In this issue:
- TIP: Tide me over or tie me over?
- Meet Good Weekend columnist and editor
- Student Success – Alex Temesvari
- Want to kick start your creative writing?
- Book giveaway – King of the Cross by Mark Dapin
- Learn the rules of grammar and punctuation
- WORDWISE: OK
- WEBPICK: Typography for lawyers
I’ve been thrilled to see so many of our graduates using our online forums to connect with each other and to workshop their ideas. You can access them here. Currently this is open to graduates of Feature Writing, Creative Writing and Writing Books for Children – we hope to add more soon.This week, I’ve been busy editing a major document for a corporation. When it comes to your writing at work, remember that you only have one chance to make a first impression. The way you write – or edit – can have a huge impact on whether you get that job promotion or score that big deal.
So ensuring that you edit your work documents for clarity, consistency and conciseness is vital. If you need to edit other people’s documents at work, you’ll love our one-day seminar Editing at Work.
You’ll understand the flow of the editing process so you can save time and operate efficiently. Whether you’re editing on hard copy (paper) or electronically (online), you’ll learn how to turn any clumsy piece of communication into writing that sparkles.
Our one-day Editing at Work seminar will show you:
- what to do when you have to be both the writer and the editor
- the standard marks that professional editors use when working with hard copy
- the ‘on-screen editing’ marks (Track Changes)
- the rules for applying common editorial style points: word breaks, hyphens and dashes; italics, ‘roman’ and quotation marks; paragraph indentation; running on; closing up spaces; ‘number style’; and upper and lower case
- the role of editorial style sheets and house-style guides – and how to create them
- how to edit numerical information
- and much more!
The workshop is presented by Deb Doyle, an experienced editorial-training consultant and publication editor. Deb has conducted courses for the Productivity Commission, AMP and Wizard Home Loans as well as many other corporate and government entities located in Sydney and Melbourne. Deb’s courses are interactive and collegial. She demystifies the editing process in a way that’s engaging and interesting.
Editing at Work with Deb Doyle
When: Wednesday 29 September 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am – 4.30pm
Cost: $395
Click here for more information or to enrol online.
TIP: Tide me over or tie me over?
There’s obviously a lot of confusion over this one. A quick Google search revealed just as many people were convinced that ‘tie me over’ was the correct saying, as those who thought it should be ‘tide me over’. The correct phrase is, in fact, ‘tide me over’. It means to eke out something to make it last longer, or to endure a difficult period. For example:
This banana is not going to be enough to tide me over until lunch. I’m going to need a cupcake.There’s little information on where this saying came from, but it most likely originated as a maritime term, and referred to sailing with no wind, or ‘sailing over the tide’.
I have just $50 to tide me over until I get paid.
Meet Good Weekend columnist and editor
If you’ve completed our Feature Writing stage 1 course, or you’ve written feature articles before and want to hone your skills, your next step is the Feature Writing Stage 2 course. THIS IS THE LAST TIME THE COURSE WILL BE HELD THIS YEAR SO BOOK NOW.
Designed to give you the tools and confidence to pursue your freelance writing career, this course will feature two special guests – industry professionals who will be sharing their experience with you.
You’ll hear from hugely popular columnist, feature writer and author, Mark Dapin on "the art of interviewing" - and how to get great quotes out of your interviewee, whether they are the Prime Minister or the milk bar operator down the road. Mark will also talk about the feature writing process from beginning to end.
Another guest presenter will be Cindy MacDonald who has been deputy editor of Good Weekend since 2008. This is your opportunity to hear what goes on behind the scenes of one of Australia's most respected magazines. Cindy will give you an editor's perspective on what to do when you pitch your stories, what NOT to do, and provide an insight into what editors want from you.
You’ll also learn practical skills on:
- how to find the right angle
- how to attribute quotes correctly
- advanced interviewing techniques
- how to create balance in your stories
- nailing the lead of your feature
- where to find relevant sources for your story
- ethics and protocol
- facing journalistic dilemmas
- dealing with editors in the real world
- and other publishing conventions which are vital if you are serious about honing your feature writing skills.
This course is taught by Gayle Bryant, who has been a journalist for nearly 20 years and has worked in the media industry in Sydney and London. In the UK, Gayle worked full-time and freelanced for a range of publications including The Sunday Times newspaper and EuroMoney. When she returned to Sydney, she worked as the technology writer for BRW magazine.
Feature Writing Stage 2 with Gayle Bryant
When: Wednesdays starting Wednesday 29 September for five weeks
Time: 6.30pm – 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Click here for more information or to enrol online.
Student Success
More great news from a former feature writing student this week. Alex Temesvari completed Feature Writing Stage 1 with Holly Nott in July this year, and he’s recently scored a regular film-reviewing gig on Cut Print Review. Here’s some of his email to us: I recently completed your Feature Writing stage 1 class. I just wanted to let you know that since completing the course I have gotten regular film reviewing work from a website called Cut Print Review and I will also be writing a weekly column for them.
A Sydney magazine, Brag, has also asked me to come on board as a film reviewer.
