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Creative Writing
By Hannah Green How do you create that nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat page-turner? How do best-selling authors create tension in their writing?
Penny Griffith, author of Out of the Shadows – The Life of Millicent Baxter, tells us what
From staying motivated, to why they write, here are some of our favourite quotes about writing – from famous writers.
New Zealand Poet Laureate, Dr Selina Tusitala-Marsh Selina Tusitala-Marsh has published three critically acclaimed collections of poetry. She was the
GINNY SWART explains how to sell your short stories to magazine fiction supplements. “Only five more shopping days to
Whoever he or she is, your main character has to be someone your reader can identify with. If he’s the
by Louis Wiid The beginning of a new journey Sitting through hours of traffic jams every day on
Nicholas Sparks is a multiple New York Times bestselling novelist. MONIQUE JAFTHA looks at his writing process and how his
Writing can be tedious and a little depressing at times. Here’s how you can overcome these problems. BY ANYA
WEB WRITING
Your Stories
BY MIKE CASTO Joe Lansdale, the award-winning author of 45 novels, sat on the stage and told us, “Write as
I’m in the middle of writing a novel and I’m having a bit of a wobbly at the moment.
BY JOHN McCAFFREY Many years ago, I met with an agent friend and asked his advice on how I might
BY STEPHANIE MILLAR “We’re moving to Durban next month,” my dad nonchalantly announced. He and my mum had
Technically, I shouldn’t even be here. Where? Here, among a sea of writers filled with talent who always knew they
BY CARMEN MARCUS It was the summer of 1984 and Lady Di was just about to marry my toy gorilla,
BY CATHY MARTENS Ah, my elusive writing chops; where do they come from and where do they keep going?
Driving around in the Jordanian desert, we cleaned the car’s air filter more often than we filled up with fuel.
Doing a writing course can shine more light on your writing strengths and weaknesses than a 100-watt reading lamp. DANIELLE
By ANDREW PARK The best writing advice I ever received was from Chuck Palahniuk. No, wait! Chuck Palahniuk gave me the
Q & A WITH AWARD-WINNING WRITERS
Karen Jeynes is a well-known, award-winning playwright whose work includes “Laying Blame”, “sky too big”, “Don’t Mention Sex”, “Kiss
Successful journalist Sarah Lang may have started her working life sleeping in her mother’s garage, but she has quickly climbed
Sonny Whitelaw has enjoyed a successful career as a writer for more than thirty years. Her work as a photojournalist
For someone with a curious streak and a passion for Japanese design, Fiona Wilson may have one of the
Helen Brain is the author of 30 books for children, an adult memoir and many short stories. In 1998
Mandy Speechly has worked as a copywriter in the advertising industry for over fifteen years for leading international advertising agencies
Alex Smith’s most recent novel ‘Devilskein & Dearlove’ is a YA Fantasy, described by the ‘Sunday Times’ as “a magical
Fiona Ingram is a multi-award-winning author of adult and children’s fiction. She has won, or been a finalist in, over
When Lotta received her ‘Local Hero’ award in 2014, she celebrated it with lime and soda rather than bubbly. Lotta
Trending Posts
Apps for Writers
Boost your web writing career with these powerful apps. BY SARAH LLOYD We as 21st century writers are lucky to
If you are a person who fears or dislikes new apps, and you also happen to be a journalist,
While your Moleskine may never go out fashion, technology changes at a rapid pace. These five apps get you
Six apps to help travel writers organise, plan and execute their day. BY CHRIS STRYDOM Travel writers rely on technology
Anyone can share their travel stories on the Web. However, it is the quality of your writing, editing and photos
Web writing is an increasingly popular specialism for writers, but it’s also highly competitive. I’m sharing my top free and
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Well, it’s all about power, isn’t it? That’s where and why my life intersects the here and how
This competition was discontinued in 2025. Read recent winning entries in our e-anthology ‘The Writers’ Journey’, a free download
Logical flow is one of the trickier writing skills to master, but it is vital for good writing. Here’s a
Finally finished a piece of writing that you want to submit to an editor? Woohoo! But before you hit the
Need some writing inspiration and courage to keep going? Here are wise words from famous writers. “A professional
Here are 11 ways to draw in your reader and keep them hooked. Each one of these ways takes time
For most of the twentieth century, television was the preferred channel for advertisers to promote their goods to the masses.
The plot twist is the writer’s equivalent of magic: a sleight of hand, a puff of smoke and kazam! You
After over a decade of judging thousands of short stories in our national writing competitions, our Writers’ College
In most stories, people talk to each other. Many readers enjoy the “talking bits” the most, and will happily