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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
      • 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
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    Archives

    Tag Archives for: "learn how to write"
     How to meet the writing challenges of 2021
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    By Jo-Anne Richards
    In How to write a book, Invitations
    Posted January 4, 2021

    How to meet the writing challenges of 2021

    One of the highlights of our 2020 was developing our new Hero’s Journey Course. It strikes us, though, that as we emerge fitfully from this year of the plague, we’re […]

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     Monday Motivation: All good writers were once bad writers
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    By Richard Beynon
    In Monday Motivation, Richard Beynon's blog
    Posted July 27, 2020

    Monday Motivation: All good writers were once bad writers

    Writers are born, not made. True or false? It’s an interesting question because it puts on the table the issue of whether bad writers can become good writers. On a […]

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     Top Ten Monday Motivations from 2019 (Part 2)
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    By Richard Beynon
    In Monday Motivation, Richard Beynon's blog
    Posted December 30, 2019

    Top Ten Monday Motivations from 2019 (Part 2)

    Ever since we started All About Writing back in 2011, facilitator and writing coach Richard Beynon has been helping you start your week with some Monday Motivation, of the writerly […]

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     Black Friday Special: 40% off all online courses for today only
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    By All About Writing
    In Promotions
    Posted November 29, 2019

    Black Friday Special: 40% off all online courses for today only

    Black Friday Special: 40% off all online courses for today only To recognize Black Friday, we’ve got an extra-special, once-off sale on. Receive 40% off any of our online courses […]

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     Monday Motivation: A meditation on dialogue
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    By Richard Beynon
    In Monday Motivation, Richard Beynon's blog
    Posted June 10, 2019

    Monday Motivation: A meditation on dialogue

    Let us consider all the things that dialogue can do: It enables us to elicit and transmit information: “What’s the time?” “It’s a quarter to four.” That but information can […]

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    Morning walk #venicewritingretreat Morning walk #venicewritingretreat
    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
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    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
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