Allaboutwriting, a partnership between Richard Beynon and Jo-Anne Richards, has an exciting array of writing courses coming up in the next few weeks.

Beynon and Richards have developed a series of courses designed to inspire writers and to stimulate creativity, allowing each writer to find their own individual voice.
The courses provide writers with a range of skills and techniques to translate their vision into publishable manuscripts.

The courses are open to anyone with a proposed writing project, even if it’s only the sketchiest idea at this stage, as well as to anyone who merely wishes to learn more about writing. They serve writers of fiction; non-fiction; or even screenplays. Beginners are welcome.

The Character Course is a unique writing course devised and run by novelist, Jo-Anne Richards; scriptwriter, Richard Beynon; and psychologist, Pierre Brouard.
It blends psychology and writing to create a one-day plunge into the process of creating memorable and larger-than-life characters. It looks at the skills needed to make these characters leap off the page.

The workshop will be held on Saturday, 27 February in Parkview, Johannesburg from 09:00 to 17:00 with lunch and refreshments included. This course, introduced to acclaim in 2009, costs R1 500.

They say that there’s a book in each of us. More than likely this is your own story, but it could be you’d love to tell the story of someone else, living or dead, whose life has been an inspiration to you. Most of us, though, lack the skills to turn a fascinating life into a fascinating book. Join Jo-Anne Richards and Fred de Vries on the three-day Biography and Memoir Course, and learn all you need to successfully tackle the writing of a biography or memoir. 6 and 7 March and 17 April. Cost: R4 500.

The simplest romance takes a thorough understanding of the genre, and a complex set of skills. In other words, there’s more to a romance than meets the eye. The Romance Writing course is designed to show what rough magic lies behind the seamless romance of every good love story.

Held over six Wednesday mornings in March and April, the course takes you through practical skills, with fun and challenging exercises. Cost: R3600.
Richard Beynon and romance writer, Alissa Baxter (author of three published romances), will guide you through the maze of what it takes to write a romance.

The Cape Town Creative Writing Weekend, run by Jo-Anne Richards and Richard Beynon, is a writing experience with a difference. Taking you out of your comfort zones, the course will encourage creativity, while teaching the literary skills that will enable you to write with flair and dynamism. 10 and 11 April. Cost: R 3 750, which includes lunches; teas; coffees; and snacks.

For more information, including testimonials from past participants, visit www.allaboutwritingcourses.com and join Allaboutwriting on Facebook for regular updates.

About the facilitators
Jo-Anne Richards is a writer and lecturer in the Wits journalism department. Her novels include The Innocence of Roast Chicken; Touching the Lighthouse; and Sad at the Edges. A new novel, My Brother’s Book, was released in April 2008. She has, over the past few years, run a number of writing courses: in journalism; narrative journalism; literary; and business writing skills.

Richard Beynon is a television and film writer. A former journalist, he has conceived; shaped; and written scores of documentaries. He managed the writing team at Isidingo for three years, as well as contributing over three hundred scripts to the series. He is currently a writer and generator of stories on the e.tv daily drama, Rhythm City. He has lectured on writing for film and television at Wits and, together with Jo-Anne, runs writing courses and retreats.

Pierre Brouard is a clinical psychologist who has done everything from private practice; HIV counselling and training; managing counsellors in workplace settings; and developing counselling resources, to being an agony uncle and blogging about life; love; and relationships. He writes a blog in which he answers questions about the psychological make-up of characters and their motivations. Currently, he is the Deputy Director of an AIDS NGO.

Fred de Vries is a Dutch freelance writer/journalist. He has worked as a correspondent and Foreign Editor for de Volkskrant, a daily Dutch newspaper. He recently published a collection with the highlights from his interviews for The Weekender and Empire Magazine, The Fred de Vries Interviews; From Abdullah to Zille. He teaches Travel Writing at Wits University and with Creative Industries.

Alissa Baxter grew up with her nose in a book on a poultry farm in Mpumalanga. After university, where she majored in Political Science and French, she wrote her first novel, The Dashing Debutante. Alissa travelled to London and did an odd assortment of jobs, while researching her second historical novel, Lord Fenmore’s Wager. Her third novel, Send and Receive, was published by Oshun.