- TIP: Why you shouldn’t nominalise
- Get paid to write!
- Allen & Unwin Vogel Award
- Get noticed – build your online profile
- Book giveaway: Miles Walker, You’re Dead by Linda Jaivin
- DID YOU KNOW? Boycott
- Kickstart your writing with Online Creative Writing
- WORDWISE: Portmanteau Word
- WEBPICK: write rhymes
I’m still trying to catch my breath after a frenetic week at the Sydney Writers’ Festival last week. So many amazing authors, so many great stories – and so many new ideas that have resulted from it. I can’t wait to unveil them to you as the year goes on.In fact, I have some news that I’m busting to tell you but we have to wait until some papers are signed before it becomes official. So stay tuned!
In the meantime, I’m really excited about our upcoming seminar Blogging for Business with corporate blogging expert Steven Lewis. This seminar is ideal if you need to blog for your business or company. Whether it’s an external blog that is part of your marketing strategy, or an internal blog to communicate with staff, this seminar is a great place to start.
It will cover:
- the critical distinctions between a blog and an ordinary company webpage
- the terminology of blogging
- what readers expect from a corporate blog
- how to write a blog that stands out
- finding and building an audience
- how and what to measure
- common internal objections to blogging and how to overcome them
- best practice policies and guidelines for corporate bloggers
- building the business case for your blog
- what you should be looking for in your
blogging software
Packed with case studies and examples, here’s some comments from past students:
‘Perfect pace to learn and be stimulated - great presenter and teacher. Dragged me out of the dark ages of social networking knowledge to be talking the talk!’
- Sally Berry
‘Relevant - fun presentation - dynamic - enthusiastic presenter. Lots of new motivation for marketing ideas for the business.’
- Miranda Corkin
Blogging for Business with Steven Lewis
When: Friday 18 June 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am – 5.00pm
Cost: $365
Click here for more information or to enrol online.
TIP: Why you shouldn’t nominalise
One of the symptoms of passive writing, as opposed to active writing, is nominalisation – turning verbs into nouns. This tends to make your writing sound more formal and abstract and you’ll often see it happening in academic or corporate writing. Knowing how to recognise nominalisations will help you to avoid slipping into passive voice when you shouldn’t. For example:
Get paid to write!
Want to write articles for magazines and newspapers? Want to write about travel, politics, or health – and get paid for it? Feature Writing for Magazines and Newspapers will give you the knowledge and the motivation to get published.
We’ll show you which articles work and why, and give you a step-by-step guide to writing the best features and getting paid for them. Many of our former students have gone on to build new careers as freelance writers and you could too!
This course will show you:
Here’s what some recent participants had to say about the course:
‘Pam was an excellent presenter. Her knowledge and skills in this area, her presentation skills and her encouragement were excellent. I was sorry to see the course end. I am very keen to follow through and begin to develop the craft and find paid work as a feature writer.’
- Alan Brooks
‘Pamela was lovely, very open and approachable. She had a very organised approach that made me feel like she had covered all the areas that we needed to know about. [I now understand] what is required for a feature article to be publishable. Also knowing the little tips for making an editor's life easier were very helpful. I feel really equipped to give it a go!’
- Aziza Green
There are two upcoming courses starting soon:
DAYTIME Feature Writing for Magazines and Newspapers with Pamela Wilson
When: Wednesdays starting Wednesday 2 June 2010 for five weeks
Time: 10.00am – 12noon
Cost: $395
The daytime course is presented by Pamela Wilson who has worked as a freelance journalist for the past seven years. Her articles regularly appear in Medical Observer, Reader’s Digest and Health Smart. She has also contributed to various publications including Men’s Health, Good Health and Medicine, Australian Parents, Travel Vacations and Ninemsn online.
In her 18 years in journalism Pamela has worked at the Gold Coast Bulletin, AAP and The Daily Telegraph in a variety of positions covering areas as diverse as medicine, politics, health and family issues, education, travel, books, lifestyle and men’s and women’s issues.
