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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
      • 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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    Tag Archives for: "what makes a good book"
     Writing Secrets: The creative magic of the soft owl
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    By Jo-Anne Richards
    In Jo-Anne Richard's blog, Tips for Writers
    Posted November 11, 2020

    Writing Secrets: The creative magic of the soft owl

    “Every human situation, every sort of meeting or conversation, is something you have read before or know by heart. But then here comes a story – maybe only a couple […]

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    🔍 Struggling to plot your murder mystery? Lear 🔍 Struggling to plot your murder mystery? Learn how focusing on your antagonist can transform your story.Here are some practical tips and a targeted writing exercise. . . . WritingCommunity #WritingTips #MysteryWriter #AmWriting #WritersOfInstagram
    Your Best Writing Year Starts Here! Ready to tran Your Best Writing Year Starts Here! Ready to transform your writing dreams into reality? Join our free interactive webinar designed to help you kick-start your most successful writing year ever. Tuesday 14 January at 16:00 GMT / 18:00 SAST Register: ow.ly/m49B50UEnVM In this 60-minute session, we'll be answering your questions about: * Creating sustainable writing habits that fit your lifestyle * Launching your new writing project with confidence and clarity * Breathing fresh life into existing manuscripts that have stalled * Crafting deeper, more compelling characters and storylines that captivate readers Whether you're working on your first tentative idea or your fifth novel, you'll leave this session with practical advice for your writing journey in 2025. This is your session: We'll focus on the writing challenges and questions that matter most to you. Share your questions live in the chat, and get our personalised guidance to help you move forward with confidence. Ready to make 2025 your breakthrough writing year? See you there! https://ow.ly/ntI450UEnVL #WritingTips #AmWriting #WritingGoals #WritingCommunity
    📝 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
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    NEWS & TIPS
    • The Art of the Chase in Mystery Writing
      The Art of the Chase in Mystery Writing
    • Your best writing year starts here
      Your best writing year starts here
    • Best of 2024: Finding Your Creative Flow Through Careful Observation
      Best of 2024: Finding Your Creative Flow Through Careful Observation
    • Setting your writing intentions
      Setting your writing intentions
    • Best of 2024: The essential capacity that we bring to writing
      Best of 2024: The essential capacity that we bring to writing
    • Best of 2024: The Art of People Watching
      Best of 2024: The Art of People Watching
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