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    Writing courses, free resources and webinars, and developmental editing Writing courses, free resources and webinars, and developmental editing
    • Home
    • About
      • About
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      • Testimonials
      • Contact
      • How to enrol
    • Courses
      • Events calendar
      • Venice Writing Retreat
      • Creative Writing Course
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      • A memoir weekend and a writing retreat in the Karoo
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    Archives

    Monthly Archive for: "April, 2023"
     You’re invited: Free Lessons from the London Book Fair webinar
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    By All About Writing
    In Invitations, Webinars
    Posted April 27, 2023

    You’re invited: Free Lessons from the London Book Fair webinar

    The London Book Fair is one of the great marketplaces of the book industry. Join our webinar on Wednesday 3 May to hear what Richard and our associate Jo Carr […]

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     The hidden secrets of writing with Ekow Duker
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    By Jo-Anne Richards
    In All About Writing, Books, Creative Writing Courses, How to write a book, The secrets behind the practice of good writing, Tips for Writers, writers
    Posted April 27, 2023

    The hidden secrets of writing with Ekow Duker

    Ekow Duker has published four novels since attending our flagship Creative Writing Course. Over time, we’ll be featuring all four in this blog series celebrating the books published by past […]

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     Monday Motivation: Mantel at Southwark Cathedral
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    By Richard Beynon
    In Monday Motivation, Richard Beynon's blog, Tips for Writers
    Posted April 24, 2023

    Monday Motivation: Mantel at Southwark Cathedral

    Hilary Mantel was memorialised at a gathering in Southwark Cathedral last week. The great and the good were in attendance. Zadie Smith read an extract from one of her books; […]

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     Monday Motivation: The courage to ask for help
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    By Richard Beynon
    In Monday Motivation, Richard Beynon's blog, Tips for Writers
    Posted April 17, 2023

    Monday Motivation: The courage to ask for help

    Writing, we all agree, is a lonely business. We toil away in solitude, dreaming up our characters, and plotting our stories. We gnaw at our thumbnails waiting for inspiration to […]

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     Win a free writing assessment with our April/May Flash Fiction Challenge
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    By Emma Hutton
    In Tips for Writers, Writing Challenge, Writing Competitions, Writing Exercises
    Posted April 11, 2023

    Win a free writing assessment with our April/May Flash Fiction Challenge

    All About Writing’s latest flash fiction challenge offers the winner a literary assessment on 5000 words of writing worth R 2900 / ÂŁ 170 or a voucher to the same […]

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     Monday Motivation: The simple secret to writing success
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    By Richard Beynon
    In Monday Motivation, Richard Beynon's blog, Tips for Writers
    Posted April 10, 2023

    Monday Motivation: The simple secret to writing success

    Trolling through the internet, I came across something called “survivorship bias”. Have you heard of it? Wikipedia puts it very succinctly: “Survivorship bias or survival bias is the logical [...]

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     Monday Motivation: The drama of dreams
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    By Richard Beynon
    In Monday Motivation, Richard Beynon's blog, Tips for Writers
    Posted April 3, 2023

    Monday Motivation: The drama of dreams

    By now you might have realised that I’m a dreamer. I return to wakefulness most mornings with the shreds of dreams falling about me, like confetti on a groom barely […]