EVENING Feature Writing for Magazines and Newspapers with Sue White
When: Thursdays starting Thursday 10 June 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cost: $395
The evening course is presented by Sue White, a freelance writer whose work has featured in the Sydney Morning Herald, Vogue Australia, Travel + Leisure (Australia), Sun Herald Travel, Women’s Health, Vogue Entertaining + Travel, CNN Traveller, various ABC outlets, Green Living, G magazine and numerous other publications in both Australia and overseas.
Despite delving into the world of freelancing as far back as her high school days, Sue wore a variety of writing-oriented career hats before deciding that she’d got it right at 17 after all. Today, she particularly uses her writing to explore her interests in environment, career and wellbeing issues. Sue’s also chuffed she now gets paid to appease her continually itchy feet through travel writing: an indulgence that sees her regularly journeying to inspiring and interesting places across the globe in the name of a good story.
Click here for more information or to enrol online.
Allen & Unwin Vogel Award
We’ve received a lot of enquiries from our readers who are keen to enter the Allen & Unwin Vogel Award. Many of you were concerned that it wasn’t running this year as an entry form wasn’t yet available. Well, we have good news! The entry form is now up and the deadline has been extended to Wednesday 30 June 2010.
The Vogel Award is one of Australia’s most prestigious writing prizes and will be awarded to the best, unpublished manuscript by a writer under the age of 35. The winner will receive a cash prize of $20,000 and publication by Allen & Unwin.
You can find all the details and the entry form here.
Be noticed – build your online profile
Last week we spent a wonderful couple of days at the Sydney Writers’ Festival. One of the many themes of the festival was digital marketing for books and how the online revolution will affect publishing.
If you want to stay ahead of the pack on this, then you should definitely be there for one of our newest courses, Building Your Online Profile. We'll show you how your online presence could help you as a writer, and more importantly, how to do it without spending lots of money!
The course will give you:
This course is presented by Tristan Bancks who has been actively building and experimenting with his online presence as a writer over several years. His willingness to engage with the web has been integral to his success in getting published in Australia and the United States.
Tristan has a background as an actor and television presenter in Australia and the UK. His short films have won a number of awards and have screened widely at festivals and on TV. Tristan has written several books for kids and teens, including the Mac Slater, Coolhunter series (Random House Australia, Simon & Schuster US), and his illustrated series, Nit Boy, about everybody's favourite mini-beasts. Nit Boy is currently being developed for television. Tristan's Young Adult novel, it's yr life, was co-written via email between Byron Bay and L.A. with actress and author, Tempany Deckert.
Tristan is currently writing two new children’s books to be released in 2011. His drive is to tell inspiring, fast-moving stories for young people. www.tristanbancks.com
Build Your Online Profile with Tristan Bancks
When: Mondays starting Monday 19 July 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Click here for more information or to enrol.
Book giveaway – Miles Walker, You’re Dead by Linda Jaivin
We’ve got more amazing podcast interviews coming up in the next month and one we’re really excited about is with Linda Jaivin. Linda is the Australian author of the incredibly successful, Eat Me. Her latest novel is A Most Immoral Woman, but we wanted to give you a chance to read some of her other work first, so we're giving away one copy of Miles Walker, You’re Dead to give away.
On the even of the millennium, Miles Walker has problems. His flatmate Thurston, a moody medievalist, thinks it would be a good career move for Miles to die young. Miles’ best friend, the pre-conceptual artist ZakDot, agrees – and the chainsaw wielding Maddie seems only too happy to help.
Then along comes Destiny, the enigmatically beautiful politician who hates art but likes Miles. Now the others really want to kill him. By the time bare buttocks are squeaking over the blackheart sassafras of the prime ministerial dining table, it looks like Miles’ fat is sealed.
If you’d like to win a copy, tell us if you were an artist, what would be your clever career move? Send your answer to courses [at] spindriftmedia [dot] com [dot] au by 5pm on Friday 4 June 2010. Don't forget to include your name and postal address.
Congratulations Kristin Huddleston who has won a copy of The Wildkin's Curse (Get Published, 13 May 2010). We hope you enjoy it Kristin.
