Tag: short course (page 1 of 3)

Maximising Your Learning Experience: Tips for Short Course Online Learners

August 8, 2024 / / 0 Comments

For those who you who have never taken a course with us, we offer short courses in a range of subjects from writing to computing, languages, business, and creative industries. Catering to the busy schedules of professionals and lifelong learners, most of our courses are ten-weeks long, but we also offer one or two-day workshops, and the majority are delivered via Zoom or Teams. With the new academic year around the corner, we’ve compiled a list of practical tips to help you get the most out of your learning experience while studying from home.

 1. Stick to a Schedule

Consistency is key to managing your time effectively. Treat your online course schedule as you would a traditional in-person class. Mark your calendar with class times and allocate specific periods for reviewing materials, completing assignments, and participating in discussions.

2. Actively Engage in Classes

Active participation is crucial in an online learning environment. Keep your camera on if possible, ask questions, and contribute to discussions. Engaging with your tutor and classmates will enhance your understanding and make the learning experience more interactive, and more enjoyable

3. Stay Organised

Keeping your course materials organised can save you time and stress. Use digital folders to store notes, assignments, and readings. Tools like Google Drive, OneNote, or Evernote can help you keep everything in one place and easily accessible.

4. Take Regular Breaks

Sitting in front of a computer for extended periods can be tiring. Incorporate short breaks into your study sessions to stretch, hydrate, and relax. The Pomodoro Technique—studying for 25 minutes followed by a 5-minute break—can be an effective way to maintain concentration and engagement.

5. Network with Fellow Students

Building connections with your peers can enhance your learning experience and provide support throughout the course. Participate in group activities, or create a study group to collaborate and share insights.

6. Practice Good Posture

Maintaining good posture is essential for physical comfort and health while learning from home. Try to ensure your chair provides proper support, keep your feet flat on the ground, and position your screen at eye level to prevent neck and back strain.

7. Enhance Your Technical Skills

Familiarise yourself with Zoom, and Teams used for your courses. Make sure you iron out any login difficulties way ahead of the first session. Learn how to navigate these tools effectively, including using breakout rooms. This will help you avoid technical difficulties and participate more effectively in class.

8. Stay Motivated and Set Goals

Short courses can be intense, so staying motivated is crucial. Set clear, achievable goals for what you want to accomplish each week. Celebrate your progress, no matter how small, and remind yourself of the reasons you enrolled in the course.

9. Seek Feedback and Support

Don’t hesitate to reach out to your tutor for feedback on your work or clarification on course materials. All our lecturers are happy to answer questions about the course content and delivery and to help you with any issues that arise.

10. Explore Opportunities 

City short courses has a range of opportunities available to students on particular courses. Familiarise yourself with what’s on offer, e.g. current and past writing students are eligible for our termly City Writes Competition, and make sure you make the most of your time at City.

Enrolling in a City short online course offers a fantastic opportunity to advance your knowledge and skills in a convenient and flexible format. By following these tips, you can help maximise your learning experience and achieve your goals. Happy learning!

For those who would like to try out one of our short courses, we are running an online open evening on September 11 2024, with tasters in a variety of subjects. Attendance is free but you’ll need to register to secure your spot. Full details are here.

 

Interview with Jo Cunningham, author of debut novel Death by Numbers

July 29, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Next week sees the launch of debut cosy crime novel, Death By Numbers, written by City Novel Studio alumna Jo Cunningham. Jo took time out of her busy schedule to answer our questions ahead of publication day. Read on for her answers and for more details about the book.

 

  1. When did you first realise you wanted to be a writer?

Glossing over my dubious childhood poetry and notebooks full of random jottings, I didn’t start writing ‘seriously’ until my early thirties. I went on a beginners Arvon course for a week, with no expectations, and by the end of the course I was hooked. One of the tutors on the course recommended the courses at City University for novice writers and…

 

  1. Who are you currently reading?

I have just finished reading The Misadventures of Margaret Finch by Claire McGlasson which is a beautifully written novel about a young woman in 1930s Blackpool who questions how she observes others, and herself. Next up, is Kala by Colin Walsh – I’m going to hear him speak about the book soon, so that’s exciting. And after that on my TBR pile is Monumenta by Lara Haworth – after hearing Lara’s amazing talk at the recent City Writes event, I had to get her book!

