In this issue:
- TIP: That or which?
- Get published in your favourite magazine
- More student success
- Make your travel pay!
- EJ Brady Short Story Competition
- The rules of editing
- WORDWISE: Sesquipedalian
- WEBPICK: I Write Like
It's been another busy week at the Sydney Writers' Centre. I'm thrilled to welcome journalist Matthew Nott and author James Roy to our team of wonderful presenters. Between them, they bring a wealth of experience and knowledge that I'm sure you'll find invaluable when you do their courses.Next weekend, Danielle (our amazing Operations Coordinator and book-lover) will be busy at the Byron Writers' Festival - make sure you say 'hi' if you spot her there. And I will be facilitating the Online Business Booster Bootcamp for 200 people in Fiji. For everyone who has been asking when Sydney Bootcamp will be ... the date is being announced soon so make sure you register your interest here.
TIP: That or which?
Please don’t think we’re being lazy by revisiting another tip this week, but many of our readers have asked about the difference between 'that' and 'which' so we felt this one was definitely worth revisiting. The key to this one is to remember the difference between a restrictive and a non-restrictive clause. A restrictive clause is part of a sentence that you can’t get rid of, and therefore you use ‘that’. For example:
A car that has no petrol will not go very far.
A non-restrictive clause is something that could be taken out of your sentence without affecting its meaning. In other words, it’s additional information. In this case you use ‘which’ and precede it with a comma. (Non-restrictive clauses are usually surrounded by commas.) For example:
The car, which had run out of petrol, was parked on the side of the road.
Easy, right? Just remember this advice from Grammar Girl:
Remembering to use that with restrictive clauses and which with non-restrictive clauses is the best method, but the quick and dirty tip of using which when you could throw out the clause will also get you to the right answer most of the time.
Get published in your favourite magazine
Want to know how you can turn your passion into a new career? It is possible, and many of our former students have gone on to do just that. If you want to write for magazines and newspapers, and get paid for it, you just need the confidence and the right tools to get you started. That’s what our Online Feature Writing course can give you – and you don’t even have to attend a classroom!
This course will cover:
- 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!
‘It was very easy and convenient to do the course online. I set myself a day to download the weekly PDFs and MP3s and would then fit in the three modules over the course of the week as it best suited my time availability. Some weeks I could do the whole Module in one sitting and other weeks I had to chunk it down to manageable time allocations around my schedule. The flexibility to do this was fantastic. I loved the fact that I could have a first listen through with the notes in front of me and then have the MP3 downloads with me in the car for a second listen which helped immensely.’
- Shaleen Hill
‘I've learnt loads! Yes, I have absolutely benefited from the course.’
- Melanie Tong
Online Feature Writing for Magazines and Newspapers with Valerie Khoo/Pamela Wilson
When: Week beginning Monday 2 August 2010 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Click here for more information or to enrol online.
If you prefer to learn in the classroom and can make it to our Milsons Point training rooms, our next Feature Writing course will be held with Mat Nott, a successful freelance journalist with over 20 years’ experience.
Feature Writing for Magazines and Newspapers with Mat Nott
When: Wednesdays starting Wednesday 18 August 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Click here for more information or to enrol online.
Student Success
Our first student success this week is David Andrews. In 2008 he completed both Creative Writing stage 1 and 2 with us, as well as a seminar on book publishing. Since then he’s been busy writing – working on a couple of novels and some poetry. One of his poems, ‘Persian Princess’ was commended in the John Shaw Neilson Poetry Award, run by the Fellowship of Australians Writers.
Congratulations David! We can’t wait to hear how the novels go.
Another former student achieving writing success is Martyn Clarke-Smith. He did our Online Feature Writing course in June this year, and already he’s had an article published! His article was published in the Narogin Observer in WA recently – on page 4 no less!
Congratulations Martyn!
Get paid to travel
Who doesn’t love the idea of travelling the world, writing about their experiences and then getting them published? It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it…If you’ve completed our Feature Writing course or if you just want to find out more about the travel writing industry and what you can expect as a writer, our two-hour seminar will arm you with all the information you need to get started. This seminar will cover:
- publishing opportunities (newspapers, magazines, electronic publishing, travel literature, other avenues)
- types of travel stories (service stories, destination stories, personal essays)
- what it takes to be a travel writer
- some straight talk about earnings
- finding and focusing your story
- the art and craft of travel writing
- getting published and making contacts (including tips on joining professional associations
‘I really enjoyed Geoff's presenting style and the wealth of information he presented us with. He was informative, engaging, gave plenty of useful and interesting information and gave us a clear insight into the industry. It really opened my eyes about how the travel writing industry works and by the end of the seminar all the questions I had beforehand had been answered. I can't recommend it highly enough.’
- Barbara Cullan
‘Lots of realistic practical information from an experienced travel writer. I awoke at 3am with ideas for travel articles and planning goals to achieve them. I just had to get up to write them down!’
- Pauline Reynolds
This seminar is presented by Geoff Bartlett, he has worked as a freelance travel writer and photographer for magazines and websites for the last six years. His current areas of focus are the islands of the South Pacific and Asia. He is a regular contributor to Pacific Island Paradises and Asian Paradises.
Geoff will show you all you need to know to see your travel experiences in print.
Introduction to Travel Writing with Geoff Bartlett
When: Monday 9 August 2010 (two-hour evening seminar)
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cost: $75
Click here for more information or to enrol online.
EJ Brady Short Story Competition
Just finished a creative writing course with us? Looking for an opportunity to practice your new skills and let your creativity loose? The EJ Brady Short Story Competition could be just what you need.
