tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82482452583735860342024-02-07T05:41:57.488+00:00Fiction Writers of West AfricaFiction, West Africa styleFiction Writers of West Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07749418132598995669noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-25426923868488311832012-05-16T16:37:00.001+00:002012-05-16T16:37:08.005+00:00Call for Submissions: Golden Baobab Prize<b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hello everyone. It's been a while, but I know a lot has been going on it the world of African fiction. I found a call for submissions that I think is perfect for breaking the nearly 6-month silence. Well, here goes:</span><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk3RiOeDTWn9QaiJ0Uj2dZVJx9KGVrCi6bCJK1US49zdp_2YZc1bK4Dj7PyGu3PbAZSz7_kXgMUOtP-MAoroV8J9PwHgygy78zaIvAPtFmFJj3WicBJII1mjV-X2Ne4oWAabsL71KDqmo/s1600/gb_poster.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk3RiOeDTWn9QaiJ0Uj2dZVJx9KGVrCi6bCJK1US49zdp_2YZc1bK4Dj7PyGu3PbAZSz7_kXgMUOtP-MAoroV8J9PwHgygy78zaIvAPtFmFJj3WicBJII1mjV-X2Ne4oWAabsL71KDqmo/s320/gb_poster.png" width="296" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk3RiOeDTWn9QaiJ0Uj2dZVJx9KGVrCi6bCJK1US49zdp_2YZc1bK4Dj7PyGu3PbAZSz7_kXgMUOtP-MAoroV8J9PwHgygy78zaIvAPtFmFJj3WicBJII1mjV-X2Ne4oWAabsL71KDqmo/s1600/gb_poster.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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</a><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is a pleasure to </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">announce</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ongoing</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Golden Baobab Prize, a literary award that annually invites entries of unpublished African-inspired stories written for an audience of ages 8-11 years or 12-15 years. The mission of the Golden Baobab Prize is to identify the African literary giants of the next generation and produce excellent stories that will be appreciated for years to come.</span></span><span style="color: #0c343d;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This year </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the prize will award $1,000 to the best story in the junior category as well as the senior category and $800 to the most promising young writer</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (18 years and below). Beyond that, the Golden Baobab Prize offers to connect outstanding stories with African and international publishers. The Prize is open to African citizens </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of all ages</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Deadline for submission is June 24, 2012.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #0c343d;">Please </span></span><span style="color: #cc6600; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">help us spread the word</span><span style="color: #cc9933; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #0c343d;">about the Golden Baobab Prize by:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. </span><span style="color: #cc6600; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Forwarding</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <span style="color: #0c343d;">this email and the </span><a href="http://goldenbaobab.org/images/home/gb_poster.pdf" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">poster</a> <span style="color: #0c343d;">to interested persons or organizations</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. </span><span style="color: #cc6600; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Encouraging</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <span style="color: #0c343d;">eligible persons (i.e. African citizens of all ages) in your networks to write and submit their stories. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. </span><span style="color: #cc6600; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Printing </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #0c343d;">out and putting up our </span><a href="http://goldenbaobab.org/images/home/gb_poster.pdf" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">catchy poster</a>. <span style="color: #0c343d;">It should only take a minute!</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Golden Baobab seeks to ensure that in the next ten years every young African will have access to excellent quality literature that they can relate to. We solicit your support in making this a reality. Please help spread the word.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #0c343d;">For more information about the Golden Boabab Prize, visit their website</span>: </span><a href="http://www.goldenbaobab.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.goldenbaobab.org</span></a>.<br />
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All I'll add is, TWEET THE HELL OUT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT! I want to see this trending, people.</div>
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Have a wonderful day,</div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">FWoWA</span></em></div>Fiction Writers of West Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07749418132598995669noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-65144078174333421522011-11-18T08:05:00.004+00:002011-12-04T19:42:00.528+00:00YA Author Interview + Free Book Giveaway: Elizabeth-Irene Baitie<div style="background-color: white; border-width: 0px; font-family: Georgia, "Bitstream Charter", serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Last year, Fiction Writers of West Africa (FWoWA)</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: -24px;"> posted an announcement of the 2010 <a href="http://www.codecan.org/get-involved/burt-award" target="_blank">Burt Award for African Literature</a>, so I'm especially excited to welcome the winner of that competition,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> Elizabeth-Irene Baitie,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> to the blog today. </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfBZKE4WmRcyY6hmWHjskfdfkYV-Jmq2H3pcV_K2ogfGkzUlrqWDRghrQZtTNhWNQE94ERuK_8pWviWqjFBh75ipC-iiyI9E2HbRGmj_kPV4nu-09am2yo_S6xWqQma_gusuHNlwY03wc/s1600/Elizabeth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfBZKE4WmRcyY6hmWHjskfdfkYV-Jmq2H3pcV_K2ogfGkzUlrqWDRghrQZtTNhWNQE94ERuK_8pWviWqjFBh75ipC-iiyI9E2HbRGmj_kPV4nu-09am2yo_S6xWqQma_gusuHNlwY03wc/s200/Elizabeth.jpg" width="132" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">Elizabeth at the launch of<br />
<i>The Twelfth Heart</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Elizabeth writes books for young adult (YA) readers. Her titles include:<i> A Saint in Brown Sandals</i> (winner of the 2006 Macmillan Writer’s Prize for Africa)</span><span style="line-height: 18px;">(</span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Macmillan Education</span>, 2010)</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">, and <i>The Twelfth Heart</i> (winner of the 2010 Burt Award for African Literature, Ghana) </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">(Kwadwoan Publishing, 2006)</span><span class="apple-style-span">; In 2002, her novel, <i>Lea’s Christmas</i>, was short-listed for the Macmillan Writers Prize for Africa (Senior readers).</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">The most surprising thing about Elizabeth isn't how successful she’s been in writing competitions, but that she juggles writing with a full-time job as a </span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;">Clinical Biochemist, running a medical laboratory practice in Adabraka, Accra, Ghana, and a full-time job as a wife and mother! She lives in </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Accra with her husband and three children.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXwD4g-FUzqNRjK0kRPNJ9a-AJk8L61oWLHdZ4lNPgZW7gbY1aXwkd-lzZnfsQ0d36mgs2F9YXAAhtpvDaSILBO4hlX0uaEEup4o_uEW0y3xd08nztiItauT3TNirHoEi80diQUay3p4/s1600/tth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXwD4g-FUzqNRjK0kRPNJ9a-AJk8L61oWLHdZ4lNPgZW7gbY1aXwkd-lzZnfsQ0d36mgs2F9YXAAhtpvDaSILBO4hlX0uaEEup4o_uEW0y3xd08nztiItauT3TNirHoEi80diQUay3p4/s1600/tth.jpg" /></span></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border-width: 0px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: inherit;">Elizabeth has graciously agreed to give away, not one, but TWO </span><i>autographed</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: inherit;"> copies of her YA novel, </span><i>The Twelfth Heart</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: inherit;">. All you have to do is <b>leave a comment or question</b> <b>on this blog post </b>between now and mid-night on 27th November, 2011! Two lucky winners will be selected by Elizabeth and announced both on this blog and FWoWA's Facebook page on 30th November, 2011. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Winners will have to send their contact details to </span><a href="http://fictionwritersofwestafrica.blogspot.com/p/contact-fwowa.html" target="_blank">fictionwritersofwestafrica@...</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> to arrange for picking up/dropping off/postage of the book.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><b>Interview:</b></i></span></div><div style="border-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="background-color: white;"></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><b><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">Hi Elizabeth, thank you for taking this interview with FWoWA. </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Always a pleasure!</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><b><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">To kick off things, tells us how come you write fiction. As a clinical biochemist, we’d expect textbooks or magazine/newspaper articles, certainly not literary fiction. So tell us, why fiction? And why Young Adult fiction?</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">I thoroughly enjoy my day job, but my first love has always been fiction writing. I couldn’t have been older than seven years when I began dreaming of writing the kind of stories that I enjoyed reading. My interest is not just in young adult fiction, but in stories for middle-grade readers as well (the nine to twelve year olds). The period spanning nine to eighteen years old is a time of great discovery (both of oneself and others) and evolution. There’s a great number of exciting issues to deal with in characters of that age range. </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><b><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">You work full-time and you have a family. How in the world do you find time to write?</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">An elderly aunt told me a few years ago: “My dear – you cannot do everything singlehandedly. At the end of the month, sacrifice a part of your salary, and pay someone to share your chores. That way, you’ll buy yourself time to do what you love.” I took her advice and hired two house-girls instead of one. I also hired a driver, which, considering that I have a total minimum commute of three hours daily, means a great deal of time saved. At the end of the day that doesn’t leave me with much extra by way of cash, but it means when I get home with my family at the close of day, I don’t need to stand behind a stove. Or do my washing or ironing. I cook only on weekends. Daily, I do about 90 minutes writing in traffic. I do another hour after supper – I sit and write at table with my kids while they’re doing their homework. Over the weekends I’m not as regimented, and may put in more or (usually!) less writing. </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-GB">That’s pretty impressive (note to self: learn from Elizabeth). </span></b><b><span lang="EN-GB">What are some of the greatest challenges West African writers have in breaking into the fiction market? And how did you break out of that mould?</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Empi, this is a hard one; I don’t think I’ve got the facts to adequately address this question. Can I pass please </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">J</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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</span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"><b>Well...I'll let you off the hook this time, because I have a more important question. </b></span><b>I just finished reading your latest novel, <i>The Twelfth Heart,</i> and thoroughly enjoyed it. While reading, it took me back to Secondary School days when I read Enid Blyton’s <i>Mallory Towers</i> and <i>St Clare’s </i>series. What triggered the plot for this novel?</b></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I went to Achimota School, and enjoyed the best seven years of my life there. It was the most exciting place to be as a teenager. There was always some drama going on. Being in that kind of environment is extremely stimulating to a budding writer. Years after I left school, the memories remained. Though everything in <i>The Twelfth Heart </i>was pure fiction, it was easy to write the story, because I could remember what it was like to be fifteen again. However I wanted my teenage readers to have a sense of how fleeting and precious life is. When you’re young, you tend to think you’re immortal. You take things for granted. But the rules are the same for young and old – we live, we love, we die.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"We live, we love, we die." I like that--actually, no. It's morbid, depending on how you look at it, but it's true. </span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">J</span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">To be honest, in the beginning of the story, your main character doesn’t appear to be nice at all. She’s mean and pretentious, yet you still manage to make her likeable. How did you mould her into being?