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Award-winning novelist credits program
Sometimes, life hinges on a few moments.
Five years ago, Gurjinder Basran was a telecom manager, a wife, and a mother of two. Today, she adds award-winning novelist to her list because someone asked her one question: 鈥淲hat happens next?鈥�
Basran had begun a journaling project with her sisters. They were documenting their growing-up years in Delta, B.C., and one of them asked Basran what came next.
鈥淔or me, what had actually happened next wasn鈥檛 that interesting,鈥� she says. So she began writing fiction鈥攁nd ended up telling the story of a young Indo-Canadian girl named Meena.
Basran had never thought about writing before鈥攂ut as she wrote Meena鈥檚 story, she realized she鈥檇 always loved storytelling. There were no books in her house growing up, and she never liked English class in high school. But at night, before going to sleep, she would tell herself long, elaborate stories, adding a little every night.
鈥淟ike a soap opera!鈥� she says with a smile.
So Basran felt compelled to keep writing鈥攃ompelled to keep telling Meena鈥檚 story so there would be some representation of an Indo-Canadian woman for others to see. Basran had seen so few faces like hers in the media growing up.
A story becomes a novel
Several months later, with the idea of turning Meena鈥檚 story into a novel, Basran enrolled in The Writer鈥檚 Studio. Through courses, workshop groups, and a mentor, the snippets of Meena鈥檚 life came together as Basran learned about form, structure, point of view, and depth of character.
Before The Writer鈥檚 Studio, Basran says, many of her characters were 鈥渓ike furniture.鈥�
鈥淢y concern was so much with Meena that I wasn鈥檛 necessarily looking at all the characters on their own 鈥� So I had to learn how to show the reader more about other people without ever actually having access to their point of view.鈥�
Basran would submit chapters to her workshop group and use their feedback as she crafted the next one.
Everything Was Goodbye hit bookstore shelves in 2010 after winning The Great B.C. Novel Contest. In April 2011, it won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize鈥攁nd Basran believes none of it would have happened without The Writer鈥檚 Studio.
鈥淏eing around other people that are doing the same thing, and being in a space where you can believe that you鈥檙e a writer and you鈥檙e not just playing at it鈥攊t makes it very real,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t makes you take yourself seriously.鈥�
Basran finds a place of complete honesty
The studio and Meena鈥檚 story have given Basran more than a new profession. They鈥檝e changed her.
Her characters 鈥渧ery much feel like my very good friends,鈥� Basran says. 鈥淓ven though I鈥檓 not writing about them anymore, I still think, gee, what would Liam think, what would Meena think? 鈥�
鈥淚t sounds kind of crazy鈥攂ut as you write about them, they just come to life. And they really write their own story. You don鈥檛 really get to write what you want to write 鈥�
鈥淚 wanted Meena to be better, she explains. 鈥淚 wanted her to be smarter. And catch on a lot quicker. But any time I forced my current value set on the characters, it wasn鈥檛 authentic 鈥� You just have to kind of surrender to the page and let the characters come forward 鈥�
鈥淓ven at home, my husband and I talk about them like they鈥檙e real. Because for us, they are鈥擨 mean, we lived with them for so many years.鈥�
Because of them, Basran isn鈥檛 afraid to be real with people.
When she first started writing, 鈥渆verything was very appropriate. And everybody was very perfect. Everyone was very clever, everyone was very smart 鈥� When you鈥檙e writing, if you鈥檙e writing that way, we all know that that鈥檚 not authentic,鈥� she says.
鈥淚t allowed me to 鈥� acknowledge the good and the bad in things, as opposed to being concerned with how things appear.鈥�
Writing 鈥渋s one of the only places where I am completely honest.鈥�
Basran鈥檚 characters have also allowed her to experience things she once thought she understood.
Alongside Meena, Basran grieved the loss of Harj, Meena鈥檚 sister, who left her family in search of freedom from the cultural expectations she found so oppressive. Basran also sympathized with Meena as she resisted the urge to run away herself, and looked into the darkened eyes of Serena, Meena鈥檚 oldest sister, as Serena chose to stay in an abusive relationship.
鈥淧rior to writing this,鈥� Basran says, 鈥淚 would have had judgements about a person running away, taking off, not dealing with their problems, and I would have had judgements about someone who stayed in a relationship that鈥檚 not healthy 鈥�
鈥淣ow I appreciate that I鈥檓 really not in a position to even have a judgement 鈥� People make decisions for all kinds of reasons.鈥�
Basran says she initially wanted to make a statement about repression with the book鈥攂ut that changed as she wrote.
鈥淚 realized that really 鈥� I couldn鈥檛 blanket an entire community and say, 鈥楾his is a problem.鈥欌��
So she told one person鈥檚 story鈥攇ave one representation of her world.
鈥淭he message in the narrative is like any book,鈥� Basran says. 鈥淓very book has a message 鈥� What that message is is really going to depend on where you are in your life.鈥�
That鈥檚 why Basran won鈥檛 tell readers what happens next with Meena.
鈥淭he reader brings so much of their own experience to the reading that it would be unfair for me to divulge all the things that happen next.鈥�
The Writer鈥檚 Studio and her characters have given Basran so much鈥攂ut the best thing may be a new realization of who she is: a writer.
鈥淚 feel most myself when I am writing,鈥� she told an online book club last year. 鈥淚t feels like home to me.鈥�
By Amy Robertson