I came across her work when I was doing research for my PhD novel. What struck me about her was the mention of the shame of Coloured people, a hidden, sensitive topic. Being of the same racial category as Wicomb in the hierarchical world created by apartheid, I wanted to include this shame in my … Continue reading A Tribute to Zoe Wicomb
Category: writer
Eye of a Needle: And Other Stories free on Kindle for 5 days!
My book of short stories will be free on Amazon from 5 to 9 October. I wrote this collection of short stories during the MA Creative Writing course at Rhodes University. I found the experience exhilarating and explored different ways of telling a story, which is evident in this collection. Below an extract from Akere, … Continue reading Eye of a Needle: And Other Stories free on Kindle for 5 days!
A new path
I recently did a course on postgraduate supervision and now have my first creative writing student from a local university. I have come to the realisation that, being an introvert, I’m more suited to be a writing coach than a lecturer talking in front of large groups. I intend to mentor and guide writers who … Continue reading A new path
The Buried Chameleon: A novel
Below an extract from the slave novel I'm editing. I'm sending out queries to agents and so far I have collected a number of no's. Although I finished the novel in April 2023 I have waited a while to get back to it due to my husband's illness and death. The novel is set at … Continue reading The Buried Chameleon: A novel
The Power of the Familiar
I’m busy editing my historical novel, The Buried Chameleon, to send to a literary agent –if I can find one. The milieu in South Africa has changed since I wrote the novel. A year ago we faced corruption and a million problems, but now, since the President of the United States weighed in on a … Continue reading The Power of the Familiar
Writing and self-censorship
The greatest enemy of any writer is self-censorship, especially if you are not aware of it. If you have grown up in an oppressive society, it's tentacles reach so deep into your psyche that you can write within the confines of what it tried to teach you: who you are in relation to the governing … Continue reading Writing and self-censorship
Grief and Writing
I lost my partner recently. It has contributed to my struggle to get back into a regular writing routine. Writer friends have forwarded calls for submissions of short stories, flash fiction and poetry, urging me to write as part of my healing process. But my writing output has gone into a temporary freeze. His death … Continue reading Grief and Writing
Mentoring young writers
Now that I’m older I’m sometimes approached by a young writer looking for a “mentor”; or trying to sell his or her books. And I’m always faced with a dilemma: do I tell them the truth, hoping that they’ll use it to fine-tune their craft, or do I praise them and move on. I remember … Continue reading Mentoring young writers
Non-fiction publishing opportunity
Winter sale
Dear friends, My book, Eye of a Needle: And Other Stories, will be available as part of a promotion on Smashwords for the month of July as part of their Annual Summer/Winter Sale. This is a chance to get my book, along with books from many other authors, at a discount. Click on the link … Continue reading Winter sale
Cornelia Smith Fick 