The Writing Room

  ABOUT THE TEACHER'S GIFT You are a teacher and much is expected of you. You are expected to make your students learn the content of your lessons while being their counsellor, parent, friend…. In addition, with the move by government to ensure that there is accountability in government institutions – which is a good thing – you have to engage in a number of administrative tasks, in addition to your teaching role. As a result, you are stressed and find yourself close to the breaking point. Th e Teacher ' s Gift: A Teacher’s perspective will help you to regain your equilibrium. Learn how to: prepare yourself to manage your teaching job interact with the stakeholders of the school measure your success on the job maintain your mental health Take back your joy which is being slowly taken away from you by intractable students, hassled administrators and the demands of the job. Get your copy  here ! Before you go, spend a few minutes t...

I'm fascinated by cultures, the ways of life of groups of people who showcase their identities by what they say and do - the way they practice life. I'm fascinated by cultures because I believe that within them lie keys that open doors to human understanding, our understanding of each other's hopes, dreams and motivation. I believe that if we truly make it our business to learn about the cultures of people who differ from us in so many ways, and if we truly try to understand the custodians of these cultures, we will begin to break down the walls of misunderstanding which sometimes lead to conflict among us. Pie in the sky? Probably. But, I continue to hold on to this belief which simply put is: Learning about cultures fosters understanding, strengthens communication and reduces conflict among people . One way to begin this process, I think, is by reading because reading allows us to vicariously travel the world, mingle with people whose way of life is totally diff...

                You are here because you want to learn how to create memorable characters as  some of your favourite writers have done.  It is not as difficult as you think.  By the time you finish reading this post, you will be well on your way to create your characters that readers will remember decades later - every writer's hope. Look at yourself and the people around you. You are all actors on this stage called life, according to William Shakespeare   - characters really.  In writing your characters you need to capture the essence of yourself and the people around you in your writing - quirks and all. If you manage to do this, you will have created an authentic character that will stimulate the imagination of readers. Characters The writer is an artist who uses the tools that she possesses - words, general knowledge of the writing process and her experiences in creative ways to craft stories that tug at the e...

Why do I write? This is a question to which authors/writers have had to find an answer because either their curious fans or interested others have wanted to understand their motivation for writing. Whenever someone poses this question, the answers are swift in coming from some authors/writers.  We hear responses like the following: I write because I have to. There is something in me that forces me to write. I write because writing is therapeutic. It's a way to help me deal with my demons (Okay, I came up with the "demons" part. I'm not sure anybody actually says this, but probably somebody does). But some writers believe that the process of writing helps them to deal with the challenges of their lives. I write because I have a story to tell. I write because writing is my passion.  I write because I want to make money... We all have our reasons for writing. Some of us do not hesitate when someone asks us to articulate o...

All advice about the process of writing is important. However, aspiring writers should not get hung up on the bits of advice that the experts - those who have had some success in writing - from time to time, toss out to the curious, probably excessively "fan girling" or "fan boying" interviewer. These successful writers were once aspiring writers. They wrote and wrote and wrote because they believed that they had stories to tell. Some of them pitched their work over and over to publishers, and were rejected over and over and over, until finally they reaped success. This success may have come by being published by a traditional publishing company or being self published. What all these successful authors have all had in common are some positive attitudes: Perseverance. That is, faith in their abilities to write and translating their faith into action Willingness to expend the necessary effort to realise their dream; willingness to make sacrifices to...