BY HELEN TOMPSON The thought that one day I could be a writer has bubbled inside me for
BY RETIEF POTGIETER An artist will sometimes mention that he or she hasn’t had an original thought in a while.
Technically, I shouldn’t even be here. Where? Here, among a sea of writers filled with talent who always knew they
By Shenaaz Msusa “The next word is DITCH; I repeat ditch,” announced the teacher loudly and clearly
BY NICOLE ZELNIKER Just write. It’s the first piece of advice any writing professor will give you,
BY NIKKY LEE “Kill your adverbs.” This advice came from thriller writer John Harman. I was eighteen, in my first
BY STEPHANIE MILLAR “We’re moving to Durban next month,” my dad nonchalantly announced. He and my mum had
BY BEATRICE ELLIS As the writer on the radio was being interviewed, I heard her say, “Think of something
There is a story in each one of us; the difference is in how it is told. That becomes
BY ELAINA FELLOWS “Why don’t you just quit your job and do it?” My husband asked me. I
BY ANNA STROUD I was in my fourth year at university, studying towards a Bachelors degree in Journalism
My favourite singer once told an interviewer that he started singing at the age of four. He said that by
BY TRACY SOLEA A bright gold sticker in my purple exercise book marks the day I
BY GLENN McGOLDRICK My writing journey? Ha-ha. Sounds pretentious. Where to start? I liked writing as a kid.
BY LEONIE FOURIE It was hot. Mid-December in the Cape Winelands tends to be hot. Your-clothes-stuck-to-your-butt kind of
BY DAVID WHITAKER My first book was self-published. I wrote every word and illustrated it myself. I also cut
BY NATALIE SWAIN Christmas morning. My brother has a secretive smirk on his face. “This one is from me,
BY DO HYUN KANG It all began the day I turned 100 days old. I don’t remember anything about the
By Eileen Kennedy Scientists say there’s a specific region of the brain dedicated to writing. Somewhere between the prefrontal
BY CATHY MARTENS Ah, my elusive writing chops; where do they come from and where do they keep going?
BY SUZETTE LEAL I would say that my venture into the world of words started thanks to Tchaikovsky. Had
BY OLAKUNLE OLADIRAN Growing up in the tiny village of Akure in Nigeria, I had only felt liberated
I was five years old, hugging the floor of my mother’s little shack, gunshots ringing through the air. I
My writing journey leaped ahead when a truck smashed into my car at a traffic light, crumpling the back
Love at first word. My first word was ‘home’, and that word has stuck with me ever since. Home is