</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">I think despite her glaring character flaws, the reader can identify with her. We’ve all been mean to other people(to varying degrees of course). Most of us have been untruthful before. We’ve secretly envied other people (or thought we were better than others) – particularly when we were younger. But like most of us, Mercy also has a conscience, and she suffers fear, doubt, guilt and remorse; when those begin to crowd in on her, it’s not hard to feel sympathy towards her.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now the big one. Mercy and her friends have just entered Year one of secondary school. Can we expect a sequel?</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Yes, there’s certainly going to be a sequel to <i>The Twelfth Heart</i>. There’ll be a total of three books, in fact. The second year in St Felice has a lot in store for the students!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">Tell us about the Burt Award. How did you hear about it? Did you already have a story that fit the criteria or did you develop the idea after you heard about the competition?</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">I was SO excited to see the call for submissions for the Burt Award in the<i> Daily Graphic</i> in October 2009. You see, I had actually begun a story about a group of girls in boarding school. It was great to have a clear target to work towards and to hope that maybe, just maybe I could write it well enough to snag the prize.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">How did it feel when you were informed that your book had won? </span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Exhilarating. I’d had a series of setbacks and challenges while I was writing it: in January 2010, my computer crashed after I’d written my first draft (after 2 months of writing) and believe it or not, I didn’t have a back-up - my computer had never crashed before! I began to re-write – and then my husband fell gravely ill in February. That set me back another 6 weeks. I picked up again in mid-April, but by the end of April I didn’t think I would make the deadline. I was overworked, disillusioned and tired. My wonderful father began to encourage me – he would NOT let go. "You can do it," he kept saying. So I stepped up the pace and submitted it an hour before the 4pm deadline on 31<sup>st</sup> </span>May2010. I’m glad I didn’t give up. It was worth pushing myself for!</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">You’re a multi-award-winning author, and before you laugh it off with a casual wave of your hand, remember I’ve already tooted your horn in the intro. Does winning get old? </span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Are you kidding?!</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">LOL. I just had to ask. What is your secret? Or better still, what does it take to write a story that stands a chance of winning a writing competition?</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Desire. Determination. Discipline.</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Desire </span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">– really wanting to write a book that people will enjoy reading.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The <b>determination</b> to stick with it even when I begin to develop doubts as to whether the story is worth writing – or reading.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The <b>discipline</b> to put in the hours - even when I’m tired, or have had a hectic day. I get cross with myself when I miss my scheduled writing time. I do skive off more than I should, but I always make an effort to get back on track. Of course it goes without saying that to write well you must have a love of books and reading. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">I have a stack of books that provide very (and I mean VERY) helpful tips on writing. They’ve been invaluable. I’ve never been able to go on a writing course or join a writers’ circle, so these books are my tutors. They help me hone my craft.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">Let’s talk about the writing process. How do you write? Are you a plotter (plan before you writer) or a pantser (decide the plot as you go along)?</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">A bit of both. More of a plotter, but not strictly so. I have an idea of where I want my story to go, and I usually plan an outline, but I don’t stick to it rigidly; I allow my characters to reveal themselves and have some input as to what happens in the story. It’s very important for me to have a clear picture and good knowledge of my main character(s) before the story starts (i.e. looks, age, family background, character traits, likes, dislikes etc).Once I know my characters well, the rest is easy, and the story never flounders. </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">Many Ghanaian writers go the self-publishing route, and so very few have experienced the editing process of publishing, contracts, etc. In your case, you didn’t have to pay for the publication of either of your two published books. What was the process like? </span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Pretty easy. In both cases a publisher was ready to pick up the winning titles. The publishers do have their own editors, but one must always look through your edited manuscript very carefully before it goes to print. In both cases, the contract was bog-standard. Royalties were 10% of profits. </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">What would you like to say to aspiring writers who are reading this interview and <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=8248245258373586034&postID=6514407817433342152&from=pencil" name="_GoBack"></a>wondering if the whole writing business is worth it, or worry they aren’t good enough, or fear that their voices and visions don’t matter enough to share?</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">There’s a terrifying amount of uncertainty in the world of writing. I certainly go through phases when I wonder if all the hard work is worth it. But if you were born to write, you will be even more unhappy when you’re <u>not</u> writing. I say write through your fears and your insecurities and your hang-ups. Write about them. The things that make your heart quail and the things that make you angry. The things that make you cry. Write down your heart.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Keep polishing your writing; do your best to make your work excellent. Keep pushing. Look out for opportunities and platforms to get your name and your work out there. You will get noticed. </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">Which of your books tested your skills as a writer the most and why?</span></b></span><span lang="EN-GB"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"> </span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">I just finished a full-length novel for young adults, and that’s been the most challenging so far. It’s got a pretty complex story line as the main character inhabits both earth and a plane of existence above earth. Making it entertaining <u>and </u>believable has been a challenge, but I think I pulled it off.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You're giving away two copies of The Twelfth Heart. What would you like readers to take away from it?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">People are special, and life is fragile. Live with care.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">Are you an avid reader? What genres do you enjoy reading and what are you reading right now?</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">I am quite a reader, though I don’t have the opportunity to read anywhere as much as I would like to, what with the pressures of work, family and writing. It takes me longer to finish a book now. My tastes are eclectic, and I will read both adult and children’s fiction. I love a good thriller or stories with exploratory themes. Right now I’m reading ‘<i>Speak</i>’ by Laurie Halse Anderson.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75;">Who is your favourite author, and what is it that really strikes you about his/her work?</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">I can’t tell you who my favourite author is – I’ve enjoyed so many. But I read Louisa May Alcott’s <i>Little Women</i> as a twelve-year-old, and it is a story that has stayed in my heart ever since. It was humorous, witty, touching, and oh so tragic. I laughed and wept and never forgot those special girls, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">What’s next? Are you working on anything at the moment?</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">I just finished a full-length novel for young adults – fantasy fiction. I’m doing some tweaking after the final edit and hope to find a literary agent for it.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ah, the search for a literary agent - that's a whole other ballgame. We won't talk about it here. But I will say this: fantasy fiction is very 'in' nowadays, so it seems your new novel has been written at just the right time. I'm certainly interested in reading a fantasy fiction from an African writer (hint, hint) ;-)</span></b></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">Elizabeth, once again, thanks so much for the interview. Good luck with the promotion of <i>The Twelfth Heart</i> and on your next projects. </span></span></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 23px;">As previously announced, Elizabeth is giving away two autographed copies of </span><i style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 23px;">The Twelfth Heart</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 23px;">. Just say hello, leave a comment or question for Elizabeth and check back after the 27th to see if you won yourself a free book. Easy as that!</span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; border-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i>And later on, you can always find <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002019396698" target="_blank">Elizabeth on Facebook</a></i></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><i>FWoWA</i></b></div><div style="background-color: white; border-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18px;"><i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18px;"><i>(Book cover pic credit: <a href="http://www.marymartin.com/web/selectedIndex?mEntry=131450" target="_blank">Mary Martha Booksellers</a>)</i></span></div>Fiction Writers of West Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07749418132598995669noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-75332187806942745622011-11-12T09:04:00.003+00:002011-11-16T17:10:50.918+00:00Author Interview and Free Book Give-away: Elizabeth-Irene Baitie 18/11/11<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXwD4g-FUzqNRjK0kRPNJ9a-AJk8L61oWLHdZ4lNPgZW7gbY1aXwkd-lzZnfsQ0d36mgs2F9YXAAhtpvDaSILBO4hlX0uaEEup4o_uEW0y3xd08nztiItauT3TNirHoEi80diQUay3p4/s1600/tth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXwD4g-FUzqNRjK0kRPNJ9a-AJk8L61oWLHdZ4lNPgZW7gbY1aXwkd-lzZnfsQ0d36mgs2F9YXAAhtpvDaSILBO4hlX0uaEEup4o_uEW0y3xd08nztiItauT3TNirHoEi80diQUay3p4/s1600/tth.jpg" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">Would you like to win this book?</span></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white;">The author, Elizabeth-Irene Baitie, is giving away, not one, but TWO autographed copies of her YA novel, The Twelfth Heart. Did I say FREE? All you have to do is visit the FWoWA blog between 18th & 27th Nov., 2011, read her interview and leave a comment or question on the blog post before mid-night on 27th November, 2011! Two lucky commenters will be selected by Elizabeth and announced both here and on the blog.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">Blurb</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When Mercy came to her new school near Accra, she knew exactly the sort of friends she wanted to make: certainly no-one who reminded her of the small town she had left behind—poor, ugly and dull. She did not realize that true friendship comes from the heart, and that the least likely of the twelve girls in the dormitory would come to mean the most to them all. </span></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">Ten minutes before the morning chapel bell rang, I s</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=8248245258373586034&postID=7533218780694274562" name="_GoBack"></a><span style="color: black;">lipped out of the house when Catherine wasn’t looking and went back to the spot where I had lost my shoe.With a stick, I rummaged through the dewy grass and weeds, then after a minute, I threw the stick away, and with bare hands, frantically pushed aside bushes, clinging creepers, stones and fallen branches. The tolling of the morning chapel bell began, and with a last desperate look around, I straightened up. My shoewas not here.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Duringthe chapel service I tried to look calm, to hide my agitation. Why was my pump missing? Had a scavenger taken it, and if so of what use was one shoe to him? Or her? I barely listened to the scripture lesson or the sermon.Just before the end of the service, the senior housemistress, Mrs Tanko,took the podium. She was a plump woman with frizzy grey hair and rimless glasses. Following chapel, she said, some professionals would be giving us a talk on swine flu. The whole school was to proceed to the assembly hall. A collective groan arose from the school. </span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“There is another announcement,” she continued, her voice steely. “Last night while the school security was on patrol, some students were seen sneaking back into school from outside.”