One of the symptoms of passive writing, as opposed to active writing, is nominalisation – turning verbs into nouns. This tends to make your writing sound more formal and abstract and you’ll often see it happening in academic or corporate writing. Knowing how to recognise nominalisations will help you to avoid slipping into passive voice when you shouldn’t. For example: ‘Rambo was walked by his owner.’ (walked is the noun form of a verb)Notice the difference in tone? The second example is much more conversational and clear. Here are a couple more examples I found online, with the active version highlighted in blue:
‘Rambo’s owner took him for a walk.’ (walk is the verb)
‘The implementation of the plan was successful’
‘The plan was implemented successfully.’
‘Crime was increasing rapidly and the police were becoming concerned.’
‘The rapid increase in crime was causing concern among the police.’
Get paid to write!
Want to write articles for magazines and newspapers? Want to write about travel, politics, or health – and get paid for it? Feature Writing for Magazines and Newspapers will give you the knowledge and the motivation to get published. We’ll show you which articles work and why, and give you a step-by-step guide to writing the best features and getting paid for them. Many of our former students have gone on to build new careers as freelance writers and you could too!
This course will show you:
- which ideas work - and where to get them
- understanding the magazine/news market
- different types of feature articles
- how to research, structure and write a feature
- what editors want from a writer
- how to pitch your article or idea to a magazine and sell it!
Here’s what some recent participants had to say about the course:
‘Pam was an excellent presenter. Her knowledge and skills in this area, her presentation skills and her encouragement were excellent. I was sorry to see the course end. I am very keen to follow through and begin to develop the craft and find paid work as a feature writer.’
- Alan Brooks
‘Pamela was lovely, very open and approachable. She had a very organised approach that made me feel like she had covered all the areas that we needed to know about. [I now understand] what is required for a feature article to be publishable. Also knowing the little tips for making an editor's life easier were very helpful. I feel really equipped to give it a go!’
- Aziza Green
There are two upcoming courses starting soon:
DAYTIME Feature Writing for Magazines and Newspapers with Pamela Wilson
When: Wednesdays starting Wednesday 2 June 2010 for five weeks
Time: 10.00am – 12noon
Cost: $395
The daytime course is presented by Pamela Wilson who has worked as a freelance journalist for the past seven years. Her articles regularly appear in Medical Observer, Reader’s Digest and Health Smart. She has also contributed to various publications including Men’s Health, Good Health and Medicine, Australian Parents, Travel Vacations and Ninemsn online.
In her 18 years in journalism Pamela has worked at the Gold Coast Bulletin, AAP and The Daily Telegraph in a variety of positions covering areas as diverse as medicine, politics, health and family issues, education, travel, books, lifestyle and men’s and women’s issues.
EVENING Feature Writing for Magazines and Newspapers with Sue White
When: Thursdays starting Thursday 10 June 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cost: $395
The evening course is presented by Sue White, a freelance writer whose work has featured in the Sydney Morning Herald, Vogue Australia, Travel + Leisure (Australia), Sun Herald Travel, Women’s Health, Vogue Entertaining + Travel, CNN Traveller, various ABC outlets, Green Living, G magazine and numerous other publications in both Australia and overseas.
Despite delving into the world of freelancing as far back as her high school days, Sue wore a variety of writing-oriented career hats before deciding that she’d got it right at 17 after all. Today, she particularly uses her writing to explore her interests in environment, career and wellbeing issues. Sue’s also chuffed she now gets paid to appease her continually itchy feet through travel writing: an indulgence that sees her regularly journeying to inspiring and interesting places across the globe in the name of a good story.
Click here for more information or to enrol online.
Allen & Unwin Vogel Award
We’ve received a lot of enquiries from our readers who are keen to enter the Allen & Unwin Vogel Award. Many of you were concerned that it wasn’t running this year as an entry form wasn’t yet available. Well, we have good news! The entry form is now up and the deadline has been extended to Wednesday 30 June 2010.
The Vogel Award is one of Australia’s most prestigious writing prizes and will be awarded to the best, unpublished manuscript by a writer under the age of 35. The winner will receive a cash prize of $20,000 and publication by Allen & Unwin.
You can find all the details and the entry form here.
Be noticed – build your online profile
Last week we spent a wonderful couple of days at the Sydney Writers’ Festival. One of the many themes of the festival was digital marketing for books and how the online revolution will affect publishing. If you want to stay ahead of the pack on this, then you should definitely be there for one of our newest courses, Building Your Online Profile. We'll show you how your online presence could help you as a writer, and more importantly, how to do it without spending lots of money!
