Staff Profile

David Farrell - Applied Writing

“I have done a lot of writing online and for retail mags so was able to get straight into the applied writing course at level 7, but then I realized that fiction writing is a whole different world, and that was what I was there for.”

“I had started an historical fiction manuscript and was wanting some professional and peer input, so doing the course was hugely valuable for me as well as being confronting and exposing. Fiction writing includes weaving together the expression of emotions, good story telling, and choosing a point of view for the storyteller voice, and these were things I hadn’t had to think about before.”

“I loved that the course was all online and a big part of it was sharing content and getting feedback. We were critiquing and being critiqued by a team of fellow students, mentors and professionals in the business at the same level which was hard at first but then I started to look forward to it and I learned a lot. The tutors were great at suggesting rather than telling us what to try, and I changed my whole book from third person to first person as a result of this collective input.”

“We were each working on a manuscript so we spent a lot of the time writing and re-working our content, then there was a final assessment from a professional writer who knows the business. Since finishing the course, I’ve spent a couple of months re-editing on the basis of the assessment suggestions and have now submitted the manuscript to a New Zealand literary agent. It’s a financial commitment but they know the publishing world and are good at what they do.”

“While the manuscript is with the agent, I’m writing and editing the next book in the fictional series, plus starting some other non-fiction work. People fascinate me and I’m curious about how we live through challenging events. I have lived in Africa, the UK, and now 12 years in New Zealand so these life experiences give me both content and a context to draw on.”
 

Gerard O'Brien - Creative Writing

“When I was young I wanted to be a writer but then life happened and it becomes hard to make it a priority, so I decided to do a writing course to dedicate some time to it. I was living in Mexico at the time, liked distance education, and wanted to study with a New Zealand Institution so enrolled for the NorthTec level 5 course. I liked that this was a full programme leading to a diploma.”

“I had done a lot of technical writing with my IT career but I was keen to explore creative writing so I really enjoyed the broad and different applications like script writing, poetry and short stories that the course introduced us to. The tutors were really responsive and I saw how they gave people confidence but were still realistic showing us where we need to improve. The structure was easy to follow and posting our work-in-progress then giving and receiving feedback was really motivating. The course gave me the dedicated time to develop my skills and to build a body of work.”

“I returned home to see family during my level 5 study and then covid happened so I decided to continue study to level 6 as a pre-requisite to doing a major book project for level 7. Meanwhile, one of the NorthTec tutors suggested I apply for the Master of Arts in Creative Writing programme at the International Institute of Modern Letters which is a well-regarded study programme in Wellington where I live. For my application portfolio I was able to use some of my NorthTec projects that had been critiqued and edited, and the course work had prepped me well enough to get accepted.”

“I’m now studying here full-time with a high workload and intense weekly workshops and, while I started writing for personal growth, I now realize I have talent for it so may write a book or two.  Writing can be hard work and frustrating but it also brings me joy and has taught me that we need to focus on what brings us joy, rather than just on what life pressures us to do.”