 

  1. You’ve studied creative writing and also worked hard at the craft of writing on your own. What’s been the most useful thing you’ve learned about writing a novel?

Yikes – just one thing? At the moment, I’m in an editing phase, and as I re-read each scene, I ask myself ‘Does this scene earn its keep?’ – is there enough happening to keep it – does it push the story and the characters forward? If the answer is ‘No’ then I either need to rework the scene or ditch it.

 

  1. What kind of qualities does a writer need?

Persistence and resilience.  It took me many years from starting to write novels to reach the publication stage. The main thing you must do is finish the novel. I know that sounds glib, but not everyone does. The next thing is dealing with rejection. I wish had some words of wisdom on that. Rejection hurts, but you somehow have to get over it and keep going. Even now I’m at the publication stage, I know there will be more of that to face in the future but… you only need that one person to say ‘yes’!

 

  1. What made you write a cosy crime novel? What is it about the genre that appeals to you?

Back in 2017, I’d just put another novel in the ‘bottom drawer’ and wanted to start something new. I’d been reading Douglas Adam’s Dirk Gently detective novels and was inspired to start on a humorous detective book. I read and watch a lot of cosy crime – there’s something oddly comforting about knowing everything will be resolved and usually there’s a good dose of humour included.

Author Jo Cunningham

  1. Can you tell us about your path to publication?

I’d describe it more as an obstacle course where I created some of the obstacles. For my first three novels, I didn’t bother with looking for an agent or publisher – I didn’t think they were of a good enough standard and perhaps I was trying to put off being rejected… they went straight in the bottom drawer. But the fourth novel I did send round to five or six agents. I got a couple of personal replies in amongst standard rejections and tumbleweed. I think I should have been a bit more persistent at this stage – please see my own advice about writer qualities above. Anyhow… when it came to the fifth novel, Death by Numbers, I decided I would really go for it. I sent the novel out in small batches to agents. I started to get full-read requests which boosted my confidence – this is when the agent has enjoyed the excerpt that you’ve sent and now wants to read the whole manuscript. Eventually I got an offer from my amazing agent Marina de Pass at The Soho Agency – from sending in a submission to the ‘slushpile’ – so yes, it can happen.

 

  1. What advice would you have for someone starting out writing a novel?

I’ve benefitted enormously from taking courses, getting feedback at workshops, and reading books to help improve different writing skills – structure, character, productivity. But there were times when I had step back and work out what was going to work for me. I guess my advice is that you have figure it out so that you create your own advice for yourself.

 

  1. What are you working on now?

I’m currently finishing off a batch of edits on the second book in the cosy crime series featuring Una, an actuary and a detective. It’s called Pet Hates and is due to come out in August 2025. Writing the next book in series has been a learning curve, as it has to be standalone but still have some touches that make it feel there’s some continuity for anyone who’s read the first one.

Thanks so much, Jo! We can’t wait to read the novel!

Death by Numbers will be published on 1 August and you can order a copy here.

Jo will also be our guest at next term’s City Writes. Full information on how to enter the competition or how to come along and listen to Jo read from her novel will be available on the website soon.

For more information about our writing short courses, visit our website here, or come along to the virtual open evening in September. Full information on the free taster sessions available and how to register can be found here.

Winners of 2024 City Writes Summer Event Announced

July 3, 2024 / / 0 Comments
By Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone

We’re delighted to announce the six winning authors of our City Writes Summer 2024 competition who are now due to join Novel Studio alumna and published author, Lara Haworth on the 10th July at 7pm over Zoom. Read on to find out more about these wonderful winners.

Jill Craig for her story ‘Estrangement’.