The course will give you:
- An understanding of how you can use the web to connect with readers, publishers, agents, librarians, booksellers and others in a way that feels authentic to you.
- Confidence in your ability to use various web platforms.
- Handouts that take you, step-by-step, through the process of setting up and using several key web platforms.
- Knowledge to create a simple online video to promote your work.
- Workshopped ideas for expanding your current work into cross-platform projects, such as using video, audio and interactive web tools to bring your stories to life.
- A fast-paced, information-packed overview of the web’s possibilities for you.
- Lots of inspiration to help you break through procrastination and get active.
This course is presented by Tristan Bancks who has been actively building and experimenting with his online presence as a writer over several years. His willingness to engage with the web has been integral to his success in getting published in Australia and the United States.
Tristan has a background as an actor and television presenter in Australia and the UK. His short films have won a number of awards and have screened widely at festivals and on TV. Tristan has written several books for kids and teens, including the Mac Slater, Coolhunter series (Random House Australia, Simon & Schuster US), and his illustrated series, Nit Boy, about everybody's favourite mini-beasts. Nit Boy is currently being developed for television. Tristan's Young Adult novel, it's yr life, was co-written via email between Byron Bay and L.A. with actress and author, Tempany Deckert.
Tristan is currently writing two new children’s books to be released in 2011. His drive is to tell inspiring, fast-moving stories for young people. www.tristanbancks.com
Build Your Online Profile with Tristan Bancks
When: Mondays starting Monday 19 July 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Click here for more information or to enrol.
Book giveaway – Miles Walker, You’re Dead by Linda Jaivin
We’ve got more amazing podcast interviews coming up in the next month and one we’re really excited about is with Linda Jaivin. Linda is the Australian author of the incredibly successful, Eat Me. Her latest novel is A Most Immoral Woman, but we wanted to give you a chance to read some of her other work first, so we're giving away one copy of Miles Walker, You’re Dead to give away. On the even of the millennium, Miles Walker has problems. His flatmate Thurston, a moody medievalist, thinks it would be a good career move for Miles to die young. Miles’ best friend, the pre-conceptual artist ZakDot, agrees – and the chainsaw wielding Maddie seems only too happy to help.
Then along comes Destiny, the enigmatically beautiful politician who hates art but likes Miles. Now the others really want to kill him. By the time bare buttocks are squeaking over the blackheart sassafras of the prime ministerial dining table, it looks like Miles’ fat is sealed.
If you’d like to win a copy, tell us if you were an artist, what would be your clever career move? Send your answer to courses [at] spindriftmedia [dot] com [dot] au by 5pm on Friday 4 June 2010. Don't forget to include your name and postal address.
Congratulations Kristin Huddleston who has won a copy of The Wildkin's Curse (Get Published, 13 May 2010). We hope you enjoy it Kristin.
DID YOU KNOW? Boycott
You're familiar with the word boycott. It means to protest by refusing to patronise or attend an event. Like the way the US boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980. Well, did you know that the word comes from the name of a British army captain called Charles Boycott?
Charles was a land agent in the Irish countryside when his fellow countrymen stood against him protesting at his evictions of farmers. They ostracised him, shops wouldn't serve him and his church congregation stopped talking to him. Effectively, they staged their own boycott. And the word has stuck!
You're familiar with the word boycott. It means to protest by refusing to patronise or attend an event. Like the way the US boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980. Well, did you know that the word comes from the name of a British army captain called Charles Boycott?
Charles was a land agent in the Irish countryside when his fellow countrymen stood against him protesting at his evictions of farmers. They ostracised him, shops wouldn't serve him and his church congregation stopped talking to him. Effectively, they staged their own boycott. And the word has stuck!
Kickstart your writing with Online Creative Writing
You don’t have to come to Milsons Point to join one of our creative writing classes. Our online classroom can come to you!
Online Creative Writing is starting soon and is the perfect course for anyone interested in exploring the wonderful world of writing fiction. Whatever your creative writing goals – whether you’re looking to write short stories or a full-length novel – this course will give you the tools you need to get started.