So thanks for the great course! It really did motivate me to take action and start submitting my portfolio and also helped me brush up on a few areas of my writing.
Congratulations Alex!
Want to kick start your creative writing?
Been working on a story but not sure you’re heading in the right direction? Our next DAYTIME Intensive Creative Writing Stage 1 course starts soon!Plot, voice, character – these are all essential elements of a good story and knowing these elements will give your writing more structure, and you the confidence to pursue your writing dreams.
This creative writing 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 had to say about the course:
‘The presenter was fantastically patient with a bunch of beginners who had many questions, and she could talk from her own personal experience which was incredibly useful. It gave me a good idea of the amount of work and preparation involved in becoming a published author. I have started practicing!’
- Karena Viglianti
‘Jeni was a delight. Always interesting and entertaining, always open to any question; honest, pragmatic, knowledgeable; approachable and obviously passionate about her craft. The course was simply fun, inspiring and a joy to attend. I'm inspired, motivated and have a great big list now of things to do, write, read and research.’
- Karen Horne
The course is presented by Jeni Mawter, who is the children’s author of the hilarious ‘So’ series: So Gross!, So Feral!, So Sick!, So Festy!, So Grotty! and So Stinky! (HarperCollins) as well as the Freewheelers series: Unleashed!, Launched! and Extreme! (HarperCollins). Unleashed! was shortlisted for the WAYRBA Older Readers Award 2009.
Jeni has also published fiction, non-fiction, poetry and verse narrative for the education market. With a Master of Arts in Children’s Literature and a Diploma in Book Editing and Publishing Jeni has taught creative writing for many years at Macquarie University and at writers' centres. Her enthusiasm for words and books is infectious.
Daytime Creative Writing Stage 1 Intensive with Jeni Mawter
When: Monday 27 September to Friday 1 October 2010 (five consecutive mornings)
Time: 10.00am – 12noon
Cost: $395
Click here for more information or to enrol online.
Book giveaway – King of the Cross by Mark Dapin
You know that Mark Dapin is a popular columnist for the Good Weekend magazine, and that he’ll be coming along to our Feature Writing Stage 2 course as a guest presenter, but did you know that he’s also a novelist? Last year he released his first book, King of the Cross, described as ‘violently funny’, ‘truly original’, and ‘a killer read’. King of the Cross is a dazzling novel that explores the criminal world of Jacob Mendoza: legendary Godfather of Kings Cross and for more than four decades Australia’s most powerful and notorious crime figure. Now in his eighties, Mendoza believes it’s time to record his epic life story – although finding a competent writer is never easy. As Mendoza unfolds his seductive story of thugs and drugs, murders and mysteries, bikers, bent cops and girls, girls, girls, it emerges that he’s not the only one with a past. And as the memoir takes shape, other more terrifying criminals are circling the kingdom that Mendoza built.
We have one copy of King of the Cross to give away. If you’d like to win it, just tell us which famous (or infamous) figure you’d like to write about and why. Email your answer to courses [at] spindriftmedia [dot] com [dot] au by 5pm on Friday 1 October 2010 – and don’t forget to include your postal address!
Learn the rules of grammar and punctuation
You may be confident that your writing is grammatically correct, but could you say why? Could you recognise the most common mistakes found in writing? Can you spot the errant apostrophe? Many of us didn’t get to learn grammar and punctuation at school, but our one-day seminar can show you the golden rules that will transform your writing. Be warned – once you do this seminar you will be forever spotting grammatical and punctuation mistakes on signs, in newspapers and magazines, even books.
After this seminar, you'll come away with:
- knowledge that you can apply easily and immediately in your writing
- a clear understanding of how to treat common mistakes - such as apostrophes and plurals
- the basic rules you need to know to be confident in the workplace
- an understanding of when to bend, break or keep a rule or convention
- ability to discern when more than one solution is acceptable
- empowerment to justify your corrections to your own and other people's writing
- a taste of how professional editors approach their craft
- more confidence in applying the standard hard-copy editing marks to double-spaced copy
- and much more
‘Deb [has an] encyclopaedic knowledge and easy, breezy, inclusive style; she made learning a pleasure. Already I am more confident - I now have a name for the nausea inducing corporate speak that is rampant at my workplace - nominalisation. It is my curse, but also my new cause!’
- Di Mansell
‘The content was excellent. All of my niggling grammar questions have been answered. Even as I am typing this response I am conscious of where I should place my commas!’
- Niki Meris
Grammar and Punctuation Essentials with Deb Doyle
When: Friday 8 October 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.00am – 5.00pm
Cost: $395
Click here for more information or to enrol online.
WORDWISE: OK
OK. This must be one of the most commonly used abbreviations worldwide – even non-English speakers use it! But where does it come from? There are many theories on this but, according to Michael Quinion in his book Posh and other language myths, it actually originated in the Boston Morning Post way back in 1839, when abbreviations were all the rage. It appeared in a report about the Anti-Bell Ringing Society (the ABRS – they were campaigning to get a law banning the ringing of dinner bells rescinded). It seems to have been short for ‘oll korrect’, or ‘all correct’.
