My 2021 PitchWars Wishlist – Shakirah Bourne
I am back for a third year! Welcome new PitchWars hopefuls :) Pitch Wars is a mentoring program where published/agented authors, editors,...
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Shakirah Bourne
Jul 31, 20196 min read
How I Got My Literary Agent – Part Three
Finally! Continuing from Part Two. The rules of #pitmad were simple. If a literary agent or editor liked your pitch, it meant they wanted...
Shakirah Bourne
Jul 9, 20197 min read
How I Got My Literary Agent – Part Two
Right…continuing from Part One. I got my first rejection a few days after I sent that first query…and I was thrilled!!! Someone actually...
Shakirah Bourne
Jun 8, 20195 min read
How I Got My Literary Agent – Part One
Before I got an agent I used to consume posts like these, so I think it’s only fair that I document my own experience for other persons,...
Shakirah Bourne
Feb 14, 20162 min read
Working with Artists 101
When I was in secondary school, I decided to participate in its beauty pageant. As you may know, the formal wear is a key segment, and so...
Shakirah Bourne
Mar 19, 20144 min read
You Win Some…You Lose Some
Last year, March 2nd 2013, I wrote a satirical post on how to handle a rejection email. It was meant to be all fun and games, but...
Shakirah Bourne
Nov 23, 20136 min read
Why I decided to Self-Publish my first book…
Earlier this month I announced that I was going to publish a collection of short stories called “In Time of Need” and I received a lot of...
Shakirah Bourne
Sep 18, 20133 min read
Meet My Best Friend, Fear
On Sunday, September 