Originally from Northern Ireland, Jill now lives and works as a secondary school teacher in the North-West. Before that, she lived and worked in London, Paris and a tiny town in Greece. She has had stories published on LiterallyStories, Egg + Frog, Freckle Ltd. and this is her second reading at CityWrites. Fresh from the Novel Studio, she is currently working on a novel about how climate change affects a couple’s plans to have a family.

Emily Edwards, An Approach to Creative Writing alumna, for her story, ‘Laurie’.

Emily Edwards is from North Wales but now resides in London after spending seven years living in Paris. She currently works in finance but also has a background in voluntary work in Asia. She has been an avid reader from an early age, when she started many stories that all remained unfinished. She had to drop out of her course in 2015 due to emergency surgery but picked up her pen again this year. This is the first short story that she has ever completed.

Dee Miller for an extract from her novel, Between Wind and Water.

Dee Miller is a recent graduate of the Novel Studio. Originally from the enchanting Highlands of Scotland, she now calls Hertfordshire her home, where she works as a consultant. A keen storyteller and a reader of maps, Dee’s heart beats for children’s literature. Her imaginative world will win the hearts of young readers, and she is now engrossed in the creation of her second novel.

Margaret Rogerson, Novel Studio alumna, for her extract from her novel, I Was, Once.

Margaret is originally from Leeds and now lives with three time thieves in South East London. A feature film she co wrote and directed is currently playing on Amazon Prime (Soundproof – shameless plug) and she intends to turn her first book ‘I Was, Once’ into a screenplay. She is interested in fiction that is unafraid to tackle thorny subjects.

Flora Tonking, Novel Studio alumna, for her story, ‘The Playing Field’.

Originally from the U.K., Flora now lives in Paris, where she manages the English-language bookshop, Shakespeare and Company. A bookseller by trade, she is passionate about introducing readers to powerful stories that have the possibility to transport, delight and remind us of our shared human experience. Mystery and crime novels are her lifelong love, and she is currently working on her own first book (a mystery, of course) having just completed the Novel Studio.

Pamela Welsh, Fact-Based Storytelling alumna, for her non-fiction piece, ‘A Countess in Combat’.

Pamela Welsh is a recovering journalist who used to work for the Manchester Evening News. She now works in marketing and communications for a national education charity. Originally from Northern Ireland, Pamela’s now made Manchester her home, and was heavily involved in the response to the 2017 Manchester Arena terrorist attack. Pamela has long been fascinated by women’s history, and is working on a book project on women in conflict.

With a diverse range of stories from activists to accounts of accidental murder all the way through to the complexities of intimate family reconnections, the prize-winners alone promise a wonderful night on Wednesday 10th July. To top off their fantastic pieces, we will hear from debut novelist, Lara Haworth, barely a week after the publication of her novel, Monumenta, already bringing in fantastic reviews. The Observer called it ‘a deeply political work’ that ‘fizzes with ideas’. Sign up to hear from Lara and our competition winners here. We’ll see you there on Wednesday 10th July at 7pm on Zoom. We can’t wait!

The Art of Curating and Exhibition Management

May 21, 2024 / / 0 Comments

What’s Your Vision?

At City short courses, our Curating and Exhibition Management course is run by Renée Pfister, an esteemed art consultant, curator, registrar and business development manager. She was part of the curatorial team at the British Museum, where she was involved in realising major projects such as the Great Court and the Weston Gallery of Roman-Britain. At the Tate Gallery she worked as a Registrar from 1999 to 2005 and was responsible for managing acquisitions and ground-breaking international exhibitions from the Tate’s collection. She also participated in a Registrars’ exchange programme at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York, wrote a chapter for the Routledge publication Understanding International Art Markets & Management, and worked for the late Sir Anthony Caro as an advisor. Since 2010 she has run her own art and gallery consultancy.