OK was then picked up by a polictical group called Democratic OK Club to support candidate Martin Van Buren in the 1840 presidential election. While in this example it was actually an abbreviation of his nickname, Old Kinderhook, the original meaning stuck, and OK is now widely used to mean something is agreeable, good or correct.
WEBPICK: Typography for LawyersDon’t be put off by the name of this website – it’s not just for designers and lawyers. The art of typography is often overlooked by most of us. After all, we have Word to fix all our mistakes, don’t we! But typography actually plays a very important role in making your writing readable, and Matthew Butterick (a designer and lawyer) thinks that lawyers just don’t get it!
The site is a fascinating look at typographical rules, from the basic to the advanced – many of which will apply to all of us, not just lawyers. There’s plenty of information on what typography is and why it’s important, as well as tips on choosing the best font.
Honestly – it’s far more interesting than it sounds!
Check it out here.
Other upcoming courses
Course: Creative Writing Stage 1 5-day Intensive course with Jeni Mawter
When: Monday 27 September - Friday 1 October 2010 (5 consecutive days)
Time: 10.00am - 12noon
Cost: $395
Course: Online Magazine Writing Stage 1 with Valerie Khoo/Pamela Wilson/Sue White
When: Week beginning Monday 27 September 2010 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Course: Magazine Writing Stage 2 with Gayle Bryant
When: Every Wednesday starting Wednesday 29 September 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Seminar: Editing at Work with Deb Doyle
When: Wednesday 29 September 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am - 4.30pm
Cost: $395
Course: Online Creative Writing Stage 2 with Pamela Freeman/Cathie Tasker
When: Week beginning Monday 4 October 2010 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Course: Online Creative Writing Stage 1 with Pamela Freeman/Cathie Tasker – NEW DATE
When: Week beginning Monday 4 October 2010 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Course: Magazine Writing Stage 1 with Holly Nott
When: Every Tuesday starting Tuesday 5 October 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Seminar: Grammar and Punctuation Essentials with Deb Doyle – NEW DATE
When: Friday 8 October 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.00am - 5.00pm
Cost: $395
Seminar: Writing for the Web with Grant Doyle
When: Monday 11 October 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am - 4.00pm
Cost: $365
Course: Online Writing Books for Children and Young Adults with Nicola Robinson – NEW DATE
When: Week beginning Monday 11 October 2010 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Course: Novel Writing Workshop with Pamela Freeman
When: Every Tuesday starting Tuesday 12 October 2010 for six weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $495
Seminar: PR and Media Releases that Get Results with Catriona Pollard – NEW COURSE
When: Thursday 14 October 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.00am - 5.00pm
Cost: $495
Seminar: Blogging for Business with Steven Lewis
When: Thursday 14 October 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am – 4.00pm
Cost: $365
Seminar: Introduction to Travel Writing with Geoff Bartlett
When: Thursday 14 October 2010 (two-hour evening seminar)
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $75
Course: Creative Writing Stage 1 with Jeni Mawter – NEW DATE
When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 14 October 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Seminar: Writing Letters and Emails with Deb Doyle – NEW DATE
When: Friday 15 October 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am - 4.30pm
Cost: $365
Seminar: Professional Business Writing with Mel Wilkinson – NEW DATE
When: Tuesday 19 October 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.00am – 5.00pm
Cost: $395
Seminar: Online Business Booster Bootcamp with Valerie Khoo
When: Thursday 21 October 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am sharp - 5.30pm
Cost: $695
Course: Writing Books for Children and Young Adults with Judith Ridge
When: Every Wednesday starting Wednesday 27 October 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Seminar: How to Get Your Book Published with Geoff Bartlett – NEW DATE
When: Thursday 28 October 2010 (two-hour evening seminar)
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $75
Course: DAYTIME Magazine Writing Stage 1 with Pamela Wilson – NEW DATE
When: Every Wednesday starting Wednesday 3 November 2010 for five weeks
Time: 10.00am - 12noon
Cost: $395
Course: Perfecting Your Pitch with Sue White
When: Thursdays 4 & 11 November 2010
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $175
Course: Your Story Structure with Kathryn Heyman – NEW COURSE
When: Fridays 5 & 12 November 2010 (two half-day classes)
Time: 9.30 - 12.30pm
Cost: $215
Course: Build Your Online Profile with Tristan Bancks
When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 18 November 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Seminar: Self-Publishing with Geoff Bartlett – NEW DATE
When: Thursday 2 December 2010 (two-hour evening seminar)
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $75
Course: Life Writing with Patti Miller
When: Every Friday starting Friday 14 January 2011 for six weeks
Time: 10.00am - 12noon
Cost: $450
Course: Travel Writing: Get Paid for Your Adventures with Sue White – NEW DATE
When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 20 January 2011 for four weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $345
Course: Life Writing with Patti Miller
When: Saturday 12 March 2011 and Sunday 13 March 2011 (2 day workshop)
Time: 10.00am - 4.00pm
Cost: $450
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
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