The 2010 competition is for short stories up to 2,500 words long. There is also a category for very short stories of up to 700 words. The theme is open so you can write in any genre you like for adults or young adults. Prizes are generous – first prize in the short story category (up to 2,500 words) is $1500 and the very short story winner will receive $500.
There is a $10 entry fee and you can download an entry form here. Entries close on Tuesday 31 August 2010.
The rules of editing
If you’re someone who finds the task of editing other people’s work tedious and time- consuming, then our newest seminar is for you. Editing at Work will teach you the ground rules of turning poor writing into polished documents. You’ll finish the day with a framework that will help you save time and make your job easier. You’ll also learn:
- the steps involved in editing
- 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
- about the role of editorial style sheets and house-style guides – and how to create them
- and much more!
Editing at Work with Deb Doyle
When: Wednesday 18 August 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30 – 4.30pm
Cost: $395
Click here for more information or to enrol online.
Wordwise: Sesquipedalian
Can you figure out what the following means?A lithoid form, whose onward courseIf you can, good on you! This is the sesquipedalian form of a common proverb. In other words, the proverb has been rewritten using long and ponderous words.
Is shaped by gravitational force,
Can scarce enjoy the consolation
Of bryophytic aggregation.*
Sesquipedalis comes from the Latin for ‘a foot-and-a-half-long’. It now means any word that has many syllables, or a statement that is characterised by the use of long terms. You might see examples of sesquipedalian words in corporate writing or, more recently, in political statements. Obviously this is not a word that comes up in everyday conversation, but I’d love to see the look on
some pollies faces if someone ever accused them of being sesquipedalian!
*A rolling stone gathers no moss.
WEBPICK: I Write LikeThis one’s been doing the rounds on twitter lately and I’ve seen many posts from people pleased to announce that they write like James Joyce, or Stephen King. One twitterer expressed dismay at her result – Dan Brown!
So, who do you write like? If you want to know all you do is cut and paste a paragraph of text into the analyser, and seconds later you’ll have your literary equivalent.
Check out I Write Like here.
(My result? James Joyce – probably has something to do with the fact I used my sesquipedalian piece.)
Other upcoming courses
Seminar: How to get your book published with Geoff Bartlett
When: Friday 30 July 2010 (two-hour evening seminar)
Time: 10.00am – 12noon
Cost: $75
Course: Online Feature Writing Stage 1 with Valerie Khoo/Pamela Wilson
When: Week beginning Monday 2 August 2010 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Seminar: How to get your book published with Geoff Bartlett
When: Monday 2 August 2010 (two-hour evening seminar)
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $75
Seminar: Introduction to Travel Writing with Geoff Bartlett
When: Monday 9 August 2010 (2-hour evening seminar)
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $75
Course: Online Writing Books for Children and Young Adults with Judith Ridge/Nicola Robinson
When: Week beginning Monday 9 August 2010 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Course: Grammar and Punctuation Essentials with Deb Doyle – FULL
When: Wednesday 11 August 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.00am - 5.00pm
Cost: $395
Course: Life Writing with Patti Miller – FULL
When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 12 August 2010 for six weeks
Time: 10am - 12noon
Cost: $450
Course: Screenwriting Stage 1 with Tim Gooding
When: Every Monday starting Monday 16 August 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Course: Editing at work with Deb Doyle – NEW COURSE
When: Wednesday 18 August 2010
Time: 9.30am - 4.30pm
Cost: $365
Course: Feature Writing for Magazines and Newspapers with Mat Nott
When: Wednesdays starting Wednesday 18 August 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Seminar: Writing for the Web with Grant Doyle
When: Monday 23 August 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am - 4.00pm
Cost: $365
Seminar: Professional Business Writing with Mel Wilkinson
When: Friday 27 August 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.00am – 5.00pm
Cost: $395
Seminar: Writing Letters and Emails with Deb Doyle – NEW DATE
When: Tuesday 31 August 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am - 4.00pm
Cost: $365
Course: Creative Writing Stage 2 with Pamela Freeman
When: Tuesdays starting Tuesday 31 August 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Course: Travel Writing: Get paid for your adventures with Sue White
When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 2 September 2010 for four weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $345
Seminar: Self-publishing with Geoff Bartlett
When: Thursday 2 September 2010 (two-hour evening seminar)
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $75
Course: Online Creative Writing Stage 2 with Pamela Freeman/Cathie Tasker – NEW DATE
When: Week beginning Monday 6 September 2010 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Course: Creative Writing Stage 1 with James Roy – NEW PRESENTER
When: Every Wednesday starting Wednesday 9 September 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $395
Seminar: Grammar and Punctuation Essentials with Deb Doyle
When: Friday 10 September 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.00am - 5.00pm
Cost: $395
Seminar: Proofreading at work with Deb Doyle – NEW COURSE
When: Friday 17 September 2010
Time: 9.30am - 4.00pm
Cost: $365
Seminar: How to get free publicity with Catriona Pollard – NEW COURSE
When: Thursday 23 September 2010
Time: 9.00am - 5.00pm
Cost: $495
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: 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
Course: Novel writing workshop with Pamela Freeman
When: Every Tuesday beginning Tuesday 12 October 2010 for six weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $495
Seminar: Blogging for Business with Steven Lewis
When: Thursday 14 October 2010 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am – 4.00pm
Cost: $365
Course: Build Your Online Profile with Tristan Bancks – NEW DATE
When: Thursdays starting Thursday 14 October 2010 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $395
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
Perfecting Your Pitch with Sue White – NEW DATE
When: Thursdays 4 & 11 November 2010
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $175
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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