Renée Pfister Art & Gallery Consultancy quickly established a loyal portfolio of clients: Whitney Museum of American Art; Morgan Library & Museum, both in New York; the British Embassy, Paris; the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the Government Art Collection, the German Embassy and Waltham Forest Council, London; the Victoria Museum, Kiev and the Pushkin Museum State Museum of Fine Art, Moscow, providing them with a wide range of collection and exhibition management services. The Consultancy also represents many international artists: Peter Zimmermann, Chris Tille, Alexandra Carr and Elisa Bracher to name but a few. More recently Renée worked with the Serpentine Gallery London,  Torus Torus Studios Tyne & Wear; Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit; National Library Canberra; Islamic Arts Biennale Jeddah and the Manar Light Project Abu Dhabi. Renée  also offers support to gallery owners new in the business and career mentoring services to emerging and mid-career artists.

Renée Pfister condition checking a painting in a private residence in Paris ©Renée Pfister.

As Renee explores in her City course, curating and exhibition management go beyond mere display to how stories are told and emotions provoked, and has the power to foster connections between audiences and artworks. In this blog, we delve into the essence of this process, exploring what it involves and how it shapes our cultural landscape.

Curating and Exhibition Management

Curating entails selecting, organising, and presenting artworks or artifacts within a defined indoor or outdoor space, within a thematic or conceptual framework. Exhibition management encompasses the legal, conservation, logistic and technical requirements of bringing these curatorial  visions to life, from planning and budgeting to installation and promotion. Together, they form one of the core activities of museums, galleries, and cultural institutions worldwide, shaping the way we engage with art, heritage, and our world.

The Value of Curating

  1. Interpretation: Curators interpret the significance of artworks and contextualise them within broader historical, cultural, political or social narratives. Through thoughtful selection and arrangement, they guide viewers on a journey of discovery, fostering deeper understanding and appreciation.
  2. Meaning: Exhibitions are designed to evoke emotions, provoke thought, and spark dialogue. Effective curation transforms spaces into dynamic environments where artworks come alive, forging connections between creators, audiences, and ideas.
  3. Cultural Heritage: Curation plays a pivotal role in preserving and promoting cultural heritage, safeguarding artworks for future generations. By curating exhibitions that celebrate diversity and inclusivity, they contribute to a more vibrant and inclusive cultural landscape.
  4. Innovation and Dialogue: By curating exhibitions that embrace experimentation and a diversity of perspectives, curators foster innovation and stimulate dialogue, driving cultural change.

Renée Pfister in conversation with Peter Zimmermann, discussing his exhibition ‘Colourscape’ at the German Embassy in London ©Peter Zimmermann, Thorsten Schneider and Renée Pfister.

The Curatorial and Exhibition Management Process

  1. Research and Concepts: Curators begin by conducting extensive research on artists, movements, and themes, identifying overarching concepts or narratives that will guide the exhibition.

    Beyond Display

  2. Selection, Collections and Loans: Curators select artworks from the museum’s collections and borrow additional key representations that align with the agreed concept, considering factors such as artistic quality, historical significance, and relevance to the theme.
  3. Design and Installation: Curators work closely with designers, conservators, registrars, and art handling technicians, to realise their vision. Taking care of the exhibits during the installation and exhibition period are of utmost importance. Lighting, spatial arrangement, and signage are all considered in an effort to enhance the viewer experience and to deliver an outstanding exhibition experience.
  4. Promotion and Outreach: Curators collaborate with marketing teams to promote the exhibition through social media and news outlets. Outreach efforts aim to attract diverse audiences and communities, offering physical and intellectual access to maximise engagement.

Curating and exhibition management represent the intersection of art, storytelling, and cultural stewardship. Curators shape our collective understanding of the world and enrich our cultural experiences. Their role remains crucial in preserving heritage, fostering innovation, and creating meaningful connections between art and society.

The next Curating and Exhibition Management short course at City will take place in October 2024.

For our full range of Creative Industry Short Courses, and all our other Short Courses, visit our home page HERE.

 

 

 

City Writes Creative Writing Spring 2024 Showcase Event Opens for Submissions

May 8, 2024 / / 0 Comments

City Writes guest and Novel Studio alumna, Lara Haworth.

This term’s City Writes showcase for all the wonderful writing coming from City’s short creative writing courses will feature the fantastically talented artist, debut author and Novel Studio alumna, Lara Haworth, on the 10th July at 7pm over Zoom.