</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hot, liquid fear seared through my veins. </span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“We suspect that the culprits were girls of Morton House.” she continued. She turned aside and spoke to a security man beside her. He stepped forward, reached into a bag, and raised something high above his head. </span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My gold pump.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;">Keep calm, Mercy, look straight ahead</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;">.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> In front of me, Juliet sat with her arm stretched across the back of the bench and her head propped on her hand. Elinam whispered something to her and she smiled - a perfectly natural smile. Beside me Michaela craned her neck to see the exhibit. “Nice shoe,” she whispered to me.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The blood rushed to my head and I could feel the veins in my temple throbbing. My head felt like it was going to explode. My shoe was marked with my initial - I could see the black inscription from where I sat.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“This gold size 6 shoe was found in the bushes near Morton House last night,” Mrs Tanko announced.“We suspect one of the girls was wearing it. We would like whoever owns the other half to know that her initials are inscribed in the slipper and…”</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The chapel was a silent as a tomb, as five hundred pairs of lungs held their breath -</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“…and we will soon identify her.”</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My stay in St Felice was over. I was going to be expelled. In a few minutes I would be in the dorm, gathering my belongings to return in disgrace to Aboagyekrom.</span></span></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But Mrs Tanko had not finished. “There is a chance for the owner of this shoe to find mercy,” she said, and I froze hoping no-one had seen me flinch at the mention of the word ‘mercy.’</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“If she will come forward, and own up we will give a reasonable punishment for what she… they…have done. If not …” she levelled a cold gaze at the whole school, running her eyes over the entire student body, “then the consequences will be severe.”</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This was my chance. If I owned up now, if I begged for forgiveness then perhaps I would be suspended, not expelled. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Get up now, Mercy</i>. But the bones in my legs had softened to wet clay. I could not stand up. </span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“If she, or they, take the cowards option and decide to hide, we will uncoverthem. We are still investigating the situation, and when they are caught they will be brought to book. St Felice has a reputation to maintain and we will not have our name associated with wayward behaviour,” Mrs Tanko finished.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">‘Still investigating’ she had just said. Investigating what? The number of Morton House girls with the initials M.T.G? There was only one I could think of: Me. Did they know the shoe was mine, and were they giving me a chance to own up?</span></span></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 12pt 0in 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">‘Investigations…reasonable punishment…severe consequences.’ </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I began to feel nauseous. </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Breathe. Mercy breathe. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;"><strong>~~~</strong></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #274e13; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 18px;"><i>FWoWA</i></span></span></div>Fiction Writers of West Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07749418132598995669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-60130946376183225712011-10-10T07:57:00.000+00:002011-10-10T07:57:57.868+00:00Poetry Competition Announcement: UNODA Poetry for Peace contest<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"></span><br />
<div style="clear: both; color: #000033; display: block; margin-top: 30px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">I've only discovered this poetry competition now. There are four days for entry and voting. Please read the announcement below:</div><div style="clear: both; color: #000033; display: block; margin-top: 30px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">A social media <i>Poetry for Peace contest</i> is being held from 15th September - 14th October to share messages of peace.</div><div style="color: #000033; display: block; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #000033; display: block; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">Many atomic bomb survivors, called <i><a href="http://www.un.org/disarmament/content/slideshow/hibakusha/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #353767; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none;">HIBAKUSHA</a></i> (hi-ba-coo-sha), have dedicated their lives to peace. Although the average hibakusha is now 73 years old, they continue to work for nuclear disarmament by sharing, their first-hand accounts of the horrific effects of nuclear weapons. Take this valuable opportunity to listen to <i>hibakusha</i> testimonies and participate in the "Poetry for Peace" contest.</div><img align="right" height="320" src="http://www.un.org/disarmament/special/poetryforpeace/cranes.jpg" style="margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 40px;" title="Sadako statue with paper cranes photo by Ryan Meuth" width="200" /><h2 style="color: #333333; font-size: 1em; font-weight: bold; margin-top: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">What is the "Poetry for Peace" contest?</h2><div style="color: #000033; display: block; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">This poetry contest is a platform to share your thoughts and feelings about the <i>hibakusha</i> testimonies. In their own voices, hibakusha have recorded their testimonies for you and future generations to hear. To take part in the contest, follow the simple steps below:</div><ol style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 50px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">Listen to a <i>hibakusha</i> story:<ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 30px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/dnp/hibakusha_popup.html" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #353767; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">At the UN Cyber Schoolbus</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.global-peace.go.jp/en/sound/index.html" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #353767; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">From the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Peace Memorial Halls</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/un/disarmament/arms/testimony_of_hibakusha/index.html" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #353767; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">Based on the account you heard, share your feelings through verse. It can be a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #353767; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none;">haiku</a>, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sonnet" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #353767; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none;">sonnet</a>, or anything in between.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">Submit your poem for peace via email sent to <a href="mailto:unoda-web@un.org?subject=Poems%20for%20Peace" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #353767; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none;">unoda-web@un.org</a> with "Poems for Peace" in the subject line. Selected poems will be posted on the UN website, with links to those poems on the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/unpeaceday" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #353767; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none;">International Day of Peace Facebook Page</a>.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;">Visit the posted poems through the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/unpeaceday" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #353767; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none;">International Day of Peace Facebook Page</a> and <u>vote by clicking "like" next to the poems that move you.</u></li>
</ol><div style="color: #000033; display: block; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">THREE winners will be selected among those with the most "likes" by a panel of judges from the United Nations and the Japanese Government. Their names will be read out in a commemorative event during Disarmament Week in October 2011. They will also be announced on the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/unpeaceday" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #353767; padding-left: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a> page and on the UN website.</div><div style="color: #000033; display: block; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #000033; display: block; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">Good luck to all who intend to enter.</div><div style="color: #000033; display: block; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #000033; display: block; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px;">FWoWA</div>Fiction Writers of West Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07749418132598995669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-72250266011810243292011-09-12T12:20:00.001+00:002011-09-12T12:24:10.773+00:00Call for submissions: The Writers Project of Ghana<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a data-mce-href="http://empibaryeh.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/twpg_logo.png" href="http://empibaryeh.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/twpg_logo.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-642" data-mce-src="http://empibaryeh.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/twpg_logo.png?w=300" height="34" src="http://empibaryeh.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/twpg_logo.png?w=300" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left;" title="tWPG_logo" width="300" /></a></div>The Writers Project of Ghana is calling for submission toward two anthologies of Ghanaian writing to be published in 2012--one anthology of poetry and another of short stories.<br />
<strong></strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Submission deadline is 30th September, 2011.</strong><br />
<span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><br />
</strong></span><br />
<span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Details</strong></span><br />
~<strong>Poetry</strong>: Send in five poems on any theme to <a data-mce-href="mailto:poetry@writersprojectghana.com" href="mailto:poetry@writersprojectghana.com">poetry@writersprojectghana.com</a>. Maximum length of any poem is 120 lines.<br />
~ <strong>Short Stories</strong>: Send up to two short stories between 400 – 5,000 words, on any theme to <a data-mce-href="mailto:story@writersprojectghana.com" href="mailto:story@writersprojectghana.com">story@writersprojectghana.com</a>.<br />
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*The target readership for these anthologies is young adults and older.<br />
*The language of choice is English, but works in other Ghanaian languages are welcome.<br />
*E-mail submissions can be made as attachments or as text within the e-mail.<br />
<strong>*All submissions must be of original, previously unpublished writing.</strong><br />
<strong><br />
</strong><br />
<strong>Enquiries</strong>: <em><a href="mailto:info@writersprojectghana.com">info@writersprojectghana.com</a>.</em><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>The 2011 Anthology of Poetry, <em>look where you have gone to sit, </em>is available for purchase at the following places:<br />
<img class="size-full wp-image-635 alignright" data-mce-src="http://empibaryeh.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/look.jpg" data-mce-style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial;" height="164" src="http://empibaryeh.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/look.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right;" title="look" width="122" /><br />
<ul><li>EPP bookshops</li>
<li>University of Ghana Bookshop, Legon</li>
<li>Citi FM, Adabraka</li>
<li>All Writers Project Programmes</li>
