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This January we have expert advice from Lorraine Mace on finding expert advice, Ten Top Tips covers writing eye-popping erotica and we also have the usual mix of success, useful websites and inspiration for the New Year.
Happy New Year to all our readers!
You’ll have probably noticed by now that the format of this month’s issue has changed. We’ve gone a bit more tecchie. Rather than having to scroll down through the whole text you’ll see the first paragraph of the section and then a read more link, as below. Clicking the read more link takes you to our website where you can now access the different parts of the e-zine using handy tabs. Check it out and let us know your thoughts – good or bad.
We are starting this new working year in Manchester with snow – and not just a bit of snow, oh no nothing so boring. We had more snow in one night that I have seen in the whole 10 years I’ve lived here. A bit of a shock I can tell you! Chaos on the roads, schools shut and skating rink surfaces. But, on the upside there have been some wonderful snowmen, unusual sculptures and it really is quite beautiful. Here are some fun pictures of the snowy conditions from up and down the country.
So, on to business! January is named after the god of the doorway – Janus. Very appropriate as it is the doorway into a new year. And, as is tradition, New Year is the time for resolutions – what’s yours? Mine is to be as helpful as I possibly can to all my lovely readers. This year I will strive to make E-Zee Writer better than it has ever been before and, to make it more to your liking, if any of you have ideas for features you’d like to see included please do not be backward in coming forward with them.
This month’s expert advice comes from Lorraine Mace – who’ll be helping you find an expert! This is invaluable if you wish to add some credibility to your writing and make it irresistible to publishers. Ten Top Tips covers writing erotica – not something for the faint hearted or easily offended – a largely untapped and potentially very lucrative area of writing. Plus, we have student stories from our forums – I love to read these as you get a real sense of the excitement felt at the time of writing, which I find infectious. And talking of success, the winners of our Writer of the Year Award are available to view on our website. A big congratulations to Cindy-Lou – it must be great to be living your dream! Well done to all the runners up too. To the rest of those who entered – never mind there’s always next year keep on writing!
Useful websites concentrates on erotica again and there’s the usual dose of inspiration and a fun little game to take your mind off things for a while.
Don’t forget to join our 21st Birthday celebrations – thank you for all our lovely birthday wishes! The competition for February is for all those budding copywriters out there. You should try to come up with a fantastic headline for The Writers Bureau Comprehensive Creative Writing Course. The competition opens on 1st February and closes on 28th. The prize is a copy of the Complete Copywriter Course and to enter add yourself to the RSVP 21st Birthday Celebration list. You’ll then get further instructions. Remember, all entries for monthly competitions will also be eligible for the laptop prize draw in November.
One of our tutors, Stephanie Baudet has had another book published called A ‘Measure of the Soul’ it’s a WWII drama and can be found here.
If you have the inclination to venture out this month you could attend the San Francisco Writers Conference in, yes you’ve guessed it, San Francisco – well the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel on Nob Hill to be precise. It takes place 12th to 14th February and “will feature nearly 100 agents, authors, editors and book industry professionals in a stellar set of opportunities for writing advancement. Attendees have access to more than fifty "how to" sessions, panels, and workshops taught by authors you know and love. Speed Dating for Agents and Ask a Pro are unique one-on-one opportunities to pitch your work directly to these publishing professionals. Celebrity book signings and social gatherings with other writers add to the excitement of the event. In fact no other writing conference offers so much one-on-one time with professionals for no extra cost.” It’s quite an expense at $645 but should be well worth it.
If you have an idea for a novel but don’t know where to start you should, of course, enrol on our Novel and Short Story Writing course. Once you have done that and you want to meet face to face with a bonafide novelist you could attend “Growing a Novel with Debbie Holt” a seminar run by Writing Events in Bath. According to the website, “In this hands-on workshop she will share her writing experience and introduce exercises to help you prepare the ground and plant the seeds of your novel to get it off to a flying start...” It takes place at the wonderfully named Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights on 2nd February between 6.30-8.30pm and costs £24.00.
If you are in the Customs House Library area of Sydney, Australia on 6th February and you have a spare $20 you could attend this intriguing workshop – Meditating on Memoir, “Using meditative writing techniques writer Jan Cornall will take you deep into sense memory, as you learn how to activate your narrator voice and develop the elements needed to bring your memoir to life.” Starts at 11.00am and finishes at 4.00pm.
If you do ever attend any of the events I list, please give me some feed back as to whether you found them of use or not – it’s always good to know.
Here’s a final thought for when you are struggling – I thought it most apt for New Year motivation:
“If you believe you can, it's possible. If you know you can, it's inevitable.” John Whiteman
Have a productive month!
Shelley x
P.S. Don’t forget the competition Best Headline for a chance to win a copy of the Complete Copywriter Course.
