Writers' College Links...
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Dear writer
'I don't see any use in having a uniform and arbitrary way of spelling words. We might as well make all clothes alike and cook all dishes alike. Sameness is tiresome; variety is pleasing.' - Mark Twain
Mark Twain didn't have much respect for good spelling (despite the fact that he was a naturally good speller). And, indeed, you don't have to be a good speller to be a great writer - Jane Austen and F Scott Fitzgerald are just two literary luminaries who couldn't spell their way out of a paper bag.
But sloppy syntax, spelling, grammar and punctuation can negatively affect the way a potential publisher sees your work. After all, if you can't go to the trouble of getting these basics right, can the credibility of your content be trusted?
Thanks to technology, getting 'the nuts and bolts' right is easier today than ever before - but don't make the mistake of trusting your computer's spellchecker to pick up every error you make, because many English words and phrases rely on context for their correct spelling. Rather use a dictionary or a thesaurus if you're unsure.
All that said, don't let poor spelling or difficulty with punctuation stop you writing. If you know that grammar, punctuation and spelling are your weak points, get a friend who's good at them to proofread your work before you submit it. The college also offers excellent grammar courses that could help clarify and explain some of the more puzzling aspects of the English language.
Look at the syntax errors your tutors point out as opportunities to learn how to do it the right way. And, of course, practise, practise, practise - it's the best way to improve your writing.
Yours in writing creatively and correctly!
Tracey
Tracey Hawthorne
Editor
The Writers' College Newsletter
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MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Welcome to our new editor for the Writers' College Newsletter - Tracey Hawthorne. Tracey has worked for us for the past five years. She's not only a prolific writer and a successful editor in her daily life, but also a beloved magazine journalism tutor at our writing school. Find out more about Tracey in her Q & A profile below. And then, it's time to say goodbye to our previous editor, Michelle Nothling, who has returned to university for further studies. Michelle did a wonderful job compiling the newsletter in 2012, and we hope she will come back to proofread and edit for us once she has more available time. Our very best wishes for a successful 2013 for you Michelle. Happy writing everyone! Nichola Meyer (Principal of The Writers' College) www.sawriterscollege.co.zawww.nzwriterscollege.co.nzwww.ukwriterscollege.co.uk
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FOUND ON THE WEB: HOW IMPORTANT ARE THE 'NUTS AND BOLTS'?
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COLLEGE NEWS
Our National Writing Competition in South Africa
A huge congratulations to the winners of our 2013 SA Writers' College Short Story Competition.
Our winners are:
First place: Carla Lever for 'Food for Thought'
New Courses at The Writers' College
We have opened some great new courses.
 Our Copy-editing and Proofreading Course opened for applications in May. This course is aimed at those who wish to become copy-editors or proofreaders, and provides a toolkit to get started in this field. The course would also benefit writers who wish to learn more about editing and proofreading their own work. Contact us for the full curriculum and course details.
We launched the Kortfiksie- en Kitsfiksie-Kursus for Afrikaans writers of shorter fiction. The course is tutored by the esteemed, multi-award-winning writer Eben Venter. This course is perfect for Afrikaans writers who want to enter short stories into writing competitions, or who wish to compile an anthology of their own work.
Our well known Copywriting Course, tutored by Mandy Speechly, has been revamped to include copywriting for websites and online banner advertisements. This exciting course provides the latest thinking and tools in advertising and marketing.
Finally, keep an eye out for our new grammar crash course opening this winter. Targeting English writers in the workplace or at home, this course helps eliminate common grammar errors, and improves punctuation and spelling. We kickstart the course with a free online 5-day Grammar Zap. More details on our Facebook page soon.
