Putting pen to paper is something writers do every day, but is often quite a challenge. Writing a clever intro, using the active voice and mastering the art of showing and not telling in creative writing are things words people need to do instinctively.
Flowstars Julia Lloyd and Bianca Bothma with communication specialists from the Department of Human Settlements
Members of the writing studio of Flow Communications, subeditor Julia Lloyd and journalist and media developer Bianca Bothma, imparted some smart strategies on how to overcome these obstacles to communication specialists from the national Department of Human Settlements in a three-day course last week.
Five communication officers from the department participated in the course that was organised by the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism.
With more than 25 years’ newsroom experience, Julia led many of the theoretical discussions while Bianca concentrated on the workshop exercises.
Being able to work together as course facilitators allowed us to keep the course dynamic and full of energy, and helped us to cover a wide range of subjects. Says Julia, “Feature writing is a pretty extensive topic and there was so much to cover in three days. But we concentrated on the most important elements, and used practical exercises to drive them home.”
Even though there was a lot of work to be done, there was still time for loads of laughs and fun. Says Julia, “The students seemed to enjoy the course as much as we did which was fantastic and, judging by their final writing exercise, we unleashed in them the creative writer (to quote one of the students). What a compliment.”
Besides attempting different types of intros, and doing descriptive writing exercises, the students also had a brainstorming session on ideas relating to upcoming events happening in the department, which was highly successful as almost 50 story ideas were generated.
Another workshop session involved a mock press conference that allowed the students to practise the technique of interviewing and taking down direct quotes correctly.
Flow received great feedback from the students about what they learnt during the course:
“In the beginning it was hard for me to put pen to paper but now, from what I’ve learnt, I know that I can use my imagination when I go to events and observe details and come up with something great.” – Sentebaleng Shiko, communications officer
“I’ve really surprised myself, I’ve learnt a lot about myself. Now I know that I can write and direct the reader to see what I see.” – Botshelo Selogilwe, communication officer
“I feel that I can write a book with all the things I’ve learnt. I now know how JK Rowling did it with her Harry Potter stories. I used to think she was mad.” – Ishmael Selemale, communications officer