</ul><div>Check out the original announcement <a href="http://writersprojectghana.com/anthologies-for-2012/">here</a>.</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>Best of luck,</div><i>FWOWA</i>Fiction Writers of West Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07749418132598995669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-75599611393635871442011-08-30T15:48:00.002+00:002011-09-01T16:12:20.637+00:00Announcing the AfRo Writing Competition<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 13px; line-height: 21px;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkgVa1uJSI09LCy1aZyywFx94xMJsSqOWHDadsC-uiToy7EbBlqbvsPmKW0XasMy19y54kLqx2jBHmnQRAAiIzbRuJxXEEvPgb2C56p3Qf0NB78Fb5nl3FY6eQMYcKy4-pd1U4coR8z4/s1600/Logo+Africana+Publishing_low.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkgVa1uJSI09LCy1aZyywFx94xMJsSqOWHDadsC-uiToy7EbBlqbvsPmKW0XasMy19y54kLqx2jBHmnQRAAiIzbRuJxXEEvPgb2C56p3Qf0NB78Fb5nl3FY6eQMYcKy4-pd1U4coR8z4/s200/Logo+Africana+Publishing_low.jpg" width="183" /></a></div>Remember the call for submissions post for Africana Pocketbooks in July? (if you don't remember, you can click <a href="http://www.blogger.com/I%20posted%20a%20call%20for%20submission%20on%20the%20Fiction%20Writers%20of%20West%20Africa%20(FWoWA)%20blog%20on%20Africana%20Pocketbooks.%20Well,%20not%20only%20are%20they%20calling%20for%20submissions,%20but%20Africana%20Pocketbooks%20(Ghana)%20has%20launched%20a%20romance%20writing%20competition,%20dubbed%20the%20AfRo%20Writing%20competition,%20with%20the%20objective%20of%20producing%20Ghanaian%20romance%20novels%20featuring%20locations,%20heroes,%20heroines%20and%20storylines%20that%20reflect%20contemporary%20Ghana.%20%20The%20competition%20will%20run%20on%20Facebook%20through%20an%20interactive%20process%20where%20writers,%20readers%20and%20friends%20can%20contribute%20to%20the%20creative%20process.%20%20If%20you're%20already%20polishing%20your%20manuscript%20in%20your%20head,%20then%20keep%20reading;%20it%20gets%20better:%20%20COMPETITION%20DETAILS%20%20The%20competition%20runs%20from%201st%20September,%202011%20%E2%80%93%201stDecember,%202011.%20There%20will%20be%20three%20stages%20of%20the%20competition.%20Stories%20entered%20in%20the%20competition%20must%20be%20completed%20by%201st%20December,%202011,%20as%20the%20winner%20will%20be%20expected%20to%20submit%20a%20full%20manuscript%20at%20the%20end%20of%20the%20competition.%20To%20enter%20the%20competition,%20leave%20comments%20or%20%E2%80%98like%E2%80%99%20any%20entries,%20please%20join%20the%20Afro%20Romance%20Writing%20Competition%20Facebook%20group.%20%20%20%20STAGE%201:%20Synopsis:%201%20Sept.%20%E2%80%93%2022%20Sept.,%202011%20%20Post%20a%20short%20synopsis%20of%20for%20your%20romance%20on%20AfRo%E2%80%99s%20Facebook%20page%20by%20using%20the%20%22create%20doc%22%20function.%20Synopsis%20shall%20not%20exceed%201000%20words,%20and%20should%20cover%20the%20entire%20story%20including%20the%20end%20(no%20cliffhangers%20or%20teasers,%20please).%20Remember:%20Keep%20it%20simple.%20Entries%20will%20be%20subjected%20to%20peer%20reviews%20in%20an%20open,%20creative%20process%20taking%20place%20on%20Facebook.%20The%20process%20will%20be%20overseen%20and%20moderated%20by%20representatives%20of%20Africana%20Pocketbooks.%20On%2022nd%20September,%20the%20editorial%20panel%20will%20select%20ten%20(10)%20synopses%20that%20will%20go%20through%20to%20Stage%202.%20All%20ten%20winners%20will%20get%20feedback%20on%20their%20synopses.%20%20%20%20STAGE%202:%20Get%20writing:%2030%20September%20%E2%80%93%2020%20October,%202011%20%20The%20ten%20winners%20will%20enter%20Stage%202%20of%20the%20competition%20by%20uploading%20the%20first%20chapters%20of%20their%20novel%20on%20AfRo%E2%80%99s%20Facebook%20page,%20using%20the%20%22create%20doc%22%20function.%20Chapters%20should%20not%20exceed%203000%20words.%20Entries%20will%20be%20subjected%20to%20peer%20reviews%20in%20an%20open,%20creative%20process%20taking%20place%20on%20Facebook.%20The%20process%20will%20be%20overseen%20and%20moderated%20by%20representative%20of%20Africana%20Pocketbooks.%20On%2020th%20October,%20the%20editorial%20panel%20will%20select%20five%20(5)%20winners%20who%20will%20go%20through%20to%20Stage%203%20of%20the%20competition.%20All%20five%20winners%20will%20get%20feedback%20on%20their%20sample%20chapters.%20%20%20%20STAGE%203:%20Get%20serious:%2028%20October%20%E2%80%93%2018%20November,%202011%20%20The%20five%20winners%20will%20enter%20Stage%203%20of%20the%20competition%20by%20uploading%20the%20next%20three%20chapters%20of%20their%20novel%20on%20AfRo%E2%80%99s%20Facebook%20page.%20The%20chapters%20should%20be%20posted%20one%20at%20a%20time,%20one%20week%20apart,%20i.e.:%20Chapter%20two%20must%20be%20posted%20between%2028th%20October%20and%203rdNovember%20Chapter%20three%20must%20be%20posted%20between%204th%20and%2010thNovember%20Chapter%20four%20must%20be%20posted%20between%2011th%20and%2031stNovember%20Chapters%20should%20not%20exceed%203000%20words%20each.%20The%20samples%20will%20be%20subjected%20to%20peer%20reviews%20in%20an%20open,%20creative%20process%20taking%20place%20on%20Facebook.%20The%20process%20will%20be%20overseen%20and%20moderated%20by%20representatives%20of%20Africana%20Pocketbooks.%20%20%20%20The%20Winner%20of%20the%20AfRo%20competition%20will%20be%20announced%20on%201stDecember,%202011.%20%20%20%20%20THE%20PRIZE%20%20The%20overall%20winner%20will%20enter%20into%20an%20editorial%20process%20with%20Africana%20Pocketbooks%20and%20our%20editor,%20which%20will%20result%20in%20a%20contract%20including%20full%20editorial%20process,%20publishing%20and%20printing%20of%20at%20least%2010,000%20copies,%20and%20promotion%20in%20Ghana.%20The%20finished%20title%20will%20be%20scheduled%20for%20publication%20in%202012.%20%20The%20two%20runners-up%20will%20get%20detailed%20feedback%20on%20their%20entries%20with%20the%20aim%20of%20making%20them%20eligible%20for%20future%20publication.%20%20%20%20%20TERMS%20AND%20CONDITIONS%20OF%20THE%20COMPETITION%20%20Eligibility:%20The%20competition%20is%20open%20to%20Ghanaian%20writers,%20or%20writers%20resident%20in%20Ghana%20Story%20settings:%20Stories%20must%20be%20set%20in%20Ghana%20and%20feature%20Ghanaian%20locations,%20heroes%20and%20heroines.%20Guidelines:%20Submission%20must%20adhere%20to%20the%20Africana%20Romance%20(AfRo)%20writing%20guidelines.%20Stories%20must%20not%20have%20been%20submitted%20earlier%20to%20any%20other%20publishing%20houses%20Good%20luck%20all">here</a>). There's more good news where that came from. </div><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;"><i> Africana Pocketbooks (Ghana)</i> has launched a romance writing competition, dubbed the <strong style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px;">AfRo Writing competition </strong><span style="line-height: 17px;">(AfRo was coined from <b>Af</b>ricana <b>Ro</b>mance)</span>, with the objective of producing Ghanaian romance novels featuring locations, heroes, heroines and storylines that reflect contemporary Ghana.</div><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">The competition will run on Facebook through an interactive process where writers, readers and friends can contribute to the creative process.</div><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">If you're already polishing your manuscript in your head, then keep reading; it gets better:</div><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px;">COMPETITION DETAILS</strong></div><ul style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The competition runs from 1st September, 2011 – 1stDecember, 2011.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">There will be three stages of the competition.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Stories entered in the competition must be completed by 1st December, 2011, as the winner will be expected to submit a full manuscript at the end of the competition.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">To enter the competition, leave comments or ‘like’ any entries, please join the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/AfRo-Competition/159670937446579#%21/groups/206464056080432/" style="color: #0088cc; cursor: pointer; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Afro Writing Competition Page">Afro Romance Writing Competition Facebook group</a>.</li>
</ul><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px;">STAGE 1: Synopsis: 1 Sept. – 22 Sept., 2011</strong></div><ul style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Post a short synopsis of for your romance on AfRo’s Facebook page by using the "create doc" function. Synopsis shall not exceed 1000 words, and should cover the entire story including the end (no cliffhangers or teasers, please). Remember: Keep it simple.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Entries will be subjected to peer reviews in an open, creative process taking place on Facebook.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The process will be overseen and moderated by representatives of Africana Pocketbooks.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">On 22nd September, the editorial panel will select ten (10) synopses that will go through to Stage 2.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">All ten winners will get feedback on their synopses.</li>
</ul><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px;">STAGE 2: Get writing: 30 September – 20 October, 2011</strong></div><ul style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The ten winners will enter Stage 2 of the competition by uploading the first chapters of their novel on AfRo’s Facebook page, using the "create doc" function. Chapters should not exceed 3000 words.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Entries will be subjected to peer reviews in an open, creative process taking place on Facebook.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The process will be overseen and moderated by representative of Africana Pocketbooks.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">On 20th October, the editorial panel will select five (5) winners who will go through to Stage 3 of the competition.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">All five winners will get feedback on their sample chapters.</li>
</ul><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px;">STAGE 3: Get serious: 28 October – 18 November, 2011</strong></div><ul style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The five winners will enter Stage 3 of the competition by uploading the next three chapters of their novel on AfRo’s Facebook page. The chapters should be posted one at a time, one week apart, i.e.:</li>
<ul style="line-height: 17px; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Chapter two must be posted between 28th October and 3rdNovember</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Chapter three must be posted between 4th and 10thNovember</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Chapter four must be posted between 11th and 31stNovember</li>
</ul></ul><ul style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Chapters should not exceed 3000 words each.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The samples will be subjected to peer reviews in an open, creative process taking place on Facebook.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The process will be overseen and moderated by representatives of Africana Pocketbooks.</li>
</ul><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px;">The Winner of the AfRo competition will be announced on 1stDecember, 2011.</strong></div><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px;">THE PRIZE</strong></div><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">The overall winner will enter into an editorial process with Africana Pocketbooks and our editor, which will result in a contract including full editorial process, publishing and printing of at least 10,000 copies, and promotion in Ghana. The finished title will be scheduled for publication in 2012.</div><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">The two runners-up will get detailed feedback on their entries with the aim of making them eligible for future publication.</div><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;"><strong style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px;">TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE COMPETITION</strong></div><ul style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 17px; text-decoration: underline;">Eligibility</span>: The competition is open to Ghanaian writers, or writers resident in Ghana</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 17px; text-decoration: underline;">Story settings</span>: Stories must be set in Ghana and feature Ghanaian locations, heroes and heroines.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 17px; text-decoration: underline;">Guidelines</span>: Submission must adhere to the <a href="http://africanapublishing.com/afrowritingguidelines.html" style="color: #0088cc; cursor: pointer; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Africana Romance (AfRo) writing guidelines</a>.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Stories must not have been submitted earlier to any other publishing houses</li>