Lara’s novel, Monumenta, will be published by Canongate on the 4th July, less than a week before City Writes. Set in Belgrade, Monumenta follows the fortunes of Olga Pavic and her family as her home is requisitioned for demolition. In place of the house, there will be a monument to a massacre, but with three possible horrors to commemorate, which will be memorialised and what secrets is Olga hiding from her children? You can pre-order your copy here.

To join Lara on the virtual stage, all you need to do is submit your best 1,000 words of creative fiction or non-fiction (we do accept young adult fiction but don’t currently accept children’s fiction) on any subject to rebekah.lattin-rawstrone.2@city.ac.uk with details of the City short course you are taking or have taken by midnight on Friday 14th June. Competition and submission guidelines can be found here.

We can’t wait to read your submissions and if you are keen to secure your place for the night, you can register for the event here. Good luck!

Lost and Found: How to deal with Life’s Big Changes

April 22, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Author Alessandra Lewis with her family

 

By Alessandra Lewis

Feeling lost? You’re definitely not the only one. Alessandra Lewis reveals how overwhelming change led her to finding happiness.

 

In August 2023, I moved from a coastal town in England to Trentino in northern Italy with my parents and my brother. It was the start of one of the most transformative seasons of my life. I just didn’t know it at the time.

The conversations, the planning, the preparation: it all started over five years before. I’m half English and half Italian; growing up I spent many summers in Italy, visiting family and exploring this beautiful country.

After 20 years living in Dorset, we decided to switch the sea for Italian meadows and mountains. A change of lifestyle. A change of pace. Of course, I was excited. But most of all I was in denial. I was holding on so tightly to the last few months of my life

in England – in between working and packing boxes – that I didn’t want to miss anything by thinking too much about the future. By overthinking. By worrying.

I knew the move would bring an incredible amount of change, and I preferred to assume I was ready enough, rather than actually consider how prepared I was. My state of denial was a coping mechanism. And for me, it worked. Am I suggesting this is a good way of coping with life’s changes, big or small? Absolutely not. But, did it enable me to fully enjoy the last few months, before the move, with the people I love most? Yes. Yes, it did. And for that I’ll always be grateful.

You may be wondering why I’m divulging all of this. It’s simple really. At the time, to say I was a bit lost and confused would have been a huge understatement. Is it the right thing to do? What if I’m not happy there? Am I going to regret it? The truth is, even a month after moving, I still didn’t have answers to any of these questions. Everything felt overwhelming.

I was so happy to be in Italy; who wouldn’t? But being away from loved ones and adjusting to a new life here wasn’t easy. So, I took things one day at a time.That’s the thing about life, isn’t it? We’ll always be wondering whether we’re doing the right thing. And the answer will probably always be changing, just as life changes. But that’s okay.

New friends, new places, new ways of thinking. Just a few of the things I wouldn’t have discovered had we not moved. I also wouldn’t have settled on my ideal study path – writing – ultimately leading me to take Maggie Richards’ wonderful copywriting course. August 2023 may have been a month of big changes and doubts, but her masterclass provided certainty. And inspiration.

It’s in these moments – the ‘glimmers’ – when life feels good and things are looking up that we are reminded how important the tough moments are. After all, it’s often only because of them that we find where we’re truly meant to be.

Alessandra Lewis is an aspiring multilingual copywriter with a love for books and exploring new places. Alessandra took Maggie Richards’ Introduction to Copywriting course, which runs monthly. The next one is in May and you can book here. Maggie also teaches City’s Writing for Business course which starts next week. As part of both courses, we offer students the chance to pitch a blog idea which, if successful, will be edited and published on our site. For more information about all our short courses, visit our home page HERE.

City Writes Summer 2023 Event: A Braw Night to Remember

July 6, 2023 / / 0 Comments

By Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone

There’s nothing like an evening of readings from brilliant writers to make a summer evening special and this term’s City Writes on the 5th July was a festival of writing filled with moments of tension, terror and tenderness.

