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• TIP: Do you diffuse, disperse or disburse? 
• Perfect your business writing
• NaNoWriMo – Will you be taking part? 
• TIP: Back to basics – nominalisation
• Get your picture book published!
• What we’re reading – Great House by Nicole Krauss
• WEBPICK: Fifty-Two Stories

I love going to the movies. Next on my list are Real Steel with Hugh Jackman and Warrior with Joel Edgerton. Yes, I do have a thing for boxing movies. So it's probably no surprise to you that one of my cats is named Rocky (and my little doggie, pictured, is Rambo).

I love being swept away in the story, leaving the cinema inspired, elated or moved. That's why I'm so thrilled that screenwriter extraordinaire Tim Gooding is one of our wonderful presenters. I expect to see the names of some of our Screenwriting graduates in the credits when I go to the movies soon.

If you've toyed with the idea of writing a movie, then Screenwriting Stage 1 is the ideal place to start. You don't need an idea – just a passion to write for film.

Screenwriting Stage 1 with Tim Gooding
When: Every Tuesday starting Tuesday 15 November 2011 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cost: $395

Click here for more information or to enrol online.

However, if you've already got an idea well underway, then Screenwriting Stage 2 is the perfect course to make sure that it becomes a fully-fledged script.

As well as receiving guidance in developing your own screenplay, you will also learn about:

• Complicated characters – How to create characters who surprise, who have complexity and contradiction.
• Genre – Is your screenplay a genre piece?
• Big stakes – You’ll find out about “wounding to reveal”.
• Mystery and Suspense – Using this to make your screenplay more gripping.
• Finer techniques and principles – You’ll learn about point of entry/exit, subtext, point of view, and more.
• The Deadly Middle Act – Learn how to improve the area that most frequently goes missing.
• Selling your screenplay – Discover how to find a producer and pitch your script.
  
  

We’ll disburse money from the social fund for the party.

Police were sent in to disperse the crowd.

The wind will disperse the fog.

The dye diffused through the liquid.

What's new at the Sydney Writers' Centre

• We've launched our new Facebook group for graduates! If you've completed one of our creative writing or magazine writing courses you're eligible to join. Click here for details.
  
  
• Filling fast: Your Story Structure with Dr Kathryn Heyman, starts Friday 4 November.
  
  
• New dates: Better Business Communications with Deb Doyle, Wednesday 30 November. 

Perfect your business writing
Is your writing holding you back at work? Do you struggle when it comes to writing reports, proposals or correspondence? Learning the fundamentals of good business writing could be all you need to build your confidence and save time at work.
 
Professional Business Writing is a one-day seminar that will show you how to plan, write and present your business writing tasks. During this seminar you’ll cover the golden rules of good business writing, common writing mistakes (and how you can avoid them), how to write persuasively and how to structure your reports and proposals.
 
Here’s what past participants say:
"This was a very helpful course and it has helped me be more confident in my writing."
- Sarah Knight

"I enjoyed the interaction with classmates and learned some great writing tips. The presenter is very knowledgeable and has good background experience."
- Amandeep Mankoo

Professional Business Writing with Sue White
When: Friday 4 November 2011 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.00am – 5.00pm
Cost: $450
 
Click here for more information or to enrol online.

NaNoWriMo – Will you be taking part?
It’s hard to believe another year is coming to an end, and that it’s almost NaNoWriMo time, again! Already we’ve heard from some of our Twitter and Facebook followers who are taking part. Will you be?
 
For those who aren’t familiar with the NaNoWriMo phenomenon, or National Novel Writing Month, it’s an annual event that asks participants to write a 50,000-word novel in just one month. It's a crazy, busy, coffee-fuelled and sleepless spree of creativity!
 
In 2010, 200,000 people joined NaNoWriMo and 30,000 of them reached their 50k word goal. This year, we're hosting a launch event at the Sydney Writers' Centre at 6pm, Friday 28 October. Come along and hear from NaNoWriMo veterans and published authors on how to make the most of the month.

Click here for more information and to watch our interview with Lindsey Grant, the international Program Director for NaNoWrimo.

Writing about interiors, style and design
If you’re someone who appreciates a beautiful bathroom, stops to look at unique buildings, or is constantly on the lookout for new design ideas, then you could be writing for any of Australia’s best-known design and interiors magazines.
 
Home Beautiful, Belle and House & Garden are just a few of the many magazines devoted to design, architecture and interiors. In our two-week industry insight course, Writing for Interiors, Style and Design, you’ll learn all about writing on this fascinating topic.
 
