The Writers' College
Issue 36 NewsletterMarch 2012
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In This Issue
Q&A WITH SONNY WHITELAW
LATEST COLLEGE NEWS
HAVE YOU SEEN OUR BLOG SITE?
COMPETITION TIME!
 
 
Writers' College Links...

 
 
 

 

 

Join Our Mailing List

 

 

 

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 Read our Blog

 

Dear Reader  

 

I recently stumbled upon a gem of a website called BetterWritingHabits.com, and I found an article that had me cringing in embarrassment. The article in question relayed the top seven excuses writers use not to write. The excuses include busyness, writers' block, lack of confidence, being too tired and procrastination (among others). Sound familiar?

 

In my last editorial I spoke about resolutions for 2012. Since then I know I've strayed a bit from my resolution to hang on to the "happier, sunnier and positive January spirit" and have since found myself anxious over things I can't control and procrastinating because I've trained myself to work best under pressure - basically using all seven excuses on any given day. But that's me. What about you?

 

If you're having trouble applying bum to chair, or you've lost some confidence in your writing, know that you're not alone. Every writer feels inadequate at times. If you've lost the lustre, think about why you started pursuing your dream of being a writer in the first place. Either you, or someone close to you, must have believed that you could do it.

 

Remember, "the wastebasket is a writer's best friend" (according to Isaac Bashevis). No-one needs to see your first draft but you, so just start writing. Forget about how good your content is and just let your thoughts flow freely. Read some of the blogs I've listed below and put their words into practice (because practice always comes before perfection). James Michener had the right idea here:

 

I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent rewriter.

 

Write that down.

 

Sam

 

P.S. Here's some food for thought, writer to writer:

 

Is Your Busyness Your Fault?

 

Procrastinating Writers: guidance for writers who struggle to get started 

 

50 Ideas to Immediately Combat Writer's Block

 

 

SAMANTHA MOOLMAN (Editor of The Writers' College News,  fellow writer, blogger and part-time journalism lecturer)

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Message from the Principal

  

I had to chuckle when I recently read Winston Churchill's definition of success: "Success is the ability to go from one failure to another without losing enthusiasm."

 

How right he is, and yet, how often don't we shy away from failure, hide mistakes and rejections in the dark recesses of our minds, and focus instead on the dangling carrot of success.

 

In the film Meet the Robinsons, Wilbur Robinson's family break into a joyful ditty every time one of the Robinsons' inventions don't work out. Now that's embracing failure with enthusiasm.

 

The problem with a success-orientated approach is that, after one or two failures, we think we need to give up. Imagine if all great inventors, artists and athletes used that approach? We'd have none of the amazing feats and artworks man has produced.

 

It's the same with writing. The successful writer is the one who perseveres, who hands in the assignments, who keeps going despite 'failures' like bad writing days and rejection letters.

 

So the trick is, instead of being 'success-obsessed', to become devotees of Failure. Let's write up a storm this year, enter competitions, submit stories for publication, and bravely face the rejection letters if and when they come. That way we know we're truly playing the game of being real writers.

 

 

The Writers' CollegeNichola (Principal of The Writers' College)

 

 

CONTACT US:

 

Principal: NICHOLA MEYER  E-mail Nichola  

 

Student queries and applications: KOOS TURENHOUT  E-mail Koos   

Q&A WITH ACCLAIMED NOVELIST, SONNY WHITELAW

 

 

 

We at The Writers' College are privileged to have award-winning novelist, Sonny Whitelaw, as a Write a Novel Course tutor for the New Zealand branch. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to ask her about her work experience, and what life is like as an author:

 

 

 

 

 

Q. How did you become a writer?

 

In 1981, I was working as a commercial underwater photographer to pay my way through university when Australian Boating asked me if I would write an article. A week after it was published Ansett Airlines asked me if I would do a series of photo articles on Vanuatu for their in-flight magazine. I was writing a Master's thesis on climate change at the time, and even back then it was a political nightmare, so a month's paid holiday in a tropical paradise sounded like a fine idea... (Read the rest here.)

 

Q : What has been your greatest writing achievement?

 

During a debate in Queensland (Australia) State Parliament, Barbara Stone MP gave a speech explaining why she supported a Bill to halt unrestrained land clearing. She had just read my first novel The Rhesus Factor, and was alarmed by the grimly realistic picture of the consequences of environmental mismanagement. She urged all Members of Parliament to read my novel so that they too could understand why the Bill to protect native vegetation was so crucial.

 

The Bill was passed.

 

Q. How do you decide what to write about? Where do you get ideas?

 

Read the rest of this article on our blog site, where Sonny shares how easy (or difficult) it is to make a living as an author and also dispels some writing tips and advice for aspiring novelists.

LATEST COLLEGE NEWS

 

NEW COURSES

 

We're so proud of our new courses we opened this year.

 

The Writers' CollegeThe Break through Your Writing Barriers Course with creativity coach Sally Mazak is a ground-breaking approach to maximising your writing potential. Based on the best-selling work of Julia Cameron and Mark Bryan (The Artists Way at Work), this course is a gentle, enriching programme for any writer who feels stuck in their process, or who knows that with a few tweaks, they can unleash their writing dreams.

 

Scriptwriting for Games and Digital Media is another course destined to be huge over the next few years. Tutored by the acclaimed scriptwriter Edwin McRae, game writers can now learn all the skills they need to write block-buster scripts for digital media.