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    📝 The Writer's Dual Consciousness Ever caught 📝 The Writer's Dual Consciousness Ever caught yourself living a moment while simultaneously crafting it into a story? You're not alone. This week we're exploring how writers navigate being both inside and outside their stories. Writing Tips * When you’re experiencing a moment that feels “story-worthy,” resist the immediate urge to mentally frame it as a scene. Instead, stay present in the experience first, then later set aside dedicated time to reflect on it as a writer. This helps maintain the authenticity of both the experience and your eventual writing. * Keep a “dual perspective” journal where you record events twice: first as you experienced them in the moment, and then from your more analytical writer’s perspective. This practice helps you understand how your observing mind transforms raw experience into narrative. * When writing about personal experiences, explicitly acknowledge both your participating and observing selves. Try writing the same scene twice – once from deep within the experience, and once from a more distant, observational viewpoint. This can add richness and depth to your narrative. Writing Exercise Choose a significant memory from your past. Write about it twice in 15-minute sessions: First, write it as if you’re reliving it in the present moment, focusing purely on immediate sensations and emotions. Then, write it again as if you’re watching it happen to someone else, noting patterns and meanings that weren’t apparent in the moment. Compare the two versions – what different truths emerge from each perspective? . . . #MondayWritingMotivation #memoirwriting #writingprocess #writingtips #writingcommunity #amwriting
    Book launch invitation: Please join the ONE LIFE a Book launch invitation: Please join the ONE LIFE authors at two launch events on 5 and 12 December. Register here: ow.ly/HkLy50UgyGj At this celebration of ONE LIFE, the writers will share their insights and experience, and will talk about the POWER of the short story. The editors will also be present. Joanne Hichens on the 5th and 12th and Karina Szczurek on the 12th. You will have the opportunity to ask the authors questions about their stories, their writing process and short stories in general. Get inspired to write your own short story. https://ow.ly/Lt2m50UhvPw
    The many jobs that the setting of your story can d The many jobs that the setting of your story can do Tip 14/14 Sensory immersion Detailed descriptions of place engage readers' senses, making the story more vivid and immersive. Authors like Proust excel at this. Here’s a passage from his magnus opus: In Search of Lost Time: "The Swanns’ drawing-room was a room such as one no longer sees today, lofty and spacious, of the kind which expressed a certain social status, and which must have been kept in repair at a considerable cost. An odour of old furniture, of curtains saturated with dust and perfumes, of tapestry permeated with the emanations of winter fires, brought to mind the tranquil dignity of aristocratic households where life is led in seclusion, amid family relics. Against the walls the large, empty armchairs, covered in silk, upholstered with light green damask and embroidered with multi-coloured flowers, were stationed in front of the fireplace, forming a kind of solemn tribunal. The flames crackled and sent reflections flickering up to the ceiling, where the ceiling-rose cast shadows like the petals of some enormous flower opening slowly to reveal itself." Detail, remember, is what the living blood of narrative fiction. Engage as many of the reader’s sense and plunge them into your setting, and your story. . . . #SensoryImmersion #Detail #StorytellingTips #StorySettings
    Writing Wisdom from Venice 16/16 Writing with rest Writing Wisdom from Venice 16/16 Writing with restraint is about holding back, not telling your reader too much. But restraint also means we should try to write more obliquely. It’s a form of showing, rather than telling. Give us the evidence – the details which we need to interpret – but don’t actually do the interpreting. Let your reader do that. Show the smoke, let us infer the fire. #WritingRetreat #VeniceWritersRetreat #Creativity #AmWriting
    ✨ Light the Dark: Free Short Story Writing Works ✨ Light the Dark: Free Short Story Writing Workshops ✨ Spark your creativity with Short.Sharp.Stories! Explore what POWER means to you - from speech to speed, electricity to creation. 🎯 Develop your anthology submission 📝 Hands-on writing experience 💡 Fresh content each session Join us: Nov 23 & 30 14:00-16:00 SAST Register via the link in bio . . . #writingcompetition #writingcontest #writingworkshop #shortstory
    Writing Wisdom from Venice 15/16 Restraint is an Writing Wisdom from Venice 15/16 Restraint is an essential ingredient for suspense in your writing. Give your readers a nibble at the facts, rather than the whole leg of lamb, and they’ll be hungry for more. #WritingRetreat #VeniceWritersRetreat #WritingTips #AmWriting
    The many jobs that the setting of your story can d The many jobs that the setting of your story can do Tip 14/14 Sensory immersion Detailed descriptions of place engage readers' senses, making the story more vivid and immersive. Authors like Proust excel at this. Here’s a passage from his magnus opus: 'In Search of Lost Time': "The Swanns’ drawing-room was a room such as one no longer sees today, lofty and spacious, of the kind which expressed a certain social status, and which must have been kept in repair at a considerable cost. An odour of old furniture, of curtains saturated with dust and perfumes, of tapestry permeated with the emanations of winter fires, brought to mind the tranquil dignity of aristocratic households where life is led in seclusion, amid family relics. Against the walls the large, empty armchairs, covered in silk, upholstered with light green damask and embroidered with multi-coloured flowers, were stationed in front of the fireplace, forming a kind of solemn tribunal. The flames crackled and sent reflections flickering up to the ceiling, where the ceiling-rose cast shadows like the petals of some enormous flower opening slowly to reveal itself." Detail, remember, is what the living blood of narrative fiction. Engage as many of the reader’s sense and plunge them into your setting, and your story. #StorytellingTips #StorySettings #AmWriting
    Writing Wisdom from Venice 14/16 Readers enjoy fi Writing Wisdom from Venice 14/16 Readers enjoy figuring things out. They’re flattered by the realisation that the writer believes them intelligent enough to work things out for themselves. This is why it’s almost always better to give your readers too little than too much. . . . #WritingRetreat #VeniceWritersRetreat #Creativity #AmWriting
    The many jobs that the setting of your story can d The many jobs that the setting of your story can do Tip 13/14 Narrative structure The movement between places can structure the narrative. Joseph Conrad used this technique in Heart of Darkness. The novel is structured around the journey up the Congo River: "Going up that river was like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth and the big trees were kings. An empty stream, a great silence, an impenetrable forest. The air was warm, thick, heavy, sluggish. There was no joy in the brilliance of sunshine. The long stretches of the waterway ran on, deserted, into the gloom of overshadowed distances. On silvery sand-banks hippos and alligators sunned themselves side by side. The broadening waters flowed through a mob of wooded islands; you lost your way on that river as you would in a desert, and butted all day long against shoals, trying to find the channel, till you thought yourself bewitched and cut off for ever from everything you had known once—somewhere—far away—in another existence perhaps." Think of a journey, then structure a story round it. The journey becomes a metaphor, and a convenient structure to support the unfolding story. . . . . #StorytellingTips #NarrativeStructure #JosephConrad #StorySettings
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    NEWS & TIPS
    • The Writer’s Dual Consciousness: Being Both Inside and Outside Your Story
      The Writer’s Dual Consciousness: Being Both Inside and Outside Your Story
    • Short Story Workshop
      Short Story Workshop
    • Short Story Webinar replay and info about two free workshops
      Short Story Webinar replay and info about two free workshops
    • How Many Jobs Can Your Story’s Setting Do?
      How Many Jobs Can Your Story’s Setting Do?
    • Mining Your Inner World to Create Characters
      Mining Your Inner World to Create Characters
    • Crafting Powerful Short Stories
      Crafting Powerful Short Stories
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