Here’s what past participants say:
"This course was excellent. It's the best short writing course I have been on and wasted no time in presenting the right information for getting your work published."

- Phillip Brook

"Nigel's personal insights were really valuable and interesting. I particularly appreciated that he had asked people he knows in the right positions, such as magazine editors, to provide their dos and don’ts."

- Nicola Duncan
 
Writing About Interiors, Style and Design with Nigel Bartlett
When: Wednesdays 26 October & 2 November 2011 (two evening classes)
Time: 6.30pm – 8.30pm
Cost: $175
 
Click here for more information or to enrol online.

TIP: Back to basics – nominalisation
What in the world is nominalisation? It's a fancy word for turning verbs into nouns. You'll often see it in academic writing and it sometimes creeps into business writing. Often, this results in sentences that are unnecessarily wordy or complicated. For example:

A.  Drivers will stop the trains.
B. There will be a stoppage of trains by drivers.
 
A. We discussed the plan.
B. A discussion was had about the plan.

In these examples, the verbs "stop" and "discuss" have been nominalised in version B.
 
Here are some more verbs and their noun forms, or nominalisations:

act	action
produce	production
advance	advancement
meet	meeting
clever	cleverness
aware	awareness

Did you know? The royal "we"
Queen Elizabeth II is heading to Australia this week for what will probably be her last visit. It reminded me of the royal "we” she so likes to use when giving speeches, especially her Christmas Day broadcasts.
 
Also known as the “pluralis majestatis” or “majestic plural”, the first recorded use of the royal "we” was by King Henry II in 1169. He was under a lot of pressure from his barons due to the latest spat between the church and some European monarchs. Invoking the Divine Right of Kings, he argued that his choices were God’s choices also, and so used “we” rather than “I” when issuing orders.
 
Since then, monarchs, prime ministers, popes, and other dignitaries have used the royal "we” when addressing their subjects. Queen Victoria is thought to have announced “we are not amused” in 1900, and in 1989 then PM Margaret Thatcher announced to the world, “We have become a grandmother.”

Get your picture book published!
We had such a big response to our first Writing Picture Books course that we’ve decided to schedule one more for 2011. Places for this five-week course are filling quickly so get in early!
 
If you want to know what appeals to children and publishers, Writing Picture Books will show you. You’ll learn how to perfect the language and rythmn of your book, how to work with illustrations, and how you go about getting your picture book published.
 
This course is taught by Cathie Tasker. Cathie has edited over 150 children’s picture books, both popular and award-winning titles. She has worked with some of Australia’s greatest picture book creators – Rod Clement, Bruce Whatley, Jackie French, Mem Fox, Bronwyn Bancroft, Cathy Wilcox, Rodney McRae, and many more.
 
Writing Picture Books with Cathie Tasker
When: Thursdays starting Thursday 10 November 2011 for five weeks
Time: 6.30pm – 8.30pm
Cost: $395
 
Click here for more information or to enrol online. 

This week’s funny... 
This was emailed to us this week and we just had to share it.

What we’re reading
This week our Course Manager, Danielle Williams, is reading Great House by Nicole Krauss. She writes:

Great House follows the journey of a writing desk through the narration of four very different people. We start with Nadia, a successful novelist in her mid-50s. Nadia was given the desk by a Chilean poet, who was later kidnapped and murdered by Pinochet’s forces when he returned home. This would be a remarkable enough story for a humble piece of furniture, but the desk plays a vital role in the lives of so many people spread across the globe – the daughter of the poet, an Israeli man grieving for his wife, an antiques collector determined to recover the desk stolen from his father by the Nazis in 1944.

This book is a stunning reflection on the often fragile human state, and how we deal with loss and tragedy. For me, the most intriguing thing about the novel is the constant meditation on writing. Nadia especially seems to struggle with guilt over mining the lives of others’ for inspiration, while neglecting her own life and relationships. Yet she can do nothing else – writing is her purpose.

This is a beautiful book and well deserves the critical praise it’s received. I highly recommend this one.

We want to know what you're reading! You can write a book review for the Writing Bar and we'll feature an excerpt here in the newsletter. If you'd like to submit, check out the review guidelines here. 

WEBPICK: Fifty-Two Stories
In the world of publishing, short stories have been neglected over the years. Whether it’s a collection of stories by one author or many, short story anthologies haven't always been as popular as they should be. Luckily there are now plenty of websites where those of us who love the more compact form of short stories can get a regular fix.