The course will teach you how to:
Here’s what some recent participants said about the course:
‘I feel like I know so much more about approaching writing with structure. I feel excited about trying to write as a habit not just as a dream! ‘
- Heather Hutchison
‘I like the on-line learning and being able to work at my own pace in my own time. I have learnt heaps and now am on my way to writing a book.’
- Mary-Anne Waldren
Online Creative Writing Stage 1 with Pamela Freeman/Cathie Tasker
When: Week beginning Monday 31 May 2010 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Click here for more information or to enrol online.
You don’t have to come to Milsons Point to join one of our creative writing classes. Our online classroom can come to you! Online Creative Writing is starting soon and is the perfect course for anyone interested in exploring the wonderful world of writing fiction. Whatever your creative writing goals – whether you’re looking to write short stories or a full-length novel – this course will give you the tools you need to get started.
The course will teach you how to:
- kick-start the creative writing process
- tap into your imagination
- draw from everyday experiences and memories
- examine different types of creative writing
- give structure to your writing
- use characters and dialogue
Here’s what some recent participants said about the course:
‘I feel like I know so much more about approaching writing with structure. I feel excited about trying to write as a habit not just as a dream! ‘
- Heather Hutchison
‘I like the on-line learning and being able to work at my own pace in my own time. I have learnt heaps and now am on my way to writing a book.’
- Mary-Anne Waldren
Online Creative Writing Stage 1 with Pamela Freeman/Cathie Tasker
When: Week beginning Monday 31 May 2010 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Click here for more information or to enrol online.
WORDWISE: Portmanteau Words
There’s a word or phrase for everything, even for two words combined to make one. A ‘portmanteau word’ is a noun blending the sounds and combining the meaning of two words. For example:
WEBPICK: write rhymes
Writing a limerick and just can’t find two words that rhyme?
Check out write rhymes. As you type, you just select the word you need to rhyme, and the site will give you all your possible choices, listed by the number of syllables a word has.
Check it out here.
Other upcoming courses
Seminar: Writing for the web with Grant Doyle - FULL
When: Friday 28 May 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am - 4.00pm
Cost: $365
Course: Online Creative Writing Stage 1 with Cathie Tasker/Pamela Freeman
When: Week beginning Monday 31 May 2010 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Seminar: Professional Business Writing with Mel Wilkinson - FULL
When: Tuesday 1 June 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.00am - 4.30pm
Cost: $395
Course: DAYTIME Feature Writing Stage 1 with Pamela Wilson
When: Every Wednesday starting Wednesday 2 June 2010 for five weeks
Time: 10.00am - 12noon
Cost: $395
Seminar: Self-Publishing: How to do it with Geoff Bartlett
When: Wednesday 2 June 2010 (2-hour evening seminar)
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $75
Seminar: How to get your book published with Geoff Bartlett
When: Friday 4 June 2010 (two-hour morning seminar)
Time: 10.00am - 12noon
Cost: $75
Course: Online Feature Writing Stage 1 with Valerie Khoo/Pamela Wilson - NEW DATE
When: Week beginning Monday 7 June 2010 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Course: Online Writing Books for Children and Young Adults with Nicola Robinson - NEW DATE
When: Week beginning Monday 7 June 2010 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Course: Creative Writing Stage 1 with Jeni Mawter
When: Wednesdays starting Wednesday 9 June 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Course: Feature Writing Stage 1 with Sue White
When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 10 June 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Seminar: How to get your book published with Geoff Bartlett
