• Home
  • About
    • About
    • Facilitators
    • Testimonials
    • Contact
    • How to enrol
  • Courses
    • Events calendar
    • Venice Writing Retreat
    • Creative Writing Course
    • Stow-on-the-Wold Writing Weekend
    • A memoir weekend and a writing retreat in the Karoo
  • Shop
  • Free resources
    • Free offerings for writers
    • Downloadable writing resources
  • Blog
  • Community Hub
    0

    Cart

    Writing courses, free resources and webinars, and developmental editing Writing courses, free resources and webinars, and developmental editing
    • Home
    • About
      • About
      • Facilitators
      • Testimonials
      • Contact
      • How to enrol
    • Courses
      • Events calendar
      • Venice Writing Retreat
      • Creative Writing Course
      • Stow-on-the-Wold Writing Weekend
      • A memoir weekend and a writing retreat in the Karoo
    • Shop
    • Free resources
      • Free offerings for writers
      • Downloadable writing resources
    • Blog
    • Community Hub

    Author Q&A

     Author Q and A – Jennifer Withers – Gloam
    By Jo-Anne Richards
    In Author Q&A, Jo-Anne Richard's blog, The secrets behind the practice of good writing
    Posted September 25, 2024

    Author Q and A – Jennifer Withers – Gloam

    Our Author Q and A series celebrates All About Writing community members. We hope this blog will inspire you to write, help motivate you to get to the finish line, […]

    READ MORE
     Author Q and A: Jennifer Withers – Gloam
    By Jo-Anne Richards
    In Author Q&A, Jo-Anne Richard's blog, The secrets behind the practice of good writing
    Posted September 13, 2024

    Author Q and A: Jennifer Withers – Gloam

    Our Author Q and A series celebrates All About Writing community members. We hope this blog will help motivate you to get to the finish line, offer support to the […]

    READ MORE
     How to write and publish a book: Tips from author Patrick Mork
     0
    By Emma Hutton
    In Author Q&A, The secrets behind the practice of good writing, Tips for Writers
    Posted July 20, 2023

    How to write and publish a book: Tips from author Patrick Mork

    Richard recently collaborated with business guru and author Patrick Mork on his memoir/ self-help book,  Step Back and Leap: 9 Keys to Unlock Your Life and Make Sh*t Happen. In […]

    READ MORE
     Q&A with Jane Evans – author of “A Path Unexpected”
     0
    By Emma Hutton
    In Author Q&A, The secrets behind the practice of good writing, Tips for Writers
    Posted June 28, 2023

    Q&A with Jane Evans – author of “A Path Unexpected”

    Jane Evans is the former CEO of Ntataise Network Support Programme, which provides extensive early childhood development across South Africa. She has been part of our community for many years, [...]

    READ MORE
     Q&A with Elizabeth Eksteen – author of “Behind the Mask”
     0
    By Emma Hutton
    In Author Q&A, The secrets behind the practice of good writing, Tips for Writers
    Posted May 31, 2023

    Q&A with Elizabeth Eksteen – author of “Behind the Mask”

    As part our Author Showcase Series, we will be publishing Q&As with recently published community members. We hope these blogs will help motivate you to get to the finish line, […]

    READ MORE
     Joanne Hichens chats to us about her memoir, and on writing.
     0
    By Jo-Anne Richards
    In Author Q&A
    Posted November 19, 2020

    Joanne Hichens chats to us about her memoir, and on writing.