Fifty-Two Stories is just one of them. Run by Harper Perennial, an imprint of HarperCollins specialising in contemporary fiction, Fifty-Two Stories started as a project to publish one short story a week for one year. It’s now in its third year and still going strong. You can subscribe to read the stories or submit your own. Some authors have even gone on to score a publishing contract with Harper Perennial – proving the power of a good short story.

Check it out here.

Other upcoming courses
Online Course: Creative Writing Stage 1 with Pamela Freeman/Cathie Tasker
When: Week beginning Monday 24 October 2011 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395

Seminar: Writing for the Web with Grant Doyle
When: Monday 24 October 2011 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am – 4.00pm
Cost: $395

Course: Writing About Interiors, Style and Design with Nigel Bartlett
When: Wednesday 26 October 2011 and Wednesday 2 November 2011 (2 evening classes)
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cost: $175

Seminar: PR and Media Releases that Get Results with Catriona Pollard
When: Thursday 27 October 2011 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.00am – 5.00pm
Cost: $495

Online Course: Writing Books for Children and Young Adults with Judith Ridge/Nicola Robinson
When: Week beginning Monday 31 October 2011 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395

Online Course: Magazine and Newspaper Writing Stage 1 with Sue White – NEW DATE
When: Week beginning Monday 31 October 2011 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395

Seminar: Better Business Communications with Deb Doyle
When: Wednesday 2 November 2011 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am – 4.30pm
Cost: $395

Seminar: Professional Business Writing with Sue White
When: Friday 4 November 2011 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.00am – 5.00pm
Cost: $450

Course: Your Story Structure with Kathryn Heyman
When: Friday 4 November 2011 and Friday 11 November 2011 (2 half-day classes)
Time: 9.30am – 12.30pm
Cost: $215

Course: Screenwriting Stage 2 with Tim Gooding
When: Every Monday starting Monday 7 November 2011 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cost: $395

Seminar: Sell Your eBook on Amazon with Steven Lewis
When: Wednesday 9 November 2011 (two-hour evening seminar)
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cost: $85

Course: Writing Picture Books with Cathie Tasker
When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 10 November 2011 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cost: $395

Seminar: Grammar and Punctuation Essentials with Deb Doyle
When: Friday 11 November 2011 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.00am – 5.00pm
Cost: $450

Course: Weekend Intensive Magazine and Newspaper Writing Stage 1 with Marina Go
When: Saturday 12 November and Sunday 13 November 2011 (2 consecutive days)
Time: 10.00am – 4.00pm
Cost: $395

Online Course: Creative Writing Stage 2 with Pamela Freeman/Cathie Tasker
When: Week beginning Monday 14 November 2011 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395

Course: Creative Writing Stage 2 with Pamela Freeman
When: Every Tuesday starting Tuesday 15 November 2011 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cost: $395

Course: Screenwriting Stage 1 with Tim Gooding
When: Every Tuesday starting Tuesday 15 November 2011 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cost: $395

Course: Creative Writing Stage 1 with James Roy – NEW DATE
When: Every Wednesday starting Wednesday 16 November 2011 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cost: $395

Course: Magazine and Newspaper Writing Stage 1 with Sue White
When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 17 November 2011 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cost: $395

Seminar: Edit with Confidence with Deb Doyle
When: Friday 18 November 2011 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am – 4.30pm
Cost: $395

Seminar: From Blog to Book with Kerri Sackville – NEW SEMINAR
When: Monday 21 November 2011 (two-hour evening seminar)
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cost: $85

Seminar: Introduction to Travel Writing with Geoff Bartlett
When: Wednesday 23 November 2011 (two-hour evening seminar)
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cost: $85

Seminar: How to Get Your Book Published with Geoff Bartlett – NEW DATE
When: Thursday 24 November 2011 (two-hour evening seminar)
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cost: $85

Seminar: Perfect Your Proofreading with Deb Doyle – NEW DATE
When: Friday 25 November 2011 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am – 4.30pm
Cost: $395

Course: Plotting and Planning with Kate Forsyth
When: Monday 28 November 2011 and Monday 5 December 2011 (2 evening classes)
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cost: $175

Seminar: How to Write a Business Book with Valerie Khoo – NEW DATE
When: Tuesday 24 January 2012 (half-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am – 1.00pm
Cost: $295

Course: Weekend Life Writing with Patti Miller – NEW DATE
When: Saturday 25 February and Sunday 26 February 2012 (2 consecutive days)
Time: 10.00am – 4.00pm
Cost: $450

WRITING TOURS
Writing in Paris with Patti Miller – FULL
When: Thursday 20 October to Saturday 5 November 2011

Writing in Bali with Patti Miller – NEW DATE
When: Saturday 21 July to Saturday 28 July 2012