The Spot Light is on Reem Khokhar - meet our featured chillibreeze writer

Padma	Reem

Padma Gopalakrishnan interviews Reem Khokhar a chillibreeze writer who is also part of our editorial board.

(This phone interview was conducted in 2006 and a lot has changed since then. For one, Chillibreeze now has a network of 6000+ writers and has grown quite a bit. However, the basic prerequisite for any writer- an unbridled passion for writing- remains pretty much the same)

Hi Reem, a warm welcome to you from your family at Chillibreeze. You are one of the most valued writers and a member of the editorial board here. I am honored to be able to conduct a telephonic interview (as Chillibreeze believes that people should be able to work from where ever they are) with you.

My first question is:

1. When did your tryst with Chillibreeze begin? How did you come to learn about the company?

I worked at Stylus Systems for two years on Outsource2india as the Assistant Manager – Business Communication, where I wrote and managed all the content for the site and had my own blog. I worked with Ralph extensively on o2i and later when he started Chillibreeze, I wrote some of the initial articles that went up on the site and helped manage Chilliblog for a little while. Nowadays, I don’t write content for the site, but do work for the Chillibreeze clients, which includes everything from travel writing to repackaging content. I also edit all the articles coming in from various writers to assess quality and whether their articles can be published on the website and their inclusion in the Chillibreeze network of writers.

2. Doctors, Authors, Business writers, Scientists, Teachers, you name them and you will find these professionals among our esteemed writers at Chillibreeze. Could you tell us whether you have a parallel line of work apart from that as a writer at Chillibreeze?

Yes, I work for Rough Guides, travel guide publishers whose books are distributed worldwide by the Penguin group. We publish travel guides as well as a huge range of reference titles on music, history, movies, popular lifestyle, computers and more. We have an office in New Delhi along with in London and New York . I work as the Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator. I am also passionate about dance and learn Jazz Ballet, Salsa and have tinkered a bit with Tap.

3. At Chillibreeze, we have a unique model of functioning: The writer works from the freedom offered at his home (the word 'confines' is not what we believe a home has). However this requires tremendous self discipline and time management skills . Could you let us into the secret: How do you multiplex your time between all these multifarious activities?

As I mentioned, I work full-time during the day, and over the evenings, read, develop and edit work for Chillibreeze. If the workload is heavy, I use my lunch break to research the topics and send out email s. Weekends are spent at cyber cafes (I do not have a computer at home) where I continue working for Chillibreeze. I wouldn't call myself too organised though! I just enjoy working and somehow always seem to find time.

4. Every work of art receives two types of critical reviews: positive and negative. How do you deal with negative criticism and how would you advise other writers to deal with it?

Hmmm.. Well, criticism is part of the learning game and helps us to become sharper and better at what we do. Writing is quite subjective, so there is loads of room for criticism! For instance, Indian writers write in a totally different style when compared to American writers. American writers and audiences value brevity and would like their articles to be concise and to the point. Indians tend to be flowery and verbose. If you know the criticism is not meant to be an attack on you and is meant to help you, then be mature about it and learn from it. However, sometimes things are integral to your own particular style and you have a valid reason for doing them. In those cases explain yourself and try and make whoever is involved understand your point of view and how it will work. You don’t always have to compromise if you can explain how something can add value or work just as well. Also sometimes if you feel the criticism is more of an attack, it’s better to take it with a pinch of salt. You’ll always be able to distinguish between constructive criticism and the other sort so it’s not so much of a problem.

I will give an example. I normally take time and am thorough in my work but there was this one time, when the deadline was fast approaching and I did a sketchy job and sent it in. It took the team by surprise as I normally am quite thorough. I received feedback that the article needed more research and it was weak and would need more 'meat' in it. It did sting and I did feel bad, but after that, I have never taken my work lightly.

5. Did Reem as a child ever dream of getting into the world of writing and editing? Were you one of these kids who wielded a pen instead of a toy?

Actually no! I don't think I ever saw myself as a writer. I think I wanted to get into International Relations or something. But I was a voracious reader. During my middle and high school, I studied in international schools in Pakistan and Mussorie. It was in my 12th that I started to get interested in writing and my teachers helped bring out my potential as a creative writer. I feel most voracious readers somehow transform into good writers maybe because they learn the various styles of writing and good grammar.

6. In just over a year, Chillibreeze has grown like a banyan tree and can boast of more than a thousand writers in our database. We are sending out our first newsletter for our writers! We choose you as the interviewee as you have helped Chillibreeze bloom the way it has. Is there a message that you would like to give to the 1500 Chillibreeze writers who are reading this just now?

I sometimes feel as if a lot of people are not really passionate about anything. Passion is so powerful and can make your existence so much more enjoyable. If you’ve been blessed with a little bit of talent in any area you are extremely lucky and should not take that for granted, don’t let your passion for something fizzle out. I understand that financial constraints or other circumstances can make it difficult to do so, but even if you do it part time or just for fun, don’t let it go.

Chillibreeze has 1500 writers in the databse -- now and this means that these writers have talent and passion. So, go ahead and nurture your passion and it will bring you greater satisfaction that you can imagine.

Thank You, Reem Khokhar. It was great having you on the phone. We look forward to working alongside with you in Chillibreeze for many more years.