    Joanne Hichens lost first her mother, then in quick succession, her husband, her father, and her mother-in-law – two deaths anticipated, two coming as the worst kind of shock. In […]

    READ MORE
     The Eleventh Month authors Q&A: Jane D’Abbs
     2
    By All About Writing
    In Author Q&A
    Posted July 23, 2017

    The Eleventh Month authors Q&A: Jane D’Abbs

    On a weekend in November 2016, a number of writers gathered at Temenos, in the village of McGregor in the Western Cape. In addition to the writers at Temenos, others were tethered […]

    READ MORE
     The Eleventh Month authors Q&A: Ingrid van den Berg
     0
    By All About Writing
    In Author Q&A
    Posted July 14, 2017

    The Eleventh Month authors Q&A: Ingrid van den Berg

    On a weekend in November 2016, a number of writers gathered at Temenos, in the village of McGregor in the Western Cape. In addition to the writers at Temenos, others were tethered […]

    READ MORE
     Eleventh Month authors Q&A: Merle Grace
     0
    By All About Writing
    In Author Q&A
    Posted June 30, 2017

    Eleventh Month authors Q&A: Merle Grace

    On a weekend in November 2016, a number of writers gathered at Temenos, in the village of McGregor in the Western Cape. In addition to the writers at Temenos, others were tethered […]

    READ MORE
     Q&A with Tracy Todd, author of Brave Lotus Flower Rides the Dragon
     0
    By All About Writing
    In Author Q&A
    Posted February 21, 2017

    Q&A with Tracy Todd, author of Brave Lotus Flower Rides the Dragon

    Tracy Todd, a past mentoring participant launches her memoir, Brave Lotus Flower Rides the Dragon, on February 23 at the Riverside Mall, in Mbombela (Nelspruit). More than anything, this is […]

    READ MORE
     Q&A with Tracy Todd, author of Brave Lotus Flower Rides the Dragon
    By All About Writing
    In Author Q&A
    Posted February 14, 2017

    Q&A with Tracy Todd, author of Brave Lotus Flower Rides the Dragon

    Tracy Todd, a past mentoring participant published her memoir, Brave Lotus Flower Rides the Dragon,  More than anything, this is a love story – a tale of courage and transcendence, […]

