Allaboutwriting

The Publishing Process: Celebrating African story-telling

It’s Short Story Day Africa on Friday the 21st and, to celebrate the event, fellow writer Rachel Zadok has asked writers from around the continent to answer 21 questions about themselves and their work, that she says “followers want to know about writers in Africa.” Here are mine. Viva Short Story Day, viva The Interview Do … Continue reading »

Monday Motivation: A winter walk by moonlight

-Richard Beynon Writing’s as much a matter of choosing the right word, the felicitous phrase, the perfect image as it is keeping the big picture in mind. What’s easier to teach – and easier to learn – is the big stuff. Getting your point of view right. Starting off with a bang – or with … Continue reading »

June 100 word writing challenge

Remember this famous six-word short story with which Ernest Hemingway won a $10 bet: “For Sale, Baby Shoes, Never Worn”? Try to break our hearts in under 100 words. Try not to be heavy-handed or obvious. Notice how Hemingway’s very obliquity adds to the tragedy, by actively drawing the reader into the action, forcing them to add their … Continue reading »

The Publishing Process: Everything changes – but what would Virginia Woolf say?

-Jo-Anne Richards When a friend and I did the obligatory backpacking thing through Europe, we made a habit of finding gathering spots for English speakers in every new city we reached. We weren’t desperate for the sound of English. We needed to swop books. And I want to tell you, we suffered for it in … Continue reading »

The Publishing Process: On readers and reading

-Jo-Anne Richards Should you censor what your children read? I firmly believe that you shouldn’t, but I ask because it was raised by a member of the audience when I was a panelist a couple of weeks ago. I suppose it was bound to come up because Sarah Lotz was discussing her recent book deal, with … Continue reading »

The trouble with writing

Reblogged from mandycollinswriter: I think this is the fifth blog post I’ve started today. The previous four – all on different topics – bored me to tears, and I’m of the view that if they bore me, they’re likely to bore you. (As @fgriebenow quipped on Twitter, it’s possible I’m suffering from writer’s blog.) But … Continue reading »

The Publishing Process: What writers really talk about

-Jo-Anne Richards What do writers talk about among themselves at book fair openings? Well, naturally (as everyone knows), they discuss how they’ll do away with themselves when the money runs out. This is a recurring and time-honoured conversation. It involves animated comparison of various inspired methods, inventive styles to suit original personalities, generous offers of … Continue reading »

Monday Motivation: Every problem’s a gateway

-Richard Beynon No, I haven’t gone into hiding – or retired. My lame (but perfectly accurate) excuse for this prolonged hiatus is that I’ve been overwhelmed by work. But the thought of retirement – as a writer – is an interesting one – and one that was explored in a thoughtful essay in The New … Continue reading »

June Monthly Workshop Invitation

The rise of e-publishing has had a startling effect on the way books are written, published and sold around the world, and no-one really knows what the long term holds for the traditional book. And so, we’ve invited Ben Williams, the founder of Books LIVE, to come and share his views on the future of … Continue reading »

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