When: Tuesday 15 June 2010 (two-hour evening seminar)
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $75
Seminar: Blogging for Business with Steven Lewis
When: Friday 18 June 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am - 4.00pm
Cost: $365
Seminar: Editing Essentials with Katrina Lobley
When: Thursday 24 June 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am - 4.30pm
Cost: $365
Course: Travel Writing with Geoff Bartlett
When: Friday 25 June 2010 (2-hour morning seminar)
Time: 10.00am - 12noon
Cost: $75
Seminar:Professional Business Writing with Mel Wilkinson - NEW DATE
When: Tuesday 29 June 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.00am - 4.30pm
Cost: $395
Seminar: Writing for the web with Grant Doyle - NEW DATE
When: Wednesday 30 June 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am - 4.00pm
Cost: $365
Course: Creative Writing Stage 1 5-day Intensive course with Jeni Mawter
When: Monday 5 July - Friday 9 July 2010 (5 consecutive days)
Time: 10.00am - 12noon
Cost: $395
Course: Grammar and Punctuation Essentials with Deb Doyle - NEW DATE
When: Tuesday 6 July 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.00am - 5.00pm
Cost: $395
Course: Online Creative Writing Stage 2 with Pamela Freeman - NEW COURSE
When: Week beginning Monday 12 July 2010 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Course: Perfecting your pitch with Sue White - NEW DATE
When: Monday 12 July and 19 July 2010 (two evening seminars)
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $175
Course: Script Writing for Short Films with Geoff Bartlett
When: Wednesday 14 July and 21 July 2010 (two evening seminars)
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $165
Course: DAYTIME Creative Writing Stage 1 with Jeni Mawter - NEW DATE
When: Every Friday starting Friday 16 July 2010 for five weeks
Time: 10.00am - 12noon
Cost: $395
Course: Life Writing with Patti Miller
When: Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 July 2010 (two-day workshop)
Time: 9.30am - 4.30pm
Cost: $450
Course: Build Your Online Profile with Tristan Bancks
When: Mondays beginning Monday 19 July 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Seminar: Writing Letters and Emails with Deb Doyle - NEW COURSE
When: Tuesday 20 July 2010
Time: 9.30am - 4.00pm
Cost: $365
Course: Creative Writing Stage 2 with Pamela Freeman
When: Every Tuesday starting Tuesday 27 July 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Course: Life Writing with Patti Miller
When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 12 August 2010 for six weeks
Time: 10am - 12noon
Cost: $450
Course: Novel writing workshop with Pamela Freeman - NEW DATE
When: Every Tuesday beginning Tuesday 12 October 2010 for six weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $495
Writing Tour: Writing in Bali with Patti Miller - FULL
When: 30 September to 5 October 2010
Writing Tour: Writing in Paris with Patti Miller - FULL
Dates for 2010:
Arrival: Thursday 21 October 2010
Departure: Saturday 6 November 2010
There’s a word or phrase for everything, even for two words combined to make one. A ‘portmanteau word’ is a noun blending the sounds and combining the meaning of two words. For example: Breakfast and lunch > Brunch‘Portmanteau’ on its own is actually a carry bag or suitcase that opens into two halves. (Even portmanteau is a blended word – a combination of porter and manteau.) Lewis Carroll apparently coined the term ‘portmanteau word’ in Through the Looking Glass and came up with a few of his own examples, including ‘mimsy’ (flimsy and miserable) and ‘chortle’ (chuckle and snort).
French and English > Franglais
Guess and estimate > guesstimate
WEBPICK: write rhymesWriting a limerick and just can’t find two words that rhyme?
Check out write rhymes. As you type, you just select the word you need to rhyme, and the site will give you all your possible choices, listed by the number of syllables a word has.
Check it out here.
