16 April 2009
Get Published newsletter from Valerie
Khoo
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Dear Fellow Writer,
In this issue:
- Study when YOU want - online and daytime courses
- 10 double passes for ‘Are you funnier than a 12th grader?’
- More Student Success - Margaret and Lynda are published
- How to edit like a pro
- $11,000 prize for short fiction - the Harold Pine Competition
- WEBPICK - Ink Provoking
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 I've been spending this week feeling blessed that I'm a writer. This is such a great job if you want diversity - there's always something new every day. And being a feature writer gives you a great excuse to talk to people and research ideas that you're personally interested in because you can then turn them into stories! I looked at the stories I filed this week and they included talking to Hugh Jackman about Wolverine (oh, those muscles!), an article on Google Analytics (I love technology), talking to a CEO of a $35 million company - and in the middle of all that, I edited a magazine on home renovating.
Writing can give you as much flexibility or diversity as you like in your work day. Sure, there are deadlines,
but when you have the chance to meet so many
interesting people and write about such fascinating
topics, it's worth it.
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Breaking the rules
 Last week’s tip prompted one reader to (rightly) point out that some grammar rules may apply to our writing, but not always to our speech. Grammar Girl, our online grammar guru, recently conducted a survey on whether people preferred to use ‘dived’ or ‘dove’ as the past tense for ‘dive’.
Interestingly, 87% of people preferred ‘dove’ - as in I dove into the water - which is actually a more recent grammatical development. In writing, ‘dived’ is generally considered correct, while in speech more people use ‘dove’.
It just goes to show, no matter how many rules we try to apply, the English language will always find a way
to break them!
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Study when YOU want - online and daytime courses
 Our online courses have always been extremely popular and our recent poll revealed that many of you prefer to study this way. Learning through our virtual classroom means you can login at a time to suit you to complete five modules, but still receive the benefits of a face-to-face class through feedback from classmates and your presenter.
You can complete courses in Creative Writing or Feature Writing. Both courses provide you with practical tips to refine your writing and get closer to being published.
Our next round of online courses will begin on Monday 27 April 2009.
Online Creative Writing with Pamela Freeman / Cathie Tasker
When: Week beginning Monday 27 April 2009 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Click here for more information or to enrol online.
Online Feature Writing for Magazines and Newspapers with Valerie Khoo
When: Week beginning Monday 27 April 2009 for five weeks
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost: $395
Click here for more information or to enrol online.
Daytime Feature Writing
We’ve also heard your call for more daytime classes and are happy to announce a new date for Feature Writing with Pamela Wilson.
Feature Writing for Magazines and Newspapers is an ideal course for anyone who wants to see their work in print and earn money from their writing. Many students who complete this course are published in major Australian newspapers and magazines - some before they’ve even completed the course!
Taught by experienced journalist Pamela Wilson, the course will cover:
- which ideas work - and where to get them
- understanding the magazine/news market
- different types of feature articles
- how to research, structure and write a feature
- what editors want from a writer
- how to pitch your article or idea to a magazine and sell it!
Course: Feature Writing for Magazines and Newspapers with Pamela Wilson
When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 28 May 2009 for five weeks
Time: 10.00am - 12.00pm
Cost: $395
Click here for more information or to enrol online.
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Win one of 10 double passes to Are you funnier than a 12th grader?
 Last week we told you about Impro Australia’s upcoming event, Are you funnier than a 12th Grader? This will be a hilarious evening of theatresports and improvisation and we have 10 double passes to the opening night to give away.
Geoff Bartlett, who presents seminars on Travel Writing, How to get published, and Self-Publishing at the Sydney Writers’ Centre, is presenting this series at The Factory Theatre in Marrickville.
If you’d like to see the newest talent take on some of Australia’s best impro and theatresports professionals, just email us at courses@spindriftmedia.com.au with your answer to the following question:
What was the funniest thing about life when you were a 12th grader?
We’ll need your answers no later than 5pm tomorrow, Friday 17 April 2009. Please remember to include your full name and a contact phone number.
Are you funnier than a 12th Grader?
When: Sunday 19 April 2009, 7pm
Where: The Factory Theatre
105 Victoria Road, Marrickville
Click here for more information.
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More Student Success
It seems more of our students are coming to the attention of The Sydney Morning Herald with yet another Feature Writing student having her article published. Margaret Zsigmond completed her course with us in March this year, and has already had an article published. To read it check out smh.com.au.
Lynda De Lacey also completed our Feature Writing course and is currently participating in the mentoring program with me. Her article was published on the weekend in the Herald’s and the Melbourne Age’s travel sections. You can read her article online at smh.com.au.
Congratulations to Margaret and Lynda!
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Edit documents like a pro
 We rely so much on written communication now and it’s becoming increasingly important to get it right! Editing your own writing or someone else’s can be daunting if you don’t have the basic skills to do it right. But even the clumsiest writing can be transformed - and it doesn’t have to take hours.
Our Editing Essentials seminar will take you through the basics of editing and give you the confidence to apply your new found skills at work. During the seminar you will learn:
- how to edit for structure and style
- simple techniques that will improve anyone’s writing
- standard proofreading symbols and how to use them
- common mistakes in punctuation and spelling
- and much more.
Course: Editing Essentials with Katrina Lobley
When: Tuesday 21 April 2009 (one-day seminar)
Time: 9.30am - 4.30pm
Cost: $345
Click here for more information or to enrol online.
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Harold Pine Competition
 Rarely does a short story competition offer lucrative cash prizes. Often the best we can hope for is a couple of hundred dollars and maybe publication in an anthology or magazine (not that this isn’t a worthwhile prize).
But, thanks to a generous gift from David Harold Tribe in 2005, the Department of English at Sydney University is now offering $11,000 to the winning author of a short piece of fiction (minimum 3,000 words, maximum 3,500). The prize has been established to encourage excellence in literature and promote interest in Australian fiction. $11,000 would go a long way for any writer.
Entries for the award close on Friday 7 August 2009 at 4pm. That gives you plenty of time to polish your writing with our Creative Writing Stage 2 course, which begins on Wednesday 6 May 2009. Click here for more information or to enrol online.
Click here for competition details and an entry form.
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Travis Thomas must have 
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. 