</ul><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">Good luck to all</div><div style="font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>FWoWA</i></span></div>Fiction Writers of West Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07749418132598995669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-663188882242025372011-08-05T09:52:00.002+00:002011-08-05T10:03:32.334+00:00Cassava Republic Press calling for submissions<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAT66Qb5IYKUn5TzJF4_tDY0NYoEdl_Xa1rASsomGCAjMkYB5YbvMi7r1aH1g_89kMldRzi-nKgo1kWLVOcqkFpBfKbp1iKGdCaZPGIZHBldu3KdaMSQ5QGHEHr949munhOnD2GK9aKW4/s1600/Cassava.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAT66Qb5IYKUn5TzJF4_tDY0NYoEdl_Xa1rASsomGCAjMkYB5YbvMi7r1aH1g_89kMldRzi-nKgo1kWLVOcqkFpBfKbp1iKGdCaZPGIZHBldu3KdaMSQ5QGHEHr949munhOnD2GK9aKW4/s320/Cassava.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Cassava Republic Press</b> is a Nigerian-based publisher '<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; line-height: 18px;">obsessed with changing the way the world thinks about African fiction'. The publish</span> high quality, affordable fiction, non-fiction and children’s books that inspire young readers to develop a love of books from an early age. Non-fiction focuses on socio-cultural and historical events.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They also organise writing workshops and school writers-in-residence programmes under their RAW (Reading And Writing) Initiative. <span lang="EN-GB">Cassava Republic Press was listed </span>as one of the top ten brands to look out for in 2009 by the design bible Monocle Magazine.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"><b>And the good news! </b>They are accepting submissions. But there's a little catch. </span>They accept submission only two times a year: <b>January </b>and <b>August</b>. Submissions received outside of these months will not be considered. So you have twenty-six days to polish your manuscripts and submit...or wait four months!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">They accept submissions by <b>email only</b>. Any hard copy submissions will not be considered.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"><b>What to submit:</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For fiction, send a 500-word synopsis with three sample chapters to <a href="mailto:editor@cassavarepublic.biz">editor@cassavarepublic.biz</a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For non-fiction, include a cover letter in your email indicating the subject and your qualifications. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sample chapters must sent as a word attachment saved in the following way: date of submission(dd.mm.yy).surname.firstname.book title. [E.g: <i>02.09.09.Yinka.Allen.To PlayWithFire.doc</i>]. Your name should appear <u>only</u> on the title page, and nowhere else in the manuscript.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">The subject of the email should be: Cassava Submission: [Author’s name], [book title].</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">[<i>E.g.: Cassava Submission: Yinka Ishmail, The Quiet Sisters</i>]</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">All submissions are logged and read chronologically. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p>Cassava Republic is based in Abuja, Nigeria. For more information, visit their <a href="http://www.cassavarepublic.biz/">website</a> or 'like' them on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/CassavaRepublic">Facebook</a> or 'follow' then on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/CassavaRepublic">@CassavaRepublic</a>.</o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p>Don't say I didn't tell you!</o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cheers</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">FWoWA</span></div>Fiction Writers of West Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07749418132598995669noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-44877531331321633032011-07-27T13:06:00.003+00:002011-08-29T15:05:14.451+00:00Introducing AFRICANA Pocketbooks<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;"></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkgVa1uJSI09LCy1aZyywFx94xMJsSqOWHDadsC-uiToy7EbBlqbvsPmKW0XasMy19y54kLqx2jBHmnQRAAiIzbRuJxXEEvPgb2C56p3Qf0NB78Fb5nl3FY6eQMYcKy4-pd1U4coR8z4/s1600/Logo+Africana+Publishing_low.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkgVa1uJSI09LCy1aZyywFx94xMJsSqOWHDadsC-uiToy7EbBlqbvsPmKW0XasMy19y54kLqx2jBHmnQRAAiIzbRuJxXEEvPgb2C56p3Qf0NB78Fb5nl3FY6eQMYcKy4-pd1U4coR8z4/s200/Logo+Africana+Publishing_low.jpg" width="183" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">If you've been following the FWoWA <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/198069311352">group page</a></span><span style="color: black;"> on Facebook, then you've probably already heard about them. </span><b><span style="color: black;">AFRICANA</span></b><span style="color: black;"> is a publishing house that produces competitively-priced, popular pocketbooks for the West African mass market.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Africana</span><span style="color: black;"> concentrates on current African events, biographies on inspirational stars and leaders, African history and politics, self-help, romances and popular fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: black;">And here’s the good news! </span></b>Africana<span style="color: black;"> is currently accepting submissions from African authors and authors relevant to African readers. </span><span style="color: black;">They are looking for good quality stories, particularly</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;"> romance and crime, between 30,000 and 50,000 words. Submit to <a href="mailto:info@africanapublishing.com">info@africanapublishing.com</a>. They will only give feedback on </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;">publishable manuscripts.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For more information visit them on their <a href="http://africanapublishing.com/">website</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Africana-Publishing/103440449726350">Facebook</a> page or <a href="http://pocketbloggen.africanapublishing.com/#home">blog</a> (in Danish).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cheers</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">FWoWA</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Fiction Writers of West Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07749418132598995669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-87299032987270780462011-02-17T15:50:00.000+00:002011-02-17T15:50:22.283+00:00Can African writing be competitive in today's world?The art of creative writing keeps evolving and the rules keep changing. Things that were done a few years ago aren't acceptable anymore. Think of it like the movies. Ten years ago, movies took time to build up and reel you in; today viewers have so many options that movie makers have to grab the audiences' attention within the first five minutes of the movie.<br />
<br />
So it is with writing. There are still readers who appreciate the written word to the point that they'd read simply for the enjoyment of the literary word. For the most part, though, many readers want a story that will snag their attention from line one. With the number of writers (aspiring or otherwise) at an all-time high*, a writer needs to be able to grab a reader's attention quickly--and most importantly hold that attention for the duration of the story.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, I think this puts African writers at a bit of a disadvantage. Our storytelling seems to be the type that builds up. Many of us will remember a period growing up, when we made time for storytelling; so we were required to be patient and allow the narrator to reel us in. In fact, in the most traditional sense, there's usually an ambiance--people gathered by a bonfire as a wizened elder impart life's lessons through folktales.<br />
<br />
So how do we compete in today's world? More importantly, how do we ensure we don't lose our African-ness in the process?<br />
<br />
I can think of a couple of things: knowing the basic rules, and learning/applying the new trends. That way the African-ness we may be so afraid of losing will draw in both African readers who want to read more stories they can relate with, and non-African readers who will see our stories are a cultural adventure.<br />
<br />
Any thoughts, any one?<br />
<br />
<br />
Cheers,<br />
FWoWAFiction Writers of West Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07749418132598995669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-82884094618952018912010-12-10T11:19:00.002+00:002010-12-10T12:00:32.330+00:00Announcing the Bill Burt Award for African Writing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhKEwshOnaR-O2EoaV80Hg61dYpG6_Cyo1_GXbKdcPaM5lwAvVz7FpH04exQExyc6L4BB31dWcVJUft1e6Kk_feuxcfDlyPBD4Y6_gHHV89CBJCx4Un67vD7YZcpCkcdceRkLtg7jKO4/s1600/Burt_Award.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhKEwshOnaR-O2EoaV80Hg61dYpG6_Cyo1_GXbKdcPaM5lwAvVz7FpH04exQExyc6L4BB31dWcVJUft1e6Kk_feuxcfDlyPBD4Y6_gHHV89CBJCx4Un67vD7YZcpCkcdceRkLtg7jKO4/s200/Burt_Award.png" width="200" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hi folks,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We've all gone AWOL for a bit. I hope that means life is good and we're just so busy. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well, I have another announcement: </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There is once again an new writing competition, this time open to Ghanaian Writers. It is called the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px;">Burt Award for African Literature. This year's is the second edition, I believe.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; color: #7f6000; line-height: 15px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Award is organised by the Ghana Book Trust and sponsored by CODE, a Canadian NGO, with support from Canadian patron, Bill Burt. </span></div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
Three awards will be presented annually:</span></div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Gold: CAD $12,000 </span></strong></div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Silver: CAD $6,000 </span></strong></div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bronze: CAD $3,000 </span></strong></div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Prizes will be paid in Ghanaian Cedis, so may be affected by currency exchange rates.</span></div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000;"><br />
</span></div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I don't yet know when the <b>deadline</b> is, but I understand it is in April 2010. I'll confirm later.</span></div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For more information, check out the official announcement on the <a href="http://www.ghanabooktrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=82&Itemid=72%3C/font%3E">Ghana Book Trust</a> website.</span></div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I hope you're getting out those old Young Adult manuscripts!</span></div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cheers</span></div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">FWoWA</span></div>Fiction Writers of West Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07749418132598995669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-64529170274456443122010-07-16T15:28:00.000+00:002010-07-16T15:28:59.670+00:00Writing Your Story<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">In our last lesson we talked about the beginning and the importance of capturing the reader’s interest right from the start. However, many writers are guilty of starting their stories with a great hook that captures a reader’s interest, and then everything goes south from there. I’ve heard quite a few editors say this. While a catchy first line is great, a writer must ensure the hook works for the story lest s/he fall into the category of rejected manuscripts mentioned above.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Let’s move on from the beginning, because no matter how great the beginning is, it will only take you so far. It is what come after that will hold the reader’s interest. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">The objective of this post isn’t to tell anyone how to write, but to provide tools and guidance that should help writers develop their stories.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Research</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Just because we write fiction doesn’t mean is shouldn’t be stemmed in reality. If your story is set in 1980s Africa, there can’t be mobile phones or emails. In many cases, even landlines, which were available during that period, are going to be unrealistic. How many times have you watched a movie and noticed something that is so unrealistic you wonder what they were thinking? West African movies are the worst offenders. It is so easy to spot holes in plotlines of movies that didn’t benefit from good research. Editors have even keener eyes for manuscripts that didn’t benefit from research.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Every genre requires some amount of research, even if it is simply finding the perfect names for your characters or finding out what the rich and famous drink. In some genres like contemporary romance, a writer can get away with relatively little research. However, there are some others (like suspense, crime, fantasy, historicals … to name a few) that need extensive research. My favourite novel, <i>A Man Cannot Cry</i> by Gloria Keverne took 20 years to research!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">If you want to be a serious writer, you can’t be lazy about research; there are no short cuts. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Content and Chapter development</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Every chapter must have a purpose. Do not waste the reader’s time by including scenes that add nothing to the story, no matter how beautifully written they are. If it doesn’t advance the plot, it shouldn’t be in the story. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Pacing</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">In music, pacing refers to the speed at which a composition is to be played. In writing it refers to the speed at this which the plot unfolds. I'd modify this to say: pacing is the speed at which the plot 'appears' to be unfolding relative to the genre. Action and suspense do best when everything seems to be moving fast. A good writer is one who can reveal just enough to keep the reader informed and yet feel like s/he is in a race against time. In romance, you and other softer genres, a writer should make certain not to drag the story. Finding the right balance is something a writer must constantly be concious of.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Imagery</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">I dare say, we've all read books that made us pause to admire the sheer beauty of the author's words. That's the power of imagery--the ability to form mental images of things or events. Some words are more descriptive, or more visual, than others. Make use of them.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">End your chapter on a promise</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Hooks aren't just for the beginning of the story or chapter. A good place to leave a hook is at the end of a chapter. That's what an editor I once talked to said. The end of a chapter is usually a good place to stop pause on reading a book. As writers, we all want to know our books are 'un-put-down-able'. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">An end-of-chapter hook ensures that the reader goes to the next chapter instead of putting the book down.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">I'm trying to keep posts short, so I'll end here. In my next post, I'll continue with more of these, as well as some Dos and DONTs. I'll be looking for examples to go with the it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Cheers</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">FWoWA</span></div>Fiction Writers of West Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07749418132598995669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-27658189402095326942010-07-13T15:38:00.003+00:002010-07-13T16:56:56.217+00:00Prempeh II and the Making of Modern Asante by Mary A. Seiwaa OwusuThere are few who'll argue the fact that there isn't enough literature on West Africa. My main concern, as I've mentioned several times before, is fiction (which reminds me - my next post will be an update on the semi-finalists of the Penguin Prize for African Writing competition).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-tjaRWiSrL1STgSLaCvjNsuqeEHacbZvJ7Kto_rt_cRDCzmJVoWFHaOIzGI2ZNCtyFMXOHtAjiWikFp5IjsLQomLDYHIUKORRDMgiiJRY2eu6_ivtWmTlrSAaLdY8Djr8gnEPa-14tpU/s1600/PrempehIIweb.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-tjaRWiSrL1STgSLaCvjNsuqeEHacbZvJ7Kto_rt_cRDCzmJVoWFHaOIzGI2ZNCtyFMXOHtAjiWikFp5IjsLQomLDYHIUKORRDMgiiJRY2eu6_ivtWmTlrSAaLdY8Djr8gnEPa-14tpU/s320/PrempehIIweb.png" /></a></div>However, this post is about non-fiction. I was recently introduced to a book titled: <em>Prempeh II and the Making of Modern Asante</em> by Mary A. Seiwaa Owusu. I've started reading it (having finished) and right from the beginning--perhaps because I am Asante--I found it fascinating. It is insightful and educative, but more than that, it is readable. The author's writing style makes the content easy to grasp unlike many non-fiction books (particularly those with historical accounts).<br />
