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It’s All Write
IT’S ALL WRITE 4TH NOVEMBER 2011
Nov. 4 | Pumping Life into Those Characters No matter how exciting your story, if your characters are flat, two dimensional stereotypes no reader will connect with them and your story won’t work. Here are some pointers to help you create characters that...
ITS ALL WRITE-28-OCTOBER.2001
Oct. 28 | 5 Things I Learned From Re-Reading The Pearl by John Steinbeck I always listen to writers speak about the method a certain author used or how the plot developed in a book or the style of the author. They read books as writers. I find...
UNPACKING A WRITING SCAM
Oct. 21 | I recently received the following: Dear Author You are receiving this message because we know you are a good and active author. Visit PUBLISHERS’ DESK and see how you can get a respected literary agent to represent you or even get your works...
SELLING BOOKS IN BOTSWANA
Oct. 14 | When I was getting my first book published, The Fatal Payout, I spoke to the publisher about how I wished it would be marketed. I hoped that it could be produced in such a way as to keep the selling price as low as possible. I wished that it could be...
BOTSWANA WRITTERS MAKING US PROUD OUTSIDE OUR BORDERS
Oct. 7 | Up and coming performance poet, Gaborone born and raised, Mandisa Mabuthoe has done Botswana proud by taking first position in the recently held Poetry Slam in Harare, Zimbabwe. Mandisa MabuthoeThe event featured poets from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana,...
ITS ALL WRITE 30 SEPTEMBER
Sep. 30 | The Writers’ Room (Part 4): The Best and Worst Things About Being a Writer, Writing Goals We’re back in the Writers’ Room with our eight international and local writers. What is the best and the worst thing about being a writer? Beatrice LamwakaWame...
ITS ALL WRITE
Sep. 23 | The Writers’ Room (Part 3): The Mythical Muse and Getting Stuck We’re back in the Writers’ Room with our eight international and local writers. The muse- real or an urban myth? GothataoneGothataone Moeng: I do think muses are real,...
THE WRITER’S ROOM (PART 2)
Sep. 19 | What’s Most Important: Character, Setting, or Plot? We’re back in the writers’ room with our eight international and local writers. What do they have to say about which is most important in a story: character, setting or plot? Fiona Snyckers:If...
The Writers’ Room- Part 1: The Introductions
Sep. 9 | Writing is a unique art. The number of ways to be a writer is only limited by the number of writers. In this vein, I think it’s time we hear less of my way and more of some other writers’ ways. Welcome to the Writers’ Room! I’ve invited a collection...
WABO Workshop Series Off To Fantastic Start
Sep. 2 | On Saturday the 20th of August, the Writers Association of Botswana (WABO) kicked off its workshop series with a workshop on writing short stories held at Maru-A-Pula School in Gaborone. The facilitator for the workshop was WABO secretary general Wame...
What I Learned in Lagos- Farafina Workshop Part 2
Aug. 26 | I’m continuing last week’s column on the things I learned at the Farafina Creative Writing Workshop. One of the wonderful parts of the workshop was the opportunity to meet Kenyan Binyavanga Wainaina. Binyavanga is a past Caine Prize winner and the...
What I Learned in Lagos- Farafina Workshop Part 1
Aug. 19 | As I’ve mentioned before I attended the Farafina Creative Writing Workshop in Lagos at the end of June. I learned a lot there, so much I doubt it will fit into one column, so we’ll start with part one and see how far we go. The first four days were...
Botswana’s Copyright Law Has Got to Change
Aug. 12 | I got a message from someone that a school had photocopied one of my books for their students. I could mention the book and the school, I know the name, but I won’t. I called the Copyright Society of Botswana (COSBOTS) and the helpful lady there told...
My Caine Prize Experience
Aug. 5 | NoViolet Bulawayo I’m back now from London where I went for the activities associated with being short listed for the Caine Prize. Five, published short stories from around the continent were short-listed for the Prize this year: two from South Africa,...
The 5th Annual Bessie Head Literature Awards
Jul. 29 | Prof Mwiksa Recently I was interviewed by Kaya FM in South Africa and the interviewer, Mmasechaba Moshoeshoe, asked what advice I would give up and coming writers. I said writers must read, and writers must write. And I think they should come in that...
Strengthen Your Writing
Jul. 15 | Sttength Everyone wants stronger more interesting writing. Today let’s look at some easy changes you can make that can begin to wake up a boring, tired story. 1. Get rid of adverbs and adjectives. In English there are different parts of speech and each...
Creative Nonfiction- What is it?
Jul. 8 | African Mall Creative Nonfiction Creative nonfiction is a relatively new type of writing. It was first named as such in 1983. But what is it exactly? Creative nonfiction straddles the space between fiction and nonfiction. Whereas nonfiction is strictly...
Farafina Trust Writing Workshop
Jun. 24 | By the time you read this I’ll be already gone. I’m having far too much excitement for a woman who normally lives quietly in Mahalapye with little excitement save what I find out on my walks with my dogs every morning. Suddenly I’m being transformed...
Short Story Day South
Jun. 17 | 21st June is the shortest day of the year and has been appropriately chosen as Southern Africa’s day to celebrate the short story. Events are being planned around the subcontinent including discussions about short stories, readings, and writing workshops....
