Welcome to the Writers College Newsletter  
August 2016
THE CREATIVITY ISSUE




 In this Issue

Setting your imagination free - seeing the world in new ways, finding hidden patterns, making unique connections - is a writer's first step.

The second is the act of creation: stringing together carefully selected words in such a way that you successfully communicate your distinctive vision to your readers.

In this issue, we look at creativity and some ways to get it flowing.

Best wishes

Tracey Hawthorne
Editor
 
FOUND ON THE WEBFoundontheWeb

Shut down your inner editor
Can you write nonstop for 5 minutes? How about an hour? With this app, if you stop for too long, you'll lose everything you've written up to that point.

Write creatively without distractions
And here's another bit of (free) software to help you flex your writing creativity. 
 
What makes something 'Kafkaesque'?
Does standing in a long line to fill out confusing paperwork fully capture the nightmarish richness of Franz Kafka's vision?

What does writing well really look like?
Great ideas are all well and good, but without proper structure, your writing won't do its job.

The parts-of-speech poem
Here's a creative way to remember what the various parts of speech are called and what their jobs are.

Online inspiration
Here are some great online resources to inspire creativity.
 
STUDENT NEWSsTUDENTNEWS
 
Hearty congratulations to these students for getting published. What a feat!
 
Student Jane Dotchin on the Write Short Stories for Magazines Course has had a short story accepted for publication by Fictive Dreams.
 
Londa Cele has had another short story accepted by Drum magazine.
 
Pieter du Toit, who successfully completed the Tydskrifjoernalistieke kursus, had his article on handmade concertinas published in the Pretoria Record.
 
Yolande van Deventer, also a graduate of the Tydskrifjoernalistieke kursus, wrote an article on Port Alfred. It has been published in Troukoors, as well as the first issue of Ezpre Magazine (Des 2015/Jan 2016).
 
Adam Butchart is a graduate of the Magazine Journalism Course at NZ Writers College. He has been writing articles for Villainesse.com.
 

 
Find out more....
'MY WRITING JOURNEY' COMPETITION WINNERWritingjourney

A 'cartographer of words', Do Hyun Kang's writing journey began when he turned 100 days old, and came into its own during a period of immense difficulty in a new country.

Read his winning entry here.
ON OUR WEBZINE ONOURWEBZINE


Online criticism and trolls - how to cope as a writer
Learn how to deal with the onslaught of online criticism with these tips from experts, compiled by Marissa Rossouw Smith.
 
Q&A with Ishara Maharaj
The author of the novel Namaste Life, which was midwifed partly by the South African Writers' College's 'Write a Novel' course, tells us how she did it.

What science writers can teach us about good writing
Hamish Cameron tells us how science writers have adapted to the interconnected world of journalism and social media, leaving the halls of academia and streaming their knowledge across the planet.
 
How to master flash writing
Where do you get your ideas from? Trish Nicholson takes her cue from something on her desk or whatever she sees out of the window, and uses that as a starting point for her flash fiction.
COMPETITION TIME COMPETITIONS


Aesthetica Creative Writing Award
Deadline: 31 August
More details here.

Kathy Fish Flash Fiction Fellowship
Deadline: 15 September
More details here.

Manchester Fiction Prize 
Deadline: 23 September 
More details here.

Galley Beggar Press 2016/17 Short Story Prize
Deadline: 30 September
More details here.
 
NZ Writers College 2016 Short Story Competition 
Deadline: 30 September 
More details here.

Bath Children's Novel Award
Deadline: 20 November 2016
More details here.

Fish Short Story Contest
Deadline: 30 November
More details here.
My Writing Journey Competition 
September 2016

Write us a 1 000-word story about your journey as a writer. Make it funny, quirky or inspirational. We'll publish the best story in our newsletter and on our blog - plus the winner will get $200 (R1 000 or £100). Read the rules.

Send your story to nichola@nzwriterscollege.co.nz.

 

Open to our newsletter subscribers from around the world.

 

The next 'My Writing Journey' competition closes at noon on 30 September 2016.
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