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The book traces the life of Asantehene Nana Sir Osei Agyeman Prempeh II, the history of Asante from 1892 to 1970. The author examines the relationship between Asante and the British, its neighbours and the various governments of the Gold Coast and Ghana up to 1970. She also examines the relationship between the king and his subjects.<br />
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The book isn't currently available on Amazon, but I will try to find out where people living outside Ghana can get copies to buy.<br />
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If you've read the book (or do in the future) and wish to post a review, please feel free to do so right here. If you've already posted a review in your own blog or website, give us a link.<br />
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Cheers,<br />
FWoWAFiction Writers of West Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07749418132598995669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-10673005212568065312010-05-06T19:32:00.002+00:002010-05-06T19:50:37.605+00:00Penguin Prize for African Writing: Update<div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_GtGWKDovChMUYo5XK6xpPAGxUcFtIpBBnbvT81vxY1vymbl9eBFJewPVrdK3CDrY8T-JcFPEtfmHCckEDtrhjkNNLfdRH-npUlDihOpu3fXil3KnH94IRTvXMDxNntozIbA2BvwFnw/s1600/african_btn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_GtGWKDovChMUYo5XK6xpPAGxUcFtIpBBnbvT81vxY1vymbl9eBFJewPVrdK3CDrY8T-JcFPEtfmHCckEDtrhjkNNLfdRH-npUlDihOpu3fXil3KnH94IRTvXMDxNntozIbA2BvwFnw/s200/african_btn.jpg" width="200" /></span></span></a><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Just a quick update for anyone who entered the Penguin Prize for African Writing competition. For those who read the announcement (see below), you’d remember the shortlist was supposed to be announced in April (last month).</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It wasn’t</span></span></span></div><div><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Here’s why.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The competition recorded a whopping 250 entries for fiction and 50 for non-fiction! In light of this larger-than-anticipated response, the assessment period was extended. So, instead of April, the short</span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">list will be announced in June, 2010. Final prizes are still scheduled for September, 2010.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mark your calendars.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">To read the entire update from Penguin SA, click </span></span><a href="http://www.penguinbooks.co.za/african-winners/index.php"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">FWoWA</span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Fiction Writers of West Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07749418132598995669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-21222739684344367842010-01-19T13:44:00.007+00:002010-01-20T12:37:03.112+00:00Penguin Prize for African Writing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDJa4pgTTlICDQ0W8t_BMTnz0PM8mRtDHGzADDBNz5YJvTFpG7fHL6z_JBo2_HmcLrvNvlhJlQeg6rwbFaaga1d6SDCsvJAvT8OyAAusM-xaf93N-pBT5wxby-E7DTMDqC2QVpchgZ-bs/s1600-h/african_btn.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 186px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDJa4pgTTlICDQ0W8t_BMTnz0PM8mRtDHGzADDBNz5YJvTFpG7fHL6z_JBo2_HmcLrvNvlhJlQeg6rwbFaaga1d6SDCsvJAvT8OyAAusM-xaf93N-pBT5wxby-E7DTMDqC2QVpchgZ-bs/s320/african_btn.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428797581416172258" /></a><br />I have shared this info in the Yahoo group but for some reason failed to share it here. I apologise for this oversight.<br /><br />Penguin South Africa is holding a writing competition for African writers. The <strong>Penguin Prize for African Writing </strong>is open to previously unpublished full-length works (60K-100K words) in two categoires: adult fiction and non-fiction.<br /><br />The prize in each category will be R50 000 (approx. $ 5,000) and a publishing contract with Penguin Books South Africa, with worldwide distribution via Penguin Group companies.<br /><br />The deadline for submissions for both categories is 30th of January, 2010. The shortlist will be announced in April 2010 and the final prizes will be awarded in September 2010.<br /><br />Best of all, there is no entry fee!<br /><br />For more info and a link to the full criteria, click <a style="COLOR: rgb(145,54,173); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.penguinbooks.co.za/african-winners/index.php">here</a>.<br /><br />Good luck to all who plan to enter.<br /><br />ciao,<br />EmpiFiction Writers of West Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07749418132598995669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-33928759354006455442009-12-24T22:23:00.001+00:002009-12-24T22:29:26.453+00:00Merry Christmas!I want to take this moment to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I wish you all a prosperous 2010. <div><br /></div><div>May God give us the grace to strive to achieve greater heights and may He bless our efforts in the projects we undertake.</div><div><br /></div><div>May He bless us with health, love, life and a relationship with Him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Merry Christmas again.</div><div><br /></div><div>Empi</div>Fiction Writers of West Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07749418132598995669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-57532924939753306102009-12-14T00:37:00.004+00:002009-12-14T01:04:35.415+00:00Getting there: Lesson 2 - Starting your storySo you have an idea, but how do you present it so it reads as wonderful as it sounds in your head? It takes planning and plotting to get to that first draft.<br />
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Right now, let's forget about the editors and publishers and think about the most important thing--the story. You need a story in order to get published, no so?<br />
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Let's get started.<br />
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Plotting is a tool all authors use, but all use it in very different ways. Plotting, in this context, means planning the pieces of your story and how they all fit together. There are authors who approach a novel as one would an essay or some sort of technical drawing. They work out the plot, develop their characters, and even write a synopsis or outline before they sit down to write their first word. On the other extreme (I fall under this category) are authors who start with just the theme/idea and develop their plots and characters as the story goes along. This second method works well for me, since, in my opinion, I get to know my characters more as I spend time with them.<br />
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Either way, there has to be a beginning, a middle and an end, whether you're writing a short story or a novel.<br />
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<b>Let’s start with the Beginning</b>. What do you want to write about? Why does that story need to be told? What makes you the best person to tell that story? The first question, to me, is the most important, since the second two will manifest themselves in the story, based on the author's personal experiences and motivation.<br />
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When I set out to write my first novel, <i>Forest Girl </i>(<i>FG</i>), my basic idea was to do an arranged marriage story. The common plot in most Ghanaian stories/movies/plays is of a young girl forced into marriage to a much older man for the financial benefits it would bring her family. Usually the girl would have a love interest—a young man her age who has little or no money to his name. It means that usually, the girl is against the marriage while the rich man calls the shots and the poor boy ends up a casualty of love. Most of these stories advocate love marriages while depicting the evils of arranged marriages.<br />
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I asked myself, what if the girl was all for the marriage and the man wasn’t? How do you force a man into an arranged marriage in a culture where the man has a say and the woman doesn’t? That was the seed that grew to become <i>FG</i>.<br />
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Once you've decided what you want to write about, how do you start the story? Now more than ever, it has become important to hook the reader as early as your first line, since the industry has become very competitive, and potential readers have a vast number of alternatives for entertainment.<br />
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Think of a story that starts with: <i>Jesus was not born on Christmas day</i>. Both religious and non-religious people are likely to be drawn to this line simply because it sounds so audacious. The author has the reader’s attention now. If you have a good story, the reader will continue reading. Suspense is probably the easiest genre to do a first-line hook, since the genre naturally lends itself to drama. Here’s a good example:<br />
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<i>The Secret is how to die.<br />
From the beginning of time, the secret has always been how to die.</i> [<i>The Lost Symbol</i>, by Dan Brown]<br />
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Of course, best-selling books don’t always start with such dramatic lines. In fact, an article I once read said that many stories get rejected by editors, because the first line is so great, but the story goes south from there. You would serve yourself better to avoid starting with a bang if the rest of the story doesn't support it. Grabbing attention is only the first step; you need to be able to hold the readers attention.<br />
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To buttress this point, take a look at the following starting lines for the top 5 Paperback <b>Mass-Market Fiction on New York Times Best Seller</b> list as of 13th December, 2009. (For some I chose to include more than the first line):<br />
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1. <i>To her complete stupefaction, he slid his blaster out of its holster faster than she could blink and opened fire on Rits</i>. [<b>Born of Ice</b>, by Sherrilyn Kenyon]<br />
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2. My name is John Tyree. I was born in 1977, and I grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, a city that proudly boasts the largest port in the state as well as a long and vibrant history but now strikes me more as a city that came about by accident. [<b>Dear John</b>, by Nicholas Sparks]<br />
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3. <i>The rules of the New Haven Youth League required that each kid play at least ten minutes in each game. Exceptions were allowed for players who had upset their coaches by skipping practice or violating other rules</i>. [<b>The Associate</b>, by John Grisham]<br />
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4. <i>The sixty-foot steel-hulled trawler was what all commercial fishing boats ought to look like but seldom did</i>. [<b>Arctic Drift</b>, by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler]<br />
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5. <i>Tiny lights winked on the Douglas fir standing tall and full in front of the picture window. Swags of Christmas greenery and dozens of cards decked the well-appointed living room, and apple logs cackled in the fireplace, scenting the air as they burned</i>. [<b>7th Heaven</b>, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro]<br />
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As you can see, some start with a bang, while others lead you in. A hook comes in many forms as exhibited but these authors; element of danger, humour, imagery etc. Each of these sets very different expectations in the reader’s mind.<br />