 

We kicked off the evening with the first of our competition winners, Novel Writing and Longer Works alumnus, Richard Hastings, who read from his novel-in-progress. The extract, ‘Jumble’, took us into old boxes in his character’s mother’s cupboard where it turns out she’d kept the right half of several pairs of his old childhood shoes, right down to one tiny little wellington boot. The whole audience were drawn into that moment of connection between mother and son.

 

From the importance of one set of objects to the embodied resonance of a piano, we took a step into memoir and the importance of the matrilineal connection of music next with Novel Studio alumna, Helen Ferguson, who read from her memoir-in-progress. We were lucky enough to see, in the background of Helen’s screen, the very piano her extract, ‘My Grandmother’s Piano’, spoke so eloquently about. The words were music to our ears and we look forward to hearing more about this project.

 

We took a step into the dark and unpredictable world of the social media alias next, in an extract from another Novel Studio alumna, Lana Younis, reading from her revenge comedy, Play The Long Game. The chat buzzed with delight at the northern, scathing voice of the protagonist as she went over her day and discovered some salacious news in her evening bath with her glass of merlot. This is another novel-in-progress we’re eager to read more of.

 

We stepped away from the horrors in one mind, to the dangers of airport security next with an emotionally taut and affecting short story by Introduction to Copywriting alumna Camille Poole, ‘Brown Male’. Along with Camille the whole audience were moved by sharing the character’s experience of watching her brave, young superhero son face the humiliation of institutional racism, whilst shaming herself for daring to call it out. Such a powerful story that there was a real sense of pause before we could move on.

 

Novel Studio alumna, Emily Shamma had the difficult task of following Camille, but she took us on her own emotional journey in her piece, ‘Kate’, an extract from her novel-in-progress, The Complicit. The extract followed Kate as she navigated the complexities of a miscarriage that was initially an unintended pregnancy turned from happy uncertainty to grief.

 

Our audience were certainly on a rollercoaster of feeling that our final competition winner and Novel Studio alumna, Kate Henderson, refused to let us get off. She read her short story, ‘What Happened at Judith’s’, a masterful account of a young girl’s afternoon play date that ended with a painful revelation and a broken arm. Told in spars

e and meticulously navigated prose, it was a fabulous way to end the readers from this extremely talented bunch of City’s Creative Writing short course alumni.

 

Luckily, we had the joy of hearing from Writers’ Workshop alumna and prize-winning writer, Emma Grae next. Emma read short extracts from both her novels: her Scots Book of the Year 2022 debut, Be Guid tae yer Mammy, published by Unbound in 2021 and her second novel, The Tongue She Speaks published by Luath Press in October 2022.

 

Emma’s writing is rich with Scots and it was brilliant to get the chance to hear the writing come alive in her voice. Following these extracts, we were treated to a Q&A in which Emma explored not only the inspirations behind her work, but also her publishing journey. Teasing out the importance of valuing all voices and entering into the publishing industry with one’s eyes wide open, Emma gave us much to think about. She also shared great news about her new works, a book in Scots for children and a third novel. We can’t wait to read them.

 

City Writes Summer 2023 Event was a braw night indeed. If you missed it, you can watch the event HERE. And don’t forget City Writes is a termly event. Find out more and watch out for competition dates on this blog. If this term is anything to go by, the work at City Writes goes from strength to strength.

City Writes Autumn 2022 – Call for Submissions

September 14, 2022 / / 0 Comments
By Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone
Portrait of author Elizabeth Chakrabarty by Jason Keith

Author photo of Elizabeth Chakrabarty by Jason Keith

City Writes is a termly event showcasing the best of City’s Short Courses Creative Writing talent and this term, alongside the readers from the termly competition, we are extremely excited to welcome Elizabeth Chakrabarty as our alumna guest author.

Alumna of the Novel Studio, Elizabeth Chakrabarty is an interdisciplinary writer using creative and critical writing, besides performance, to explore themes of race, gender and sexuality. Her debut novel, Lessons in Love and Other Crimes, inspired by experience of race hate crime, was published in 2021 by the Indigo Press, along with her essay, On Closure and Crime. In 2022 Lessons in Love and Other Crimes was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize, and also shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize.

