Thank you to all those who have already submitted entries to the competition.
However, we realise that the stress of the impending exams is not necessarily conducive to writing or to submission. This concern has been raised by a number of people. And so, in response...
...we hereby announce an extension of the deadline until the 31st of November.
If you would like to revise and resubmit an entry that you have already submitted, you are more than welcome to. Please just make a note on the entry that it is a revised version.
Good luck for exams!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Glimpses of Wits
1. Walk along your usual route on campus, from one class to the next or from the bus to the library...
OR
2. Venture somewhere new on Wits, to a place you have heard about but never seen, or to a place that you have caught glimpses of while strolling between classes...
AND write a few sentences about what you see, what you hear, how you feel. Try not to edit the piece too much, but give us your first impression of Wits. Let us in to your world.
OR
2. Venture somewhere new on Wits, to a place you have heard about but never seen, or to a place that you have caught glimpses of while strolling between classes...
AND write a few sentences about what you see, what you hear, how you feel. Try not to edit the piece too much, but give us your first impression of Wits. Let us in to your world.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Deon Hofmeyer competition
Just a quick reminder that the creative writing competition for the Deon Hofmeyer Award closes this Friday (07 September). Entries can be handed in to, Moipone Ndlala, the secretary in the English Lit. department.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Three Word Story Part II
The story so far:
Intelligent kittens believe in the almighty disappointment that is postmodern non-intellectual discourse. "Stop fiddling everything!" said the kitten to the modernist. With a resounding "Booya", the kitten gave the anonymous porcupine a backrub so vigorous that the quills pierced...
To be continued.
Check out the link in the sidebar to the 'wiki-novel', called A Million Penguins. Generally proclaimed a failure by every boring, old, stick-in-the-mud critic, I think it's quite an interesting read.
Intelligent kittens believe in the almighty disappointment that is postmodern non-intellectual discourse. "Stop fiddling everything!" said the kitten to the modernist. With a resounding "Booya", the kitten gave the anonymous porcupine a backrub so vigorous that the quills pierced...
To be continued.
Check out the link in the sidebar to the 'wiki-novel', called A Million Penguins. Generally proclaimed a failure by every boring, old, stick-in-the-mud critic, I think it's quite an interesting read.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Three Word Story
One fairly well known collaborative writing exercise is the Three Word Story, where each contributor adds three (and only three) words to the current story. This can be very useful for the writing process, as it will make you more aware of the impact of one's choice of words on the rest of the story.
After all, a well chosen set of three words can change the course of an entire story. Maybe even history.
Rules:
1)You may not submit sentences twice in a row, as that detracts from the spontaneity of the story.
2)Before posting, read Everything that has come before.
3)The story does not necessarily have to be consistent, but sentences must flow logically.
Hints:
-Play around with your choice of words before you submit and see how much you can convey with three words.
Ask yourself the following:
-What would advance the story?
-How can I use what has come before?
-Is there room for flexibility
-Have previous contributors hinted at upcoming plot developments?
(Admittedly, some of these only apply once a few entries have been submitted)
The Opening sentence is:
Intelligent Kittens Believe…
After all, a well chosen set of three words can change the course of an entire story. Maybe even history.
Rules:
1)You may not submit sentences twice in a row, as that detracts from the spontaneity of the story.
2)Before posting, read Everything that has come before.
3)The story does not necessarily have to be consistent, but sentences must flow logically.
Hints:
-Play around with your choice of words before you submit and see how much you can convey with three words.
Ask yourself the following:
-What would advance the story?
-How can I use what has come before?
-Is there room for flexibility
-Have previous contributors hinted at upcoming plot developments?
(Admittedly, some of these only apply once a few entries have been submitted)
The Opening sentence is:
Intelligent Kittens Believe…
Monday, August 13, 2007
More About The Competition
Tell Us Another One is a new Wits creative writing competition, about Wits. It is an opportunity for you to explore what your institution means to you and to play around with the concepts that Wits represents to you, from the special to the absurd.
More importantly, the competition is here to stimulate creative writing on campus. That doesn't mean that we want conventional stories. Use and abuse the constraints. Push the boundaries. We want something different. Not an imitation of what is regarded as 'good' literature, but something that is unique and original. Something playful. Liberate yourself from academic writing styles. Create something new. Tell us another one.
The genre of your story could be anything from science fiction to fantasy, detective noir or cookery horror , if you can pull it off. You could even invent your own genre.
Your story can be set anywhere on campus, from the corridors of Central Block to the great outdoors, otherwise known as the Library Lawns. Wits could even be a character. However you choose to write it, Wits has to feature in the story.
We want the hidden, untold stories of Wits, even those that have never happened outside of your imagination. Be creative. Be unique. Tell us another one.
Wits has already produced one Nobel prize winning author. You could be the next.
Every great author has to start somewhere.
More importantly, the competition is here to stimulate creative writing on campus. That doesn't mean that we want conventional stories. Use and abuse the constraints. Push the boundaries. We want something different. Not an imitation of what is regarded as 'good' literature, but something that is unique and original. Something playful. Liberate yourself from academic writing styles. Create something new. Tell us another one.
The genre of your story could be anything from science fiction to fantasy, detective noir or cookery horror , if you can pull it off. You could even invent your own genre.
Your story can be set anywhere on campus, from the corridors of Central Block to the great outdoors, otherwise known as the Library Lawns. Wits could even be a character. However you choose to write it, Wits has to feature in the story.
We want the hidden, untold stories of Wits, even those that have never happened outside of your imagination. Be creative. Be unique. Tell us another one.
Wits has already produced one Nobel prize winning author. You could be the next.
Every great author has to start somewhere.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Tell Us Another One
There are 28 000 students at Wits. Out of these, at least one could be the next Nadine Gordimer or JM Coetzee or Zakes Mda.
Could be.
But we don't want the next big thing that has already been done.
We want something new. Something that is ours.
We are asking you to tell a story. It must be a good story. It must enthralling and gripping and 'unputdownable'. It should not preach or teach. It must not be predictable.
Let's get back to basics. Let us entertain and be entertained.
So, tell us another one.
Could be.
But we don't want the next big thing that has already been done.
We want something new. Something that is ours.
We are asking you to tell a story. It must be a good story. It must enthralling and gripping and 'unputdownable'. It should not preach or teach. It must not be predictable.
Let's get back to basics. Let us entertain and be entertained.
So, tell us another one.
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