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STUDENT SUCCESS STORIES
Well done to our fabulous graduate students who are garnering up success from all corners of the globe.  | | Koh Samui, Rosanne Turner's current home in the Gulf of Thailand |
Rosanne Turner completed the Travel Writing Course in 2008. She has sold dozens of articles to travel publications, including Thai Airways' in-flight magazine, Sawasdee, Samui Holiday Magazine, the Wining & Dining magazine and American holiday publication, Interval. She has written for South East Asia's biggest travel website, travelfish.org since 2011. Rosanne epitomises the perfect travel writing graduate: industrious, tenacious and thinking globally! Read her inspirational story here. Janet Hart from New Zealand completed the Magazine Journalism course last May. She has had pieces published on the webzine Kiwiboomers. The Nelson, Marlborough lifestyle magazine WildTomato recently published one of her articles. Canterbury's lifestyle magazine Latitude and the Kiwi historical magazine Memories have accepted her work. Two more articles are in the pipeline. Fingers crossed for Janet! Stella Motsatsi completed the Short Story Writing for Magazines Course. She has had a story published in DRUM magazine - called 'Gabisile the Gang Buster'. Liz Robbertze recently completed the Magazine Journalism Course. Her article "A Durbanite Home for the Holidays" is featured in the online magazine www.durbanzone.com. She also had another article accepted for publication in a local magazine in Westville, Durban called "Crime Zero". Ansie van der Walt completed the Magazine Journalism Course in 2011. She Well done to all of you! |
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SPOTLIGHT ON: TRACEY HAWTHORNE
 Tracey is this year's editor of The Writers' College Newsletter. She's a prolific contributor to magazines, has authored several books, edits and subedits, and lectures and tutors. We asked her...
How did you become a writer?
I've always loved books and reading, and as an extension of that, I've also always loved writing. I don't think I 'became' a writer; I think I always was a writer - although obviously, with time and experience, I've become a better writer. I still learn new things about writing every day.
Read the rest of the article here.
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ON OUR WEBZINE
Our webzine is a fantastic place to find guidance, writing tips and information. Immerse yourself in the world of writing.
Think proofreading isn't important? Think again - by Greg Walker
Proofreading. The word alone is enough to bore the socks off most writers. After going through the whole creative process and editing your work down to a work of art bordering on the sublime, you're presented with the wearisome process of taking a magnifying glass to your sentences and going on a hunt for misplaced commas.
And yet... misplaced commas can be very costly indeed. About as costly as futile full stops, pointless paragraph breaks, and using grandiose-sounding words in completely the wrong places.
Read the rest of Greg's article here.
Q & A with Martinique Stilwell, author of Thinking up a Hurricane - by Adele McCann
It takes courage to pursue a dream, such as to sail around the world, become a doctor or write a book. Martinique Stilwell's book Thinking up a Hurricane is, in essence, about the realisation of these dreams.
Read the rest of Adele's article here.
Five Apps to Kick-start Your Magazine Journalism Career - by Fatima Bheekoo-Shah
While your Moleskine may never go out fashion, technology changes at a rapid pace. Ilicco Elia, the head of mobile at Reuters Media, claims, 'Journalists should be mobile.' Use the latest technology to help you do the basic tasks of journalism on the run. These five apps get you to work more effectively and can give you a headstart in your writing career.
Read the rest of Fatima's article here.
Further reading suggestions from our blog:
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MY WRITING JOURNEY COMPETITION
My Persistent Muse: The Tortoise - by Keren Hoy.
This is the Year of the Tortoise: the year I write my book. It will be about my journey through the year, and about patience and sureness of purpose. It will take all year to write.
Some writing in the past has been hare-like, having to meet deadlines, leaving me and my family with ears pinned back and sore feet from the dash. This will be different. It is fitting that it will be a process and a journey, for that is what my writing life has been so far.
Even daring to call myself "a writer" took almost forty years. After that, I took the next step of completing a magazine journalism course. The magazine writing course was based on working progressively towards a final article, and the first hurdle was to find a topic. Tea-bags? Babies? Job-hunting? Which topic should I choose?
A visit to Butterfly World in Paarl helped me focus, not on butterflies, or zoos, but on a pet from my childhood: tortoises. Read the rest here.
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COMPETITION TIME!
Competitions you can enter:
For regular competitions, or if your writing is aimed at a more local readership, country-specific competitions can be found on the bottom right-hand corner of our individual home pages. There you will also find regular, monthly and weekly competitions. Keep checking in for updates!
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