Elizabeth was also shortlisted for the Dinesh Allirajah Prize for Short Fiction 2022, for her story ‘That Last Summer’ published in The Dinesh Allirajah Prize for Short Fiction 2022: Crime Stories by Comma Press. She was shortlisted for the Asian Writer Short Story Prize in 2016 for her story ‘Eurovision’ published in Dividing Lines (Dahlia, 2017).

Her shorter work includes poetry and creative-critical writing, and she has recently been published in Gal-Dem, New Writing Dundee, Wasafiri, and the anthology Imagined Spaces (Saraband, 2020), and in translation, by Glänta and Deus Ex Machina. She received an Authors’ Foundation Grant from The Society of Authors (UK) in December 2018, to support the writing of Lessons in Love and Other Crimes, and she was chosen as one of the runners up for the inaugural CrimeFest bursary for crime fiction authors of colour in 2022. She lives in London.

For your chance to read your work alongside this ground-breaking author, you need only send your best 1,000 words of fiction or creative non-fiction (no poetry, scripts or picture books) to rebekah.lattin-rawstrone.2@city.ac.uk by by midnight on Friday 18th November along with details of your current or past City Short Creative Writing Course.

Registration for City Writes Autumn 2022 event on the 14th of December at 7pm on Zoom is open now. Simply follow this link to sign up to hear Elizabeth Chakrabarty read from her fantastic debut, Lessons in Love and Other Crimes, alongside the competition winners to be announced later this term.

Full submission details can be found here.
We can’t wait to read your submissions and see you on the 14th December.

A Cautionary Tale of ‘Reply All’

June 22, 2022 / / 0 Comments

We’ve all been there… you were either the recipient or the sender of an accidental reply-all email. It may have made you cringe. It may have made you wonder whether you should acknowledge your mistake. Should you apologise? Should you notify the sender? One thing is certain, it looks unprofessional. Writing for Business student, Karen Young, gives her top three reply-all blunders: how to deal with them, and how to avoid them.

 

Ready to send?

1.The time you didn’t check your email before replying all. The result: you’ve sent a comment that was meant specifically for one colleague and ended up offending the other external recipients.

We’ve all done it: hit reply-all by accident, whether it’s on your mobile or desktop, and not checked that all-important email before sending. You may have made a comment to your colleague and cc’d the external recipients. It could have been a response meant only for your colleagues.

What should you do? Acknowledge that you sent the email to the external recipients by mistake. And apologise: they could have been customers or third-party suppliers.

My advice: always triple-check your email before sending. Check the recipients and cc’s, the subject, and the body text. You will never regret doing so.

 

2.When a flurry of people reply-all to the whole company

A company-wide email is sent. The topic could be an upcoming event, a milestone, or a financial goal reached. If senior management acknowledge this, fine. But there’s no need for everyone to say “Fantastic”, or “Okay”, or “Thanks”. This type of reply-all clogs up inboxes and the server.

My advice: if you have a meaningful reply, select only those who need to hear it.

Think before you click?

3.You’ve accidentally replied all, and then those in copy purposefully reply-all to let you know you’ve replied all!

My advice: If you need to let the person know they’ve made the mistake of replying all, let them know. Everyone else on copy will already know. Reply to the sender only.

To aid the fight against the reply-all annoyance, Microsoft have helpfully enabled a feature to deal with email storms – a Reply All Storm Protection Feature. Check whether your organisation has this. It could save many headaches.

Above all, consider whether a reply-all is necessary and always triple-check your emails. It may take a few minutes when time is precious but it is always worthwhile!

Triple check before you hit send

About the author

Karen Young has worked in secretarial / assistant roles for 24 years in three different industries – law, private equity, and most recently mining. She holds a Level 3 Professional Diploma in Law through the Institute of Legal Executives. Karen enjoys learning to maintain her professional development, including the very rewarding City’s Writing for Business short course.

For more on the Writing for Business course Karen took, visit our webpage.

