News from Kwani?: The deadline for the Kwani? Manuscript Project, Kwani Trust's new literary prize for African writing, has been extended. You now have until 17th September 2012 to submit your unpublished fiction manuscript and be in with a chance of winning both cash prizes and international publication for your novel. In addition, Kwani Trust will be launching a series of essays by leading African writers on writing. Including contributions from Aminatta Forna, Leila Aboulela, Ellen Banda-Aaku and Helon Habila, the essays will offer advice, support and inspiration for developing your novel manuscript over the next 2 months.
The first of those essays, The Spark of Life: Where Novels Come From by Aminatta Forna, is published here. An excerpt:
For every writer the idea for a novel starts in a different place. Some writers like to begin with a concept, a conundrum or a situation, a what if? Some with a story or plot line. Yet others begin with a character. When people who want to write ask me, as they often do, where my ideas come from I generally say that I start with a character, because I see myself as a character-led writer. That remains largely true, but then you might equally ask where does that character come from? Where does it all begin? From sitting in front of audiences and answering their questions, I have been able to see that every book I have written has started with a spark of life—a moment I can trace my way back to, when an idea that might smoulder for years before catching fire first arrived.Read on.
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