|
We're on the way!
Hong Kong, 16-29 November, 2009
Hi everyone! We're exploring our new mail-out program and hope you can read this email newsletter. If you want to read previous newsletters,
click here to connect to our website.
As promised, here are details of our November 2009 Hong Kong sessions—it's a long list, so keep scrolling down! We're again delighted to be working with WiPS and the YWCA. We're also excited about taking our sessions to a new venue at Discovery Bay on Tuesday 17 November. AND we'll be running our popular one-on-one consultations, but you'll have to make an appointment soon as our time is filling up. Looking forward to seeing you,
Susanna and Sherryl.
Women in Publishing Society (WiPS) public meeting
Overcoming Writer's Block,
Sherryl and Susanna will bring new perspectives to this mysterious affliction and look at practical things you can do to get writing again. www.hkwips.org $100 WiPS members, $200 non-members. Register by email: events@hkwips.org and write 'Writer's Block' in the subject line. Payment can be made at the door by cash or cheque made out to 'Women in Publishing Society'.
Tuesday 17 November, 6:30-8:30 pm. Hughes Room, Foreign Correspondents Club
WiPS Saturday Sessions
Open to members and general public. See WiPS website for enrolment information www.hkwips.org. Note that one of these sessions is at the Fringe Club and another is at
JJs Hotel.
Websites and Marketing on a Shoestring
This session looks at free, cheap and cost-effective ways of publicising what you do. It will focus on how to plan a successful website, what to put in it, how to structure it, plus how to get it out there—how to use social networking and blogging to expand your profile. Whether you are an author or are running your own small/micro business, the focus is cheap and effective. Bring your book or business details for ideas generation.
Sherryl Clark ∞ Saturday 21 November, 9:30 am–12:30 pm. Helena May Centre
Practical Grammar
For those of us who don’t have linguistics degrees, this session picks the eyes of this massive topic—grammar—to focus on the elements that will help you to write with more accuracy and confidence. We’ll demystify the basics of punctuation and grammar using basic exercises. You’ll also learn techniques for making sure your work is editorially consistent, right down to the finest details.
Susanna Bryceson ∞ Saturday 21 November, 9:30 am–12:30 pm. Helena May Centre
Getting Published Internationally
This session will look at current markets around the world for fiction, non-fiction and children’s/young adult books, and how to research them in more depth. Most importantly, we’ll look at how to write a great query letter, how to pitch your book, how to approach an agent, and how to gain crucial industry knowledge to help you on your journey to publication.
Sherryl Clark ∞ Saturday 21 November, 2:00-5:00 pm. Fringe Club
Bring out the Best in your Writing
How can you tell whether your text is conveying your message clearly? How can you tell which parts need adjusting? What do ‘tightening’ or ‘polishing’ your text really mean?
This session explains simple methods for getting the most out of your actual written work, both as you write and when you redraft. We’ll harness your inner editor for good rather than negativity and look at techniques you can use immediately, whatever kind of writing you do, from fiction to business! Bring a short piece of writing to work on if you like.
Susanna Bryceson ∞ Saturday 21 November, 2:00-4:00 pm. JJs Hotel Wanchai. Max 6 places
Writing for Children and Young Adults
You may already be writing for the younger audience, or want advice on how to get started. This session covers the various kinds of books you can write for children, what is appropriate for each age group, what is ‘hot’ and what is not, and how to generate great ideas and explore them in a range of formats and genres. Bring a pen and paper.
Sherryl Clark ∞ Saturday 28 November, 9:30 am–12:30 pm. Helena May Centre
Writing Successfully for the Web
You’ve got a website plan and a great design, but what about the text? If you want visitors to stay at your site for longer than a minute, you’ll need to understand how writing for the web is fundamentally different to writing for print. This session sets out basic principles for writing information for website readers, from the people who browse over your site to those who seek detailed information.
Susanna Bryceson ∞ Saturday 28 November, 9:30 am–12:30 pm. Helena May Centre
YWCA sessions
Open to members and the general public. See YWCA English Speaking Members Department website for enrolment information www.esmdywca.org.hk or telephone 852 3476 1340. Our sessions are in the section called 'Language and Communications / Creative Writing'.
Writing Stories for Children
Do you want to write a picture book or a short children’s novel? This class looks at stories for various ages, structuring a good tale, the illustrator’s role, and getting ideas. We’ll cover what’s 'hot' right now, what kids like to read about, the kinds of characters they love, and using language and rhythm. Bring your own story ideas if you wish—feedback provided.
Sherryl Clark ∞ Monday 23 November and Thursday 26 November, 9:30 am–12:30 pm
Write and Sell your Life Experiences
Your life is chock full of experiences—family issues, travels, funny stories, skills you could share, the film you saw last week ... the list goes on. These sessions look at forming your experiences into articles to send to newspapers or magazines. Or creating meaningful reflections for you and your friends.