We are also running our Writing for Business course this summer as a one-week intensive. For more information visit the course page here.

To find out more about our vibrant writing short course portfolio, including our summer schools, visit our website here.

 

Sumo: A world of dedication and focus that epitomises Japanese business

March 15, 2022 / / 0 Comments

The centuries-old world of traditional Japanese wrestling provides many insights for our rough-and-tumble world of business.

By Raju Thakrar

You might be surprised to learn that Japanese executives have always been huge fans of sumo. Not only is this because the sport is quintessentially Japanese, but it’s also due to the similarities between the sumo ring and the office. From the perspective of these high-level “salarymen”, the world of sumo and any single bout has the potential to teach them things that they can implement in their everyday work lives. These include dedication, the rewards for loyalty, thorough preparation, knowing your opponent, and treating others with respect. But Japanese executives are not the only people who can learn how sumo can improve their work lives – anyone working in a company can as well.

Keeping it in the family

Most recruits to a “sumo stable” – the name for the group where wrestlers live and train together – are on average 15 years old. Each stable is headed by a stable master and his wife, both of whom act as parental guides for the young sumo trainee.

Wrestlers belong to one stable their whole career. The stable repays their loyalty by investing a huge amount of time and money into ensuring they succeed as far as they can in the sport. Not only are the wrestlers given a roof over their heads and fed, but they are also provided with one-on-one instruction and welcomed into a system that looks after them throughout their career. Each wrestler, for example, is provided with a mentor who cares for them like a “big brother”.

It’s not an easy life being a sumo wrestler. But those young men who decide to dedicate their lives to it know that with hard work and determination, they could be rewarded with fame and glory – just like with business. This is the reason why young Japanese boys from poor, rural areas join: they want to better themselves. More recently, teenagers from Mongolia, a much poorer country than Japan with its own form of wrestling, have chosen to try their luck in the sumo world. Some of them have made it to the upper echelons of the sport.

Sharing the fruits of your success

No matter how successful a wrestler becomes, he never forgets that he belongs to a stable. Top-ranking wrestlers who are paid a monthly stipend have to share part of that with their stable. What’s more, whenever a wrestler wins prize money offered at a bout by sponsors – on occasion this can amount to thousands of pounds – the wrestler has to share the money with the rest of his stable.

When wrestlers reach the top ranks, it’s great PR for the stable, as it attracts wannabe wrestlers who believe that by joining the stable they too can one day become rich and famous. Talent is organically attracted to a successful stable. For example, Kokonoe stable, whose stable master was Chiyonofuji – one of the most famous wrestlers in recent years – now boasts more highly ranked wrestlers than any other stable in the sumo association.

A mindset of focus and mutual respect

Many sumo bouts only last for a few seconds. That means wrestlers prepare all day to be in the ring for a match that could be over in a blink of an eye. Preparation is thus key. In fact, wrestlers spend most mornings training all out so that they can win in tournaments and rise through the ranks. Chiyonofuji had these words of wisdom for wannabe sumo stars: “You must train to get stronger now but also to be stronger in three years from now”.

Even when they enter the ring, the bout does not immediately start. As part of a centuries-old ritual, the wrestlers normally face off four times before they actually charge full throttle at each other. This run-up period is where mind games are usually played, so much so that it’s often said that a bout’s outcome is decided at this stage. That’s why, as with business, keeping your cool is key in sumo. After the bout is over, win or lose, you are not allowed to show your feelings, out of respect for your opponent.

Sumo may have been around for hundreds of years, but some of the things that it can teach people are very much relevant to today’s corporate world: how companies can care for and reward their employees; how working hard on a daily basis can bring about long-lasting results; how business negotiations can change in an instant; and how, win or lose, respecting others is so important.

Which sport do you think best represents what an office environment is like?

Raju Thakrar is a consultant working at GR Japan, Japan’s leading government relations consultancy. He can be contacted via  his LinkedIn page.

Raju is a current student on City’s short Writing for Business course taught by Jenny Stallard. For more on our short writing courses, from novel writing to copywriting, please visit.

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