Dear Fellow Writer,

In this issue:

• WRITING TIP: An honour or A honour
  
• Take your writing to the next level with Creative Writing stage 2
• Find out who’s funnier at the Improvisation Comedy Festival
• Make your writing work for you - Professional Business Writing
• Free movie tickets for you!
  
• WEBPICK: How to tackle confusing words

Thanks SO much to everyone who completed our survey last week. This will help us serve you better. We've heard what you want - so watch this space and we'll definitely bring it to you!

As a result of your wonderful input, the Sydney Writers' Centre is donating $500 to Doggie Rescue to help save dogs from death row at the pound and find them loving homes.

If you haven't had a chance to complete this 1-minute survey, you can do so here. Or you can copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=e3t3xfR_2fwgKJiQwOfRnRqQ_3d_3d

It's an honour to bring you this tip (not a honour)
I found this question on a grammar test on the Daily Writing Tips website.

Question: ___ hour ago we met ___ history teacher.

The answer is c) - An hour ago we met a history teacher.

A and An both mean the same thing - they refer to any item of a certain type (in this case, hour and history).
Their use depends on the word they are preceding -
if that word starts with a vowel you use An. If it starts
with a consonant, use A.

But remember, you also need to use An for words that start with a consonant but sound like a vowel. That’s why you’ll often see An being used before hour or honour, but not history or house.

Creative writing stage 2: Your next step
One thing we noticed from our recent customer survey is that almost half of you would like to develop your writing skills further in a stage 2 course for Creative or Feature Writing. Well, you’re in luck.

Our next Creative Writing Stage 2 course will begin on Wednesday 6 May 2009. This is the ideal course for anyone who would like further guidance on their writing through feedback and workshopping.

Judith Ridge, our very experienced and popular creative writing teacher, will cover the importance of character, voice and plot and help you complete a first draft short story by the end of the course.

Course: Creative Writing Stage 2 with Judith Ridge
When: Every Wednesday starting Wednesday 6 May 2009 for five weeks
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Cost: $395

Click here for more information or to enrol online.

Are you funnier than a 12th grader?
Geoff Bartlett presents seminars on Travel Writing, How to get published, and Self-Publishing at the Sydney Writers’ Centre. He is also a stand up comedian and is presenting a comedy improvisation competition in April and May at the Factory Theatre in Marrickville.

See students from all over Sydney going up against the Australian legends of improvised comedy in a variety of scenes and situations. Who’s funnier? You decide!

There is much honour at stake as the funniest of the class clowns try to claim comedy supremacy. Defending their turf, the Professional team will feature some of the best comedy improvisers in the country.

Be there on Sunday 19 April 2009 at the Factory Theatre to see National Theatresports champion Michael Gregory, Cranston Cup champions, Ewan Campbell and Lisa Ricketts, and the one man comedy show, Davd Callan as they team up to represent the impro comedy professionals.

Check out this video on what the kids think of the professionals.

Title: Are you funnier than a 12th Grader?
Dates: Sundays, 19th and 26th April and May 3rd, 10th and 17th at 7pm
Where: Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Road, Marrickville
Tickets: $28 Full, $22 Concessions and Groups (6+), plus booking fees
Bookings: Phone (02) 9550 3666 or http://premier.ticketek.com.au
Website: www.improaustralia.com.au

Movie tickets for you
The Baader Meinhof Group, or Red Army Faction, were a terrorist group active in the 1970s in West Germany. They were one of the most militant and violent left-wing groups in Europe at the time. A quick glance at Wikipedia will reveal an interesting and bizarre history.

The Baader Meinhof Complex is the title of Stefan Aust’s hugely successful book, and has now been made into a motion picture. And we have free tickets for you! Thanks to Icon Films we have 20 double passes to a screening on Wednesday 29 April at Dendy Newtown.

To win, simply email us the answer to this question:

Name one of the five founding members of the Baader Meinhof Group.

Email your answer along with your full name and postal address to competitions@spindriftmedia.com.au by 5pm Wednesday 22 April.

Would you trust a dentist who has bad grammar?
I recently received a brochure from a dentist in the city. It was a glossy brochure, obviously very expensive to produce, but it was full of grammatical and spelling errors!

In such a competitive market it’s essential that all your written communication is professional and easy to read. You can refine your writing so that your emails, letters, marketing campaigns and reports are easily understood and effective.

Our Professional Business Writing seminar will help you produce more polished writing. Mel Wilkinson will give you the golden rules on writing well at work, and will also cover:

• how to structure reports and proposals
• the fundamentals of persuasive writing
• tips and rules for stress-free writing
• how to gain the reader's attention
• the 8 step plan to write winning proposals
• and more.
  

Seminar: Professional Business Writing with Mel Wilkinson
When: Wednesday 29 April 2009 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.00am - 5.00pm
Cost: $395

Click here for more information or to enrol online.

WEBPICK: Solve arguments about words
Many of our tips of late have tackled confusing and sometimes interchangeable words - like assume vs presume and affect vs effect. Here’s a website designed for readers and writers that lists those troublesome words and how they are most commonly misused.

You simply type your confusing word into the search panel and it will give you the definition for that word as well as the word it is most commonly replaced with.

For example, type in ‘affluent’ and you will be given the definition as ‘wealthy’. You will also be given the definition for ‘effluent’, the word most commonly misused in this case (perhaps thanks to Kath & Kim).
There are also some examples of how to correctly
use both words.

This is a great quick and easy to use resource.
www.confusingwords.com

Business and Careers Institute in Milsons Point
Remember to check out our sister training organisation - the Business and Careers Institute - which we've just opened in Milsons Point. Thanks to those of you who have already enrolled in some of the courses! You'll find the same high quality of courses and presenters here.

As you know, I'm a big believer that technology can help you achieve more in less time. If you want to get the most out of everyday software like Word, Excel and Outlook, these fun and interactive courses will help you become a pro-user in just one day.

You can check it out here. I'd love to know what you think.
www.bcinstitute.com.au

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Wishing you much writing success,