
SHOWCASE & BLOG
Selected course participants' writing | Cathy's blog
Showcase stories are drawn from course participants' assignments and work. These pieces are featured with the authors' permission but may not be used elsewhere.
- Mar 9, 2020
- 4 min
Playing Poohsticks
By Cathy Eden Among the great children’s writers who introduced me to fiction and made me fall in love with reading are Edith Nesbit,...
- Dec 15, 2019
- 4 min
A most mysterious thing
Strange things sometimes happen at the writers’ groups. Here’s one of them ... A basket has magically appeared in my living room. Please,...
- Oct 10, 2019
- 1 min
Writers' groups weekly update: romance in the air
There are romance writers, and then there are people who can write about romance, which is not necessarily the same thing. Belinda...
- Oct 3, 2019
- 2 min
Writers’ groups weekly update: a tribute
This week I’d like to pay tribute to Nicky Handfield, a brave, positive woman who was already very ill with cancer when she came to do a...
- Sep 26, 2019
- 2 min
Writers’ groups weekly update: productivity and passion
Several members of the writers’ groups do well under pressure. Calene Kruger (she of the knitted mittens) can cut things particularly...
- Sep 19, 2019
- 2 min
Writers' groups: the next generation
It’s a joy to me that my grandsons love books. Daniel, nearly 12, reads voraciously; James, 10, has a growing appetite and Michael, 6,...
- Sep 12, 2019
- 1 min
Writers' groups: the discipline to write
Much of what a writer produces never reaches an audience, but we keep working anyway. One of the great benefits of writers’ groups is...
- Sep 5, 2019
- 1 min
Writers' groups: a weekly update
The writers who meet in my home each month are a constant source of inspiration and delight. There are novelists and columnists, a poet...
- Aug 11, 2019
- 4 min
Becoming a writer
By Carol Poolton Stepping across the threshold of the homely Victorian cottage, we are enveloped by an atmosphere of peace and...
- May 20, 2019
- 2 min
Kindness
John O’Donohue, who writes with such wisdom about the human condition, says: “There is a kindness that dwells deep down in things; it...
- May 20, 2019
- 2 min
Snapshots of a life
My first magazine article, published 30 years ago, has a picture of me, the wannabe writer. There I stand: a young, suburban mother of...
- Mar 14, 2019
- 2 min
Pushing my buttons
An email arrived the other day, offering me access to three short presentations by a well-known teacher. Sign up and enjoy this FREE...
- Feb 12, 2019
- 1 min
Learning to Speak
By Calene Kruger When I had my first child I yearned for her to speak. “Say mama,” I’d prompt. “Say dada if you have to, but speak!” Then...
- Jan 20, 2019
- 2 min
The coffee shop
By Marc Rogatschnig It is a gathering place of sorts. People striding in, queuing, scanning the tables for familiar faces, reaching for...
- Jan 16, 2019
- 3 min
The cat-friendly dog
By Carol Dreyer I opened my eyes; it was Sunday – bliss! A mug of tea and a croissant in bed is the perfect slow start to the day, but...
- Dec 8, 2018
- 1 min
Morning
By Charles Sloan 5.45: Walking the dogs. Dew on the grass makes it glitter. Mist drifts slowly up the side of the hill across the...
- Nov 2, 2018
- 3 min
The Rock Generation
By Cathy Eden At 8.30 on this perfect morning, low tide offers a shining expanse of sand as a mirror to the mountain. There’s no sign of...
- Oct 26, 2018
- 1 min
Suitcase
By Andrew Turner Granny Mary and Grandpa John were our own glam slam edge of the family. Grandpa Charles, Granny Mary’s first husband,...
- Oct 12, 2018
- 4 min
Where does the time go?
By Cathy Eden Every year I go to great lengths to plan a daily programme; one that includes household chores, meditation, exercise, time...