Archive for the 'Writing Hints' Category

After 35 years in another life (as a primary school teacher) I guess I have always had a passion for correct spelling in anything written or published. I wince and groan at some of the errors that are allowed into final copies of our local newspaper. I would inwardly squirm when school newsletters were sent […]

My regular readers know that I am currently studying for my Master of Arts in Creative Writing.
One of the ideas impressed upon me by most of the lecturers and tutors last semester was the importance of striving to improve one’s writing. There is always room for change and improvement in any manuscript, whether that be […]

People starting out in the writing life sometimes ask this question.
Where do ideas come from?
I seem to have no trouble coming up with ideas for writing. They just seem to be everywhere. I usually have far too many story ideas to use myself - that’s why I often feature short story starters here on my […]

Last week one of my lecturers challenged the group with a fascinating warm-up writing activity.

The challenge: we had to write a paragraph without using the letter “e”.
Now e happens to be the most used letter of the alphabet in English. Mmm… we all rose to the challenge and started scribbling. Below is what I came […]

As I crossed the playground my mind was preoccupied by what was ahead of me. I was lost in thought about the lesson I was about to teach to my class. I was trying to remember the activities I had planned. My head exploded. Well - that’s what it felt and sounded like. The pain […]