Other upcoming courses
Seminar: Writing for the web with Grant Doyle - FULL
When: Friday 28 May 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am - 4.00pm
Cost: $365
Course: Online Creative Writing Stage 1 with Cathie Tasker/Pamela Freeman
When: Week beginning Monday 31 May 2010 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Seminar: Professional Business Writing with Mel Wilkinson - FULL
When: Tuesday 1 June 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.00am - 4.30pm
Cost: $395
Course: DAYTIME Feature Writing Stage 1 with Pamela Wilson
When: Every Wednesday starting Wednesday 2 June 2010 for five weeks
Time: 10.00am - 12noon
Cost: $395
Seminar: Self-Publishing: How to do it with Geoff Bartlett
When: Wednesday 2 June 2010 (2-hour evening seminar)
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $75
Seminar: How to get your book published with Geoff Bartlett
When: Friday 4 June 2010 (two-hour morning seminar)
Time: 10.00am - 12noon
Cost: $75
Course: Online Feature Writing Stage 1 with Valerie Khoo/Pamela Wilson - NEW DATE
When: Week beginning Monday 7 June 2010 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Course: Online Writing Books for Children and Young Adults with Nicola Robinson - NEW DATE
When: Week beginning Monday 7 June 2010 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Course: Creative Writing Stage 1 with Jeni Mawter
When: Wednesdays starting Wednesday 9 June 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Course: Feature Writing Stage 1 with Sue White
When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 10 June 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Seminar: How to get your book published with Geoff Bartlett
When: Tuesday 15 June 2010 (two-hour evening seminar)
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $75
Seminar: Blogging for Business with Steven Lewis
When: Friday 18 June 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am - 4.00pm
Cost: $365
Seminar: Editing Essentials with Katrina Lobley
When: Thursday 24 June 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am - 4.30pm
Cost: $365
Course: Travel Writing with Geoff Bartlett
When: Friday 25 June 2010 (2-hour morning seminar)
Time: 10.00am - 12noon
Cost: $75
Seminar:Professional Business Writing with Mel Wilkinson - NEW DATE
When: Tuesday 29 June 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.00am - 4.30pm
Cost: $395
Seminar: Writing for the web with Grant Doyle - NEW DATE
When: Wednesday 30 June 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am - 4.00pm
Cost: $365
Course: Creative Writing Stage 1 5-day Intensive course with Jeni Mawter
When: Monday 5 July - Friday 9 July 2010 (5 consecutive days)
Time: 10.00am - 12noon
Cost: $395
Course: Grammar and Punctuation Essentials with Deb Doyle - NEW DATE
When: Tuesday 6 July 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.00am - 5.00pm
Cost: $395
Course: Online Creative Writing Stage 2 with Pamela Freeman - NEW COURSE
When: Week beginning Monday 12 July 2010 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Course: Perfecting your pitch with Sue White - NEW DATE
When: Monday 12 July and 19 July 2010 (two evening seminars)
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $175
Course: Script Writing for Short Films with Geoff Bartlett
When: Wednesday 14 July and 21 July 2010 (two evening seminars)
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $165
Course: DAYTIME Creative Writing Stage 1 with Jeni Mawter - NEW DATE
When: Every Friday starting Friday 16 July 2010 for five weeks
Time: 10.00am - 12noon
Cost: $395
Course: Life Writing with Patti Miller
When: Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 July 2010 (two-day workshop)
Time: 9.30am - 4.30pm
Cost: $450
Course: Build Your Online Profile with Tristan Bancks
When: Mondays beginning Monday 19 July 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Seminar: Writing Letters and Emails with Deb Doyle - NEW COURSE
When: Tuesday 20 July 2010
Time: 9.30am - 4.00pm
Cost: $365
Course: Creative Writing Stage 2 with Pamela Freeman
When: Every Tuesday starting Tuesday 27 July 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Course: Life Writing with Patti Miller
When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 12 August 2010 for six weeks
Time: 10am - 12noon
Cost: $450
Course: Novel writing workshop with Pamela Freeman - NEW DATE
When: Every Tuesday beginning Tuesday 12 October 2010 for six weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $495
Writing Tour: Writing in Bali with Patti Miller - FULL
When: 30 September to 5 October 2010
Writing Tour: Writing in Paris with Patti Miller - FULL
Dates for 2010:
Arrival: Thursday 21 October 2010
Departure: Saturday 6 November 2010
It's Sydney Writers' Festival fever this week and we have been flat out at events. So many authors, so many brilliant ideas, such great writing! However, one of the most overlooked aspects of good writing is ensuring you have the right grammar and punctuation.
I realised it’s a bit cheeky to suggest this as a tip but playing “Buzzword Bingo” can be great fun when you are at an event, corporate function or listening to a speech by a politician. I confess that I have played it from time to time. 
WEBPICK: Neil Cross
I’m back in Sydney and loving the buzz of the Centre after being away for the past couple of weeks. I love that the life of a writer can be so portable. As long as you have a laptop (and internet is handy too), you can work from anywhere. Similarly, with our online courses, you can learn from anywhere. 
WEBPICK: 1000 Awesome Things
I'm writing this newsletter from Ubud in Bali. Later today, I'm meeting with our friends at the Ubud Writers' Festival – yes we have some fabulous things planned for those who are coming to our Writing in Bali retreat this year (which is booked out). But I'm already planning for 2011 and you can 
WEBPICK: Mighty Red Pen
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