How do you structure your experience into a story? What do you put in or leave out? Who'd be interested anyway? These sessions explore a number of techniques so you can begin a short piece immediately. Who knows where this could lead you?
Susanna Bryceson ∞ Monday 23 November and Thursday 26 November, 9:30 am–12:30 pm
Write a Short Story in a Week
How do you start a story? Where do you get ideas? Why is the ending harder than the beginning in a short story? This class will start with writing exercises to inspire story ideas and beginnings. Then we'll focus on what goes next—how to brainstorm plot and character, explore story directions, discover original possibilities—and ending the story in a satisfying way. You'll leave with the structure and tools to finish your story in
7 days.
Sherryl Clark ∞ Monday 23 November, 1:30 pm–4:30 pm
Traveller's Writing
Hong Kong is a place where travellers live. This session will explore the many ways you can write about places you visit—or live in. It will explain techniques for capturing the essence of places, and will reveal the myriad topics right on your doorstep. Take any of these ideas further to get formally published or to record your travels for friends and family.
Susanna Bryceson ∞ Monday 23 November, 1:30 pm–4:30 pm
Traveller's Workshop follows this session, to look in-depth at refining a piece of your travel writing. Enrol for this separately. Thursday 26 November, 1:30 pm-4:30 pm
Chapter One
‘If you capture the right beginning, you’ve written a small version of the whole,’ says Les Edgerton, in Hooked. Whether you want to start your novel or you’ve already written it, that first chapter is the one that captures your reader and sets up everything that comes after, even the ending. Learn what it takes to create a great beginning and how to apply those same principles to the whole story. Page-turners start at page one!
Sherryl Clark ∞ Tuesday 24 November, 9:30 am–12:30 pm
Your Creative Self
Where has your creative self gone? If you feel your life is full of paying bills, completing chores and plodding from one 'To Do' list to the next, take heart. This workshop is about
re-discovering what creativity means to you, how you can choose to make it matter in your life, and how to find your way back to the joy of creating. All creative people welcome, not just writers!
Sherryl Clark ∞ Tuesday 24 November, 1:30 pm–4:30 pm.
Fearless Focus on Your Writing
Good writing doesn’t come out of thin air—there’s usually a lot of hard work behind the scenes that readers don’t see. This session delves into the best ways to get the most out of your writing and give your sentences the impact to tell your story.
Learn to analyse your text like a professional writer and editor. After this session, you’ll never see your writing the same way again. If you wish, bring a page of your writing to work on.
Susanna Bryceson ∞ Wednesday 25 November, 9:30 am–12:30 pm.
Is There a Non-fiction Book Inside You?
Have you ever said 'I know enough about that to fill a book?' Is there a topic you’ve tried to find books about? Has the topic been covered in the wrong way—for academics, for children, but not for you?
Well, maybe it’s time to give your idea a test run: non-fiction books sell far better than novels! This session explains how to create a topic and work out its niche; how to build a book proposal; how to write a sample chapter and sell your outline.
Susanna Bryceson ∞ Wednesday 25 November, 1:30 pm–4:30 pm.
Creating Dynamic Characters
It doesn’t matter what kind of fiction you write, or for what age group. If you create dynamic characters that your reader cares about, you’re more than halfway there. Characters create action and reaction, they make bad choices and disastrous decisions. They battle and flail, they dream and dither. Come to this session and take a new person home with you—a dynamic character to star in your next story or novel!
Sherryl Clark ∞ Thursday 26 November, 1:30 pm–4:30 pm.
Writing Makeover: Adding Oomph and Zing!
Tired of your old word-robe? Want to bring out your personality, make your descriptions dance, write with punch, add impact to your message, know how to be subtle?
Together, we’ll delve into the best ways to revamp your writing. We’ll get our hands dirty tunneling through the caves of vocabulary, style and sentence structures. You’ll emerge with fresh expressions, knowing what to polish and what to replace.
This will suit beginner writers as well as experienced writers who want to reinvigorate their style, from business and non-fiction writing all the way to fiction
Susanna Bryceson ∞ Friday 27 November, 9:30 am–12:30 pm
Discovery Bay sessions
Based at the perfect venue overlooking the bay, we'll be running 3 sessions on one day: Get Started with Your Writing,
The Building Blocks of Fiction, and Writing From Life. We'll also run one-on-one Writing Consultations ... and somewhere in there, we'll enjoy a delicious Hemingway's lunch.
For more information and enrolment, please contact us or Lorraine Cook on at sjcook@netvigator.com
Tuesday 17 November, 10 am onwards. Hemingway's Restaurant, Discovery Bay
One-on-one Consultations
One-on-one consulations have become a popular part of our Hong Kong trips and we'll be offering them again in November, for one or two-hour blocks.
These sessions have been used to discuss writing, book progress, synopses, website development, your marketing plans, and publication production issues. Rates: $400HK/one-hour session. We can generally be flexible about places and times.
Contact us direct to make appointments.
|