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What do you think of the examples above? Which is your favourite and why? How does your first line(s) compare?<br />
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The next few of posts will talk about the middle—developing the meat of the story.<br />
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I hope you stop by to check those out.<br />
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Cheers,<br />
EmpiUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-58650286679548991802009-12-09T00:16:00.003+00:002010-05-07T00:01:05.661+00:00Some helpful online/electronic resources<div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">As a follow up to my last post, here are some online resources I use. They are obviously not the only ones out there, but they serve me extremely well, and I definitely recommend them:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Dictionary</span></b><br />
http://dictionary.reference.com/</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Thesaurus</span></b><br />
http://thesaurus.reference.com/</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">WordWeb</span></b></div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">This is a one-click English thesaurus and dictionary (and word finder) for Windows that can look up words in almost any program. The great thing about WordWeb is that, it works off-line. There is a free and a premium version. I currently use the free version, which has the following features: <i>Definitions</i> and <i>synonyms</i>, <i>antonyms</i> for some words, <i>related words</i>, audio and <i>pronunciations</i>. This is an absolute must-have.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">In the premium version, internet connection allows you to look up words in web references such as the Wikipedia encyclopedia. To learn more or to download, click <a href="http://wordweb.info/free/">here</a>.</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Google</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"></span></b>For everything else (grammar etc) use a word search engine. I swear by <i><a href="http://www.google.com/">Google</a></i>, although I sometimes use <i><a href="http://www.bing.com/">Bing</a></i> or <i><a href="http://www.yahoo.com/">Yahoo!</a></i> etc. It's good to get comfortable with more than one search engine.Speaking of comfort, I’ve heard many people complain they can’t find things or they get confused by when they search. I read an article a couple of years back, which basically showed that most of us don’t know how to get the best out of our searches.</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">E.g. Special characters and operators, like +, –, ~, .., *, OR, and quotation marks, can help you fine-tune your search and increase the accuracy of the results. I found a site, called Google Guide, that takes you through tutorials for Google searches. I'm sure the rule will work for other search engines. To go to the website, click <a href="http://www.googleguide.com/">here</a>.</div><div><br />
</div><div>cheers,</div><div><br />
</div><div>Empi</div></div><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-31451629285884119112009-12-06T02:40:00.006+00:002010-05-06T23:57:28.428+00:00Getting There: Lesson 1The best way to get to where you’re going is to know where you are; we've all heard this before, right? It's true.<br />
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Here’s an exercise you can do as a first step to getting there. You are welcome to share the results here (I encourage you to). Sharing your goals with others might be a good way to motivate yourself to work toward those goals. Plus, you will get encouragement here:<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Step 1: Assess where you are as a writer</span></b><br />
<div><b></b>Who are you? What genre do you write? What/who is your muse? What are your strengths and weaknesses? How much time do you currently dedicate to your writing?<br />
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</div><div><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Step 2: Decide what you want to achieve with your writing</span></b><span style="color: #20124d;"> </span></div><div>You can break this down into time periods. E.g. What do you want to achieve in the coming year? Where do you want to be in the next two/four/five years?<br />
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Once you know this, you can decide how much time you need to dedicate to your writing.<br />
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</div><div><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Step 3: Set targets</span></b></div><div>The purpose of Steps 1 and 2 is to highlight the gap between where you are and where you want to be. They enable you to really see if your targets are realistic. You may discover that you need to adjust your target. Don't worry. Realistic targets are easier to achieve, and the more you achieve the more motivated you will be to push yourself further.<br />
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</div><div><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Step 4: Get your basic resources</span></b><br />
Here's a list of resources I consider basic for every fiction writer.</div><div><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">An imagination</span></b></div><div>If you’re going to write fiction, you need an active imagination. First of all, imagination doesn’t mean a dirty mind, neither does it mean your mind should always be in the clouds. An exercise I try to do is to find a story in things happening around me. Usually, all I need is some incident or word to spark my imagination. If I have to attend an event, for example, I keep my eyes and ears open for cues. I ask myself ‘what if’ questions.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Others try to pick random words and try to string together a story that incorporates those words. Check out writing prompts. There are many websites with writing exercises. One such place is Writer's Digest. Here's an example of the kind of interesting prompts you'll get from there:</div><div><span style="line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Y</i><i>ou wake up one day with an unusual super power that seems pretty worthless—until you are caught in a situation that requires that specific "talent."</i> </span></span></div><div><br />
</div><div>For this and more prompts click <a href="http://writersdigest.com/WritingPrompts/">here</a></div><div><br />
</div><div>You’d be surprised to discover there are many stories to be told.<br />
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</div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">A Dictionary </span></b><br />
A good dictionary is a must. You may want to get both a physical and an online dictionary. Make sure your dictionary is up-to-date, since English as a language is evolving. Also, what version of English are you writing in? If UK-based English, you might want to get an <i>Oxford</i> dictionary (or a <i>Webster</i> if you write in American English). It’s important to also set your Word documents to the appropriate version, to take advantage of the auto-correct feature.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">A Thesaurus</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> </span></b><br />
A thesaurus is another must. You don’t want all your stories to sound the same ... or worse—for your work to sound too similar to someone else’s. We all function within certain comfort zones in our everyday speech. This will reflect in your work, so you need to make a conscious effort to shake things up. A thesaurus will enable you discover new words for old expressions and help you achieve variety. Sometimes you have a word you could use, but simply don’t like it in that sentence. Pop out your thesaurus and have fun with it.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">A grammar book</span><span style="color: purple;"> </span></b><br />
It’s always a good idea to read up on grammar and punctuation. You might be thinking you’ve done several years of English and you don't need lessons in grammar. Yes, we all went to school, and we all studied English, but you’d be surprised the kinds of mistakes you’ll find in your writing if you’re not careful. For example, did you know that combining a question mark and exclamation mark is grammatically wrong? Many of us do it, thinking it’s the way to depict emphasis. What about the use of ellipses? Do you put spaces before and after? Is it okay to use four dots instead of three? You might want to go and dust off your <i>Student’s Companion</i>. Better still, get the latest edition.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Learn the rules and follow them. I’m all for breaking rules, but if you’re going to, the least you should do is make sure you know what rules you’re breaking—and why.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Internet</span></b><br />
The internet is a vast resource for information and is one of my favourite hangouts. Seriously. While I still like to refer to my big <i>Oxford </i>dictionary (or the <i>Webster</i> dictionary at home), the internet allows you to have all these things are your fingertips without the clutter of books. I recently had to relocate to a new country for work and couldn’t take my dictionaries with me. I rely on my online dictionary and thesaurus. If the internet is too expensive to have 24/7, dedicate time for browsing—purposeful browsing—each week (every day if you can).<br />
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I hope this lesson was helpful.<br />
<br />
Before Lesson 2, I'll post some helpful online and electronic resources I use.</div><div><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><br />
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Empi</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-50172451996686190942009-12-03T00:36:00.000+00:002009-12-03T00:36:47.840+00:00A Little Overview about publishing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVvLuDvZl6WU7rx4Lb_Jo4055TCjAwrU2hwu3l4lvm4Sbz9q65U-ODuBNzwH6pvK8VBIF1mMDCIim58H0YO7p9_1ZLHxdOW0KPI1hAQ8SsHAAdi_nik3dtgHc5VlKZLa27AXsULQxnw8/s1600-h/Book.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVvLuDvZl6WU7rx4Lb_Jo4055TCjAwrU2hwu3l4lvm4Sbz9q65U-ODuBNzwH6pvK8VBIF1mMDCIim58H0YO7p9_1ZLHxdOW0KPI1hAQ8SsHAAdi_nik3dtgHc5VlKZLa27AXsULQxnw8/s200/Book.png" width="200" /></a><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">As promised, I am starting a short series I’m calling “Getting There”. The assumption is that we all want to improve our craft, we want people to be affected by our work, and we want to see our work/name in print.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The bad news is that, to make money as an author, there are no short cuts in this business even if you decide to self-publish. </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">For avoidance of doubt, let’s do some background.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><b>Self-publishing</b> is whole different ball game and I will deal with that in a separate session. Right now, though, I’ll give an overview. Self-publishing means getting your work published, and undertaking all marketing and promotions at your own cost. There’s no competition between authors here, as long as you are willing to pay for the work, the publisher will get your book printed.There are various ways to go about it, but this will be dealt with later.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Self-publishing is one way to go, but there’s another. We will simply call it <b>Publishing</b>.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">If you’re thinking, “Wait a minute. Is she saying I shouldn't pay to get my book published?” The answer is yes. Do you think Dan Brown pays for his books to get published? No, he doesn’t. Neither should you. You may not get the millions he’s receiving now, but I bet neither did he when he started out.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Here’s how it works. Most of the big names in publishing—Hachette, Harlequin, HarperCollins, Kensington, Macmillan, Penguin, Random House, Simon & Schuster etc—do not demand a penny from the author. Rather they pay the author. Sounds good, doesn't it. </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Once you have a finished manuscript, you would query the editor of a publishing house, either directly or through an agent, to sell your story. Usually the query will be in the form of a letter that summarises your plot and includes a brief author bio. In some cases the publisher’s guidelines will also ask for a synopsis and/or a samples of the story in question—usually the first three chapters of your book. This enables them assess whether yours is a story they would be interested in. If they are, they will request for the full manuscript, upon which you might receive what, in the publishing world, we refer to as ‘the call’. </span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><b>The Call</b> is basically when an editor calls to inform you that the publishing house would like to buy your book. In cases involving the big publishers (like those mentioned above) the author will receive an <b>Advance</b>, which varies by publisher and author. The Advance is based on the projected sales the book is expected to generate. This means the more money the publisher believes the book will make, the higher the Advance. This is why a publisher would pay Dan Brown or Danielle Steele or Stephen King oodles of money for their books. The implications of the Advance is something I’d like to treat in a latter post, because it gets complicated. However, as I've learnt, every author should know a little something about everything to do with publishing. </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Okay, to keep things simple, I’ll end here to let you chew on it; comment, ask questions etc., before I move on to what you need to do as an author before you even get to the querying and submission stage of your career.