 

The Basics of Feature Writing is the perfect course for anyone who wants to hone their article-writing skills, whether they write for magazines, newspapers, newsletters or webzines. This course focuses on the structure, content and layout required for writing compelling articles.

 

NEW TUTORS

 

We have wonderful new tutors that we have welcomed over the past two months.

 

Justin Fox and Ed Richardson have joined us to tutor on the journalism courses (travel and broadcast).

 

Sonny Whitelaw and Philippa Werry are both award-winning writers in New Zealand. They have joined our team on the 'write a novel' courses.

 

Owen Bullock, Fiona Zerbst and Majella Cullinane are now running the poetry course, as Liesl Jobson is dedicating herself to her studies this year.

 

We also have award-winning journalist Sarah Lang tutoring the Magazine Journalism course in New Zealand.

 

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS

 

We are delighted to hear that some of our students recently had writing accepted for publication.

 

For anyone who bought the O, the Oprah Magazine in January, our short story writing student, Kirti Ranchod, was featured looking gorgeous and glam, as the winner of the O Magazine Short Story Competition. We are over the moon with her achievement.

 

Canadian student on the Short Story Writing Course Jennifer Copeland has had a story, "Table for Two" accepted by Peoples Friend. It's notoriously difficult to get fiction accepted by magazines, so a massive congratulations to Jennifer.

 

Amanda Bidwell wins our February 2012 My Writing Journey with her delightful story 'The Other Woman'. Read her story on our blog. The closing date for the next My Writing Journey Competition is 30 June 2012. All entries can be sent to [email protected], and the competition is open to writers from around the world.

 

Zunia Boucher-Myers, a graduate of our Magazine Journalism Course, now writes for a magazine called "Alice' as their 'lifestyle/cooking/ features writer.
http://www.alicemagazine.co.za/Alice/Issue_03.html
 Well done Zunia!

 

Amanda Bidwell completed the Magazine Journalism Course in 2011 and has just had her article on blogging accepted by Her Magazine. Congratulations Amanda!

HAVE YOU SEEN OUR BLOG SITE?

 


The Writers' College Blog is where all three WC campuses come together as a community. Our bloggers share their insights and personal experiences in each of their fields and hope to inspire Writers' College students to forge ahead in their writing aspirations. So visit our blog site for some industry insight and tools of the trade. In the meantime, here are some snippets that may pique your interest:

 

 

Where to submit poems

Poetry has seen a huge revival over the past few years. One question that aspirant poets have - after they've managed to write a few poems - is where to submit their poems for publication. There are plenty of options available, especially for online journals and e-zines, but finding a popular, respected and credible publication can often be challenging.

 

Online poetry journals gaining favour

While people often feel that having their work published online is not quite as good as having it in print, this is no longer the case. Online media is constantly growing its reputation for excellence. Let's take a look at some of the best places to submit poetry online... (Read the rest)

  

(2) Breaking Into Journalism (Part I of II) - by Samantha Moolman

 

The journalism industry can sometimes feel like a secret society that you need a special key or password to get into. The old adage 'it's not what you know it's who you know' is an undisputed fact, and especially depressing if you don't 'know' anyone on the inside. I know how disheartening it can be to have all this passion and talent and no platform from which to share it.

 

The walls of a newsroom or magazine publishing house can seem impenetrable.

 

You can't get a job without experience, and you can't really get experience without having had experience before that... and so the story goes. It's almost as if a new journalist is a hot potato that gets passed around from publication to publication; and somewhere along the line, if you're lucky, some kind editor might decide to throw you a bone, and so your career begins. But what if you have no such luck? Where does that leave you, the aspiring journalist still desperate to gain entrance into this 'secret society'? (Read the rest)

 

(3) Five Essential Tips for Web-Content Writers - by Greg Knowles 

 

Designing a good website means more than just making it look good. People need to be able to find the information on your site, and what's more, it needs to be compelling.

 

Stats show, that when a person arrives at a website, they will stay for no more than seven seconds - unless the written web-content compels them to stay longer.

 

Here are five things web-content writers should do to write compelling content:

 

1.     Identify the website's goal.

 

Websites are created with different goals in mind.  Some common goals are:

  • Imparting information - e.g. a news site.
  • Sharing information - e.g. a family history site.
  • Promoting a product - e.g. launching a new product to existing clients.
  • Selling a product - e.g. an e-commerce site.
  • Entertainment - e.g. a movie review site.

The way words are used will vary depending on the website's goal.  Make sure before you start that you understand what the website is seeking to accomplish.

 

2.     Research keywords and phrases.

 

(Read the rest)

COMPETITION TIME!
 
Writing competitions are a great source of inspiration. With a topic and a definitive deadline, your creative juices will get going in no time. So pick a date, pick a topic and get cracking. If you're a student from South Africa, don't miss the SAWC Short Story Competition deadline: 31 March 2012
 
 
And here are some other competitions everyone can enter: 
Closing date: 30 March 2012

 

Closing date: 31 March 2012
 
Closing date: 1 May 2012
 
If your writing is aimed for a more local readership, country-specific competitions can be found on the bottom right-hand corner of our individual home pages. Keep checking in for updates!

 

www.nzwriterscollege.co.nz

My Writing Journey Competition

 

Write us a 1000-word story about your journey as a writer. Make it funny, quirky, inspirational. We will publish the best story in our quarterly newsletter and on our blog. Plus the winner gets $200 (R1000 or �100). Send your story to [email protected]. Open to our newsletter subscribers from all around the world.

 

The next My Writing Journey competition closes noon on  30 June 2012.