Want to improve the quality of your writing?

Are you a budding writer? Creating a great story and making up interesting characters is only part of it. It might feel boring, but all successful writers spend a lot of time editing and polishing their work. Here are some tips

Writing Forward

http://www.writingforward.com/

This website has heaps of short articles on different aspects of writing. From grammar tips, to advise on how to improve your characters or how to be ruthless in your editing.

The Write Practice

http://thewritepractice.com/

As well as hosting a blog full of advice for writers, this website offers tutorials on writing short stories, grammar, character creation, and interviewing techniques.

Creative writing

Do you love creative writing? Or do you hate it, but have to do it for English? Either way, at times, you might find yourself staring at a blank page and wondering what to write or how to start. Here are a few websites that might help you…

Looking for inspiration?

Writing Exercises .co.uk

http://writingexercises.co.uk

This is a great website where the real danger is in being faced with too many ideas and getting addicted to their random generators! My favourites are the Random First Line generator and the Random Character Trait Generator. One is great for getting ideas going, especially if I am doing a 5 or 10 minute warm-up writing activity. The other is good for inspiring depth to my characters.

Writer’s Digest: Creative Writing Prompts

http://www.writersdigest.com/prompts

Aside from all the other things this community offers, this website offers a weekly creative writing prompt. These are detailed enough to be used for a short story or a longer warm-up. If you don’t like this week’s prompt, you can scroll back through previous offerings for something that sparks your attention.

Accidental Cyberbullying? Reword.it

Have you ever been in that situation where, because you were feeling angry, or hurt, or upset, you posted something you later regretted?

Have you ever been at the receiving end of a hurtful post?

Have you ever wished you could take your words back, because you didn't want to hurt someone, you only wanted them to notice?

Do you want a tool on your browser that checks your posts for hurtful content the way a spell checker checks your spelling? Maybe something that checks you are sure you want to say something before you say it?

Headspace has developed a tool that might do that. It wont stop you saying what you want to say, but it will ask if you are sure, to remind you not to post in anger or frustration.

http://reword.it

2016 Young Journalist Award (Australian Catholics Magazine)

Write a story about someone inspiring in your community for the 2016 Australian Catholics Young Journalist Award.

Our communities are full of people who have a heart for others, and who we can all learn from in this Year of Mercy in the Catholic Church.

It might be someone in your school who pays special attention to people in most need. It might be a doctor or nurse, whose care and support helps many who are unwell. It might be someone who has a special heart for refugees, the homeless, those in prisons, the elderly or other forgotten people in our society. 

Find someone whose example inspires you, conduct and interview and write up their story for the chance to win cash and great prizes.

Entries close 27 May 2016. Winners will be notified in late August, and their names will be published in the Spring 2016 edition.
(From https://australiancatholics.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=38218#.Vte4mxigtwX)

To enter the competition you will need the support of a teacher (preferably your English teacher).
For guidelines and judging criteria see: https://australiancatholics.com.au/uploads/yja/2016/YJA16_Guidelines_judges'%20criteri_tips.pdf