UAE-based Author Rehan Khan educates VISS students on the art of crafting stories

February 25, 2015 – Sharjah, UAE: First-time Author Rehan Khan has visited the Victoria International School of Sharjah (VISS) where he shared his own personal insights, tips and techniques about creating a fictional novel.

Rehan, the Author of the recently released ‘Last of the Tasburai’, talked about his experiences of starting out as a writer and provided guidance about the key stages of planning, preparation and design that all writers must address when penning a novel.

Speaking to Grade eight students, he also emphasised the importance of creating rich plot lines and multi-layered characters to engage readers, along with having a clear vision of where they wanted to take the story ahead of putting pen to paper.

Rehan wrote his first ‘novel’ at the age of nine and has been writing ever since. As a child he loved listening to swashbuckling tales of heroism and valour, as well as dabbling in science fiction. He has gone on to write film scripts and children’s stories, and he has also been a columnist for local newspapers. Whilst attending the Oxford University Summer School for Adults in 2010 he started scribbling notes around courage and valour, which soon became the beginnings of his debut novel, which was launched in Dubai recently.

The visit to the school gave the students a unique insight into Rehan’s own experiences in writing and the creative design stages he went through when first creating ‘Last of the Tasburai’. The book contains a number of fast-paced plot twists and rich interwoven themes that were developed over five years of cleverly thought-out planning.

“When it comes to crafting a novel, half of the story is created in the design, and the other half is in the writing itself,” said Rehan. “I wanted to take the students through the creative processes I experienced myself when drafting the beginnings of Last of the Tasburai.
“Hopefully by sharing my own writing journey and what I’ve learnt along the way, the students can apply this to their own studies. It may even encourage and inspire some budding writers!”

VISS offers an Australian curriculum, as well as International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, and provides an extensive extra-curricular program covering a wide range of options for its students. The school has welcomed a number of high profile guests and authors during the academic year who have helped to inspire students to pursue their dreams.

“We always look to provide engaging and interactive learning experiences that we feel the students will benefit from,” says Principal Dean Pyrah. “Having Rehan come into the school and speak  gave pupils first-hand insight into what goes into writing a novel, and also some valuable techniques to approaching creative writing that they can apply directly in the classroom.”