-packed episode (#108!) of Storytalking With Lakshya, where I first give you updates on all our shows (Jaipur Bytes, Poetry Darbaar, Play Me Life), AND then I have a chat with

Learning and Unlearning in 2020

Dec 28th, 2019 33m 7s

A year ago, at the end of 2018, Launchora had just one podcast - this one. We're ending 2019 with five podcasts produced - Storytalking With Lakshya, Jaipur Bytes, The Vision-Nari Podcast, Jazz India Circuit Podcast, Poetry Darbaar - with a tot

The This and That of Writing the Opening Scene

Dec 15th, 2019 35m 16s

“You’re this, but you’re also that.” How you start a story requires a lot of attention, especially if you want your audience to stay till the end. Another #AskLakshya special, in this episode (#106!) of Storytalking With Lakshya, I talk about h

Talking About Writer's Block... (An #AskLakshya Special)

Dec 1st, 2019 29m 20s

You asked, I listened, and then I talked... this episode (#105!) of Storytalking With Lakshya is all about how I deal with writer's block. A listener asked me earlier this week about how I manage to find my way out of not being able to write. I

The Audio-Show Must Go On

Nov 17th, 2019 37m 11s

Returning from a four-week hiatus, I've got a lot to share in this mega-episode #104 of Storytalking With Lakshya. First, there's some writing-and-producing talk regarding "Play Me Life" and "Play Me Zindagi" - where we are on the scripts and b

Thinking, Feeling, Writing... In Another Language

Oct 19th, 2019 31m 57s

The language a character speaks isn't just representing their thoughts - it's telling us who they are. So what happens, when you take a story and re-write it in a new language? How does that change the character? How does that change the story?

The "Don't Forget This" List

Oct 5th, 2019 33m 10s

Picture this: you’re 17 years old, and today is the last day of school, EVER. Tomorrow, you’re no longer going to be a “school student”. You’re on your way to proper adulthood. And the person you’ve been dating for the last two years decides to

A conversation with UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla

Sep 23rd, 2019 29m 29s

This is a really special episode (#101), so it deserves a different kind of description.So whether you’re a regular listener, or this is your first episode of Storytalking With Lakshya, I want to tell you something about me (Lakshya) that you

The Milestone: 100th Episode / 30th Birthday Spectacular

Sep 19th, 2019 23m 25s

I started recording this episode (#100!) of Storytalking With Lakshya at 23.30pm on September 19, 2019, which meant I had 30 minutes left on my birthday. So of course I spent it with you, talking about stories. The stories that I have made up a

Feeling Everything That Is, Forgetting Everything That Isn't

Sep 14th, 2019 17m 15s

Harry Potter was 11 years old in the first book. Harry Potter was played by an 11 year old in the movie. But, Harry Potter was not written by an 11 year old. Adults have been pretending to be kids, teenagers, young adults in fiction forever. Ob

Where and When to End the Story

Sep 7th, 2019 19m 46s

Characters don't stop existing after the audience leaves the story (exceptions: murder and other forms of death, obviously) - so how do you know when and where in the story they should stop being typed? That's on the agenda of this week's episo

A Writer's Detox

Aug 31st, 2019 15m 5s

Do you ever find yourself thinking something that you know you shouldn't? Something you would never, ever share publicly? Well, if you're like me - you don't just think that stuff, you write it. In this episode (#97) of Storytalking With Lakshy

Putting the Meat on a Skeleton

Aug 26th, 2019 19m 39s

Metaphorically speaking, skeletons aren't unique - It's the meat on them that makes them so. In this episode (#96!) of Storytalking With Lakshya, I use this meat-and-skeleton metaphor to break down how I took the skeleton of the "Dad, We Need t