Poem for one of my dearest friends.
Tagged: aphasia, bubbles, Poem, speech, strings of letters
Mina Witteman – author | editor | teacher of creative writing
Posts from the “Books” Category
Today’s Daily Prompt is about Landscapes: When you gaze out your window — real or figurative — do you see the forest first, or the trees? Let’s hit the real part first. When I gaze out of my window I see a cityscape. Not your regular cityscape with skyscrapers and all, but the gentle Amsterdam skyline that seems pretty much the same as it was centuries ago. The trees grew taller, the people inside changed, but the rooftops are still silhouetted against blue skies and scurrying clouds as they were in the 17th century. No forest at Herengracht, just trees. Elms. On this spring day, their delicate bud green flowers catch the sunlight in the most amazing way. Diaphanous petals that seem to emit…
Tagged: Amsterdam, daily prompt, Elm, gusts of wind, Herengracht, Landscape, Mina Witteman, nature, storm, the daily post, The Speed of Dark, thriller, wind blast, WP, YA
The Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators British Isles will once again help fresh, new voices in children’s literature – both writers and illustrators! – find agents, publishers and ultimately readers through its Undiscovered Voices Anthology. I’m thrilled to announce that I will be joining the 2014 European committee aiding the competition from the Continental side. The anthology will present a selection of novel extracts from 5+ to Young Adult novels and a selection of children’s illustration pieces. They will be sent to art directors, agents and editors in the UK. From the three previous anthologies, 22 of the 36 selected authors have received publishing contracts for more than 70 books! To enter the contest, you must be a member in good standing…
Categories: Books, Children's books
At last! We enjoyed the very first spring day of 2013. Sitting in the window, it made me think of that camp song so inextricably bound to our fair city: Tulips from Amsterdam. We usually sing the Dutch version ‘Tulpen uit Amsterdam’ and typically only when we’re drunk with joy or otherwise intoxicated — temperatures above 20ºC or over two hours of sunshine a day can do that to us. More than a few believe the song to be an old folk song, but it was originally written by German singer/songwriter Klaus-Günther Neumann. The English version became one of the signature songs of British comedian and singer Max Bygraves. The sun and the warmth drew me outside and strolling along the beautiful beautiful green canals…
Tomorrow will be D-Day for me and my fellow students, my brothers-in-ink. If all goes well, we will be teachers creative writing from that day on, accredited by the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. To honour our hard work over the past three semesters my colleagues and I now challenge YOU: Write an opening line for a story or a poem with or inspired by this picture and post it as a comment to this blog post. Captivate us in one single line. Can you do that? I bet you can! My colleagues and I will choose the best line. The writer of that line will be awarded The City of Inspiration and Writing People, two writing maps from the Write Around Town Map…
Some say it’s worth the detour, I’d say it’s worth the trip: the first SCBWI Europolitan Conference in Paris. I know it’s worth the trip, because as the Regional Advisor of SCBWI The Netherlands I am one of the organizers of this amazing and inspiring conference for children’s book writers and illustrators. We bring you a conference packed with workshops, presentations and opportunities to share your work. Attend sessions that meet your interests, whether you’re published or unpublished, an illustrator and/or a writer. • Work with our faculty in small groups to develop your craft • Register for a professional critique to get individual advice on your projects • Meet fellow members and potential critique partners • Enter some friendly contests and get your…
That’s an interesting one: Toot Your Horn. At the Daily Post they figure that most of us are excellent at being self-deprecating, but not so good at the opposite. Tell us your favorite thing about yourself, is today’s prompt. Tooting my horn? That sounds a lot like the final assignment before graduation, early next month, when my colleagues and I can proudly state that we are accredited creative writing teachers. The assignment? Pitch yourself in no more than 100 words to let future clients know what you have to offer. So here it is… The Discovery of the Writer Students come to me with a writer’s dream. Hesitantly, because who dares to claim he is talented enough? I show them that craftsmanship and a…
Mina Witteman 