    READ MORE
    INSTAGRAM
    The many jobs that the setting of your story can d The many jobs that the setting of your story can do Tip 4/14 Cultural context: The setting provides essential cultural information that shapes characters' behaviours and choices. Take this passage from Arnold Bennett’s Anna of the Five Towns, set in the pottery-producing heartland of Staffordshire: “Everywhere the view was bounded by furnaces and chimneys; they were innumerable, of all shapes, heights, and colours, and each had behind it a mountain of earth and slag, its own excretion. The narrow strip of black sky was cut by hundreds of vertical steam-jets and the black silhouettes of pitheads.” Throughout the novel, this industrial setting shapes Anna's life and choices. It influences her father's business, her social status, her romantic prospects, and her outlook on life. The oppressive yet familiar environment of the Potteries becomes almost a character in itself, embodying both the opportunities and limitations that define Anna's world. Consider how the setting of your story – whether it be the kitchen of a large hotel, the working stopes of a gold mine in South Africa, or the workshop of your Venetian mask-maker – will affect your protagonist. #StorytellingTips #WritersRetreat #VeniceWritersRetreat #StorySettings #Venezia
    Writing Wisdom from Venice 4/16 Once you’ve map Writing Wisdom from Venice 4/16 Once you’ve mapped out the time for writing, make it a habit simply to sit down - without thinking. Because, yes, your mind will tell you that you can’t write today, you have no ideas, no inspiration. Just do it. #WritingRetreat #VeniceWritersRetreat #Creativity #AmWriting
    Getting ready for a day of writing. Best way to st Getting ready for a day of writing. Best way to start the day. #earlymorningwalk #venicewritingretreat
    The many jobs that the setting of your story can d The many jobs that the setting of your story can do Tip 3/14 Personification: The place itself becomes a character, with its own personality and influence on the plot. Think of The Overlook Hotel in King’s The Shining. It’s much more than a setting – it’s a malevolent character with its own desires and agency. "The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened windows now bearded with snow, indifferent to the fact that it was now cut off from the world.... Or was it?" The Overlook is depicted as a grand, isolated structure in the Colorado Rockies. King describes it as an imposing presence with a long and troubled history. The hotel is portrayed as more than just a building - it seems to have an evil consciousness of its own. Its corridors are maze-like, its rooms full of dark memories, and its very walls seem to breathe with sinister intent. Whether you’re writing the most frivolous of romances, or something as dark and malignant as King’s Overlook, you can use your setting to galvanise and animate your story. . . . #StorytellingTips #WritersRetreat #VeniceWritersRetreat #StorySettings #Venezia #StephenKing #TheShining
    Writing Wisdom from Venice 3/16 Time for your wri Writing Wisdom from Venice 3/16 Time for your writing will not magically appear. Don’t wait till ‘next year, when I’ll have less on my plate’. Carve out time for your creativity and guard it fiercely. Lie, if necessary – if those around you don’t respect your creative time. #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 2/14 The place can reflect the character. The environment mirrors or contrasts with a character's internal state. A bleak, winter landscape might reflect a character's depression, for instance. In The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt’s character, Theo, is sent to live with his estranged sister in Las Vegas. Tartt describes the landscape as follows: "Desert, empty as the surface of the moon... Apartments and shopping centers and residential neighborhoods wholly indistinguishable from one another... Terero was a treeless place of temperature extremes, where dust devils danced in a constant slow whirl." This bleak, monotonous environment mirrors Theo's sense of loss, isolation, and emotional barrenness following his mother's death. There’s no need to say as much; after all, the landscape in which he is trapped, says it all. . . . #StorytellingTips #WritersRetreat #VeniceWritersRetreat #WriteInVenice #StorySettings #Venezia #donnatartt What can your setting say about your characters?
    Morning walk #venicewritersretreat Morning walk #venicewritersretreat
    This morning we did our 'Rialto Walk'. An hour and This morning we did our 'Rialto Walk'. An hour and a half soaking up all that Venice has to offer as it wakes and gets ready for another day. For a writer it's most definitely time used well. It sets us up for the day. Writing Wisdom from Venice 2/16 Time is like money: we value it more if we have less of it. That means you need never despair if you don’t have swathes of writing time. An hour, used well, can be just as productive as a five-hour stretch, in which we make six cups of tea and tidy the linen cupboard until inspiration strikes. . . . #WritingRetreat #VeniceWritersRetreat #WriteInVenice #CreativeSpace #AmWriting
    The many jobs that the setting of your story can d The many jobs that the setting of your story can do Tip 1/14 Create instant atmosphere with the weather: You can use the setting of your story to create a mood or atmosphere to enhance the story's themes. Dickens did this superbly. He opens Bleak House with a description of a London fog: "Fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows; fog down the river, where it rolls defiled among the tiers of shipping and the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city..." It’s at one and the same time a literal description of the city, a metaphor for the opacity and confusion of the legal system; it creates a mood of gloom and claustrophobia; it foreshadows the moral and social obnscurity that the characters will have to navigate; and it immerses the reader in a sensory miasma… . . . #StorytellingTips #WritersRetreat #VeniceWritersRetreat #WriteInVenice #StorySettings #Venezia
    Follow on Instagram
    NEWS & TIPS
    • The power of ‘show, don’t tell’
      The power of ‘show, don’t tell’
    • How lucky we are to be writers
      How lucky we are to be writers
    • Author Q and A – Jennifer Withers – Gloam
      Author Q and A – Jennifer Withers – Gloam
    • The Art of Restraint in Writing
      The Art of Restraint in Writing
    • Author Q and A: Jennifer Withers – Gloam
      Author Q and A: Jennifer Withers – Gloam
    • How to tackle new writing challenges
      How to tackle new writing challenges
    Get in touch
    Not readable? Change text. captcha txt
    Copyright All About Writing Courses, All Rights Reserved © 2017
    Contact Us

    We're not around right now. But you can send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap.

    Not readable? Change text. captcha txt
    0