</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Cheers,<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Empi<br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-7640487847398022272009-11-20T15:34:00.001+00:002009-11-20T15:38:35.827+00:00A little more on Pacesetters<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">If you’ve read my posts both here and on <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fictionwritersofwestafrica/">FWoWA’s Yahoo! Group</a>, you may think I have a bit of a fixation with the Pacesetters series. I do. It's my easiest reference for the kind of talent we have, which I think we're letting go to waste instead of nurturing.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">In my previous post I mentioned that the publishers may have had a problem with the quantity of submissions they received from authors across the continent. I also believe that one of the things impeding our progress is the lack of information. While published authors may have had access to the relevant editors, it would be my guess that aspirants were in the dark about how to get the proverbial foot in the door.</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">In those days, we didn’t have the Internet, which complicated things. Now we have a vast source of information. Even the publishers are getting closer to authors through their website and blogs.</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Speaking of websites and information ... guess what! I found a website dedicated to the Pacesetters series. I was a little surprised to discover that only 130 titles were published in the time the series was active (over 16 years, which means an average of just about 8 books a year = less than a book per month)</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Find this and more on Pacesetters <a href="https://sslrelay.com/www.pacesetternovels.com/sess/utn154b05463460c03/shopdata/index.shopscript">here</a>. If you wish, you can just go straight to the site's <a href="https://sslrelay.com/www.pacesetternovels.com/sess/utn154b05463460c03/shopdata/index.shopscript">novel catalog</a>, which is complete with cover pics of the books. It seems you can buy available copies, but I can't advocate for the legitimacy of that aspect (if anyone has purchased books from the site, kindly let us know). </span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Wikipedia, has a list of established <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African_writers_(by_country)">African writers</a>, grouped by country. Where were they? What are they working on? How much money are they making for their publishers and more importantly for themselves. Most do not even have websites...</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Before I sign off, check out <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African_writers_(by_country)">my blog</a> for an interesting post on how much a New York Times best-selling author actually makes.</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Empi</span><br />
</div></span><br />
</div></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-31847475093600646102009-11-19T13:30:00.001+00:002009-11-19T20:18:12.176+00:00Writing for Leisure ReadersI called Heinemann a few years back to inquire about submission guidelines for their <i>Pacesetters</i> series. What I learnt was that the series had been discontinued, and they now only publish educational books from African writers. I was devastated, because I remember the first time I read one (<i>The President's So</i>n by Kwasi Koranteng). What a rush, to read a suspense story based in contemporary Ghana. Before then all books that I knew of by African writers were used for Literature in school. Looks like we are back to that ...<br />
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Now, don't get me wrong; having a book being used for Literature is one of my dreams, but the books that make money aren't those being treated in school. Seriously, how many people read Shakespeare for fun? They either had to read it in school or they watched a movie or got inspired in some other way to read it. They don't go to a bookstore and think, "Oh, <i>Hamlet</i>. Sounds, interesting. One copy, please."<br />
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On the other hand, people pre-book Dan Brown's novels and read it just for pure pleasure and in the case of novels like <i>The Da Vinci Cod</i>e, Dan Brown is able to challenge the very core of people's beliefs. It will be interesting to do this for Literature, don't you think?<br />
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Let's get back on tract. I'm talking about leisure books--the type you'll read on the plane, or on the bus or in the park. I'm talking about those books you want to read, not because you need to write an exam or take notes. Where are West African stories in this genre of fiction?<br />
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I have a feeling one of the reasons Heinemann discontinued the Pacesetters line was due to not receiving enough submissions from African writers and also not getting enough profit from their sales. In this second point, African writers erred in the fact that they didn't self-promote their works. As a marketing person, I'll bet my last cent on this: if there is money to be made, Heinemann or someone else will create an imprint for African fiction other than those designed for classroom use.<br />
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How can we get our children reading when they don't have material other than those they are forced to read in school? Our counterparts in the US and Europe start their 'reading careers' with books like <i>Nancy Drew</i> and <i>The Famous Five</i>. Once that love for reading is acquired <i>then</i> you can interest them in the more serious material.<br />
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I'd like to see the day Avon or Harlequin publishes an African story, aspiring writers from West Africa giving serious competition to author's across the world for the attention of these large and established publishers. Why should any publisher set up in India and not Ghana or Nigeria? Why should they think only of South Africa when they consider Africa? Let's bring the publishing business home to West Africa.<br />
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It can be done!<br />
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Next week, I'll start a series about the many little steps we need to take to get ourselves shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest of the world.<br />
<br />
EmpiUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-79152780122507764422009-11-17T23:08:00.001+00:002009-11-19T20:05:37.077+00:00Akwaaba!<i>Wole Soyinka, Ama Ata Aidoo, Buchi Emecheta, Chinua Achebe</i> ... isn’t it odd--and a little sad--that the list of top writers from West Africa hasn’t changed in the past decade? Are there no talented writers in West Africa? No one wanting to join this crop of distinguished and respected writers?<br />
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Where are the breakout novelists? Where are the books that will earn our authors millions? Why are East and Southern Africans receiving international acclaim over West African authors? Why are our books only used in secondary schools for Literature?<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>We are blessed to exist in a period where the world is hungry for new voices and new stories, and our own citizens are becoming increasingly patriotic. While regions like Asia and South America, and even some other parts of Africa, are coming up strongly, it looks like West Africa is going into obscurity. Our aspiring authors choose alternate goals in life, because they are not sure how to fulfil their writing dreams.<br />
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Enter Fiction Writers of West Africa.<br />
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FWoWA is a group set up to bring aspiring and published writers of West Africa together to share and encourage one another in our pursuance of the writing profession. This blog is about helping West African writers to become the best writers they can be so our stories can be told all over the world.<br />
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Please join the site and share your stories. Tell us where your interests lie, where you've reached in your writing career, what your goals are for the coming year (or five years time, you decide). Where in West Africa are you located? If you aren’t located in West Africa, tell us where you are joining us from. And if neither option applies to you, but you simply love West Africa and would like to help get our voices out there, you are definitely welcome to join the group.<br />
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You can also join our Yahoo! Group <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fictionwritersofwestafrica/">here</a><br />
<br />
Empi<br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248245258373586034.post-65725871675981953662009-05-08T06:00:00.002+00:002010-05-07T00:04:01.261+00:00Resuming Lessons: A Quick Recap<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Before the Christmas break, I'd started a series of lesson I called 'Getting There', where getting there means getting your work published. As the saying goes, a writer who doesn't get published is one who stops trying. Needless to say, unless the work you're putting out there is up to par, no one will publish your work.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And even if you go the self-publishing route, you won't be able to sell your book after the reviews your first set of readers will give.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">After the VERY long break, I think it's time to resume the lessons. I will post the next in a fresh post, but for now, here's a refresher:</span><br />
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</span></u><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Lesson 1: Getting started</span></span></b><br />
<br />
<div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> Step 1: A</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">ssess where y</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">ou are as a </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">writer</span></span></div><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> Step 2: Decide what you want to achieve with your writing</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span style="color: black;"><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></b></i></span></div><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> Step 3: Set </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">targets (e.g.: a page a day)</span></span></div><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> Step 4: Get your basic </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">resources</span></span></div><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> i - An </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">imagination (you have to have one, and keep feeding it)</span></span></div><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> ii - Dictionary</span></span></i></span></div><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> iii - Thesaurus</span></span></i></span></div><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> iv - Grammar book</span></span></i></span></div><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> v - Internet</span></span></i></span></div><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></span></i></span></div><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Some helpful resources:</span></span></b></span></i></span></div><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> 1. </span><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Dictionary</span></a></div><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> 2. </span><a href="http://thesaurus.reference.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Thesaurus</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> 3. </span><a href="http://wordweb.info/free/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">WordWeb</span></a></div><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> 4. </span></span><a href="http://www.google.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Google</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">(or </span><a href="http://www.yahoo.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Yahoo!</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> or </span><a href="http://www.bing.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Bing</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">, if you prefer those). Learn how to use and maximise search engines.</span></span></span></div><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Lesson 2: Starting your story</span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></div><div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"></div><ol><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Plotting</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Question to ask yourself about your story</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Your opening line (or hook)</span></li>
</ol><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Feel free to add any other resources you've found helpful</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Later, </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Empi</span></div><br />
<div style="direction: ltr; language: en-US; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 4.32pt; mso-line-break-override: none; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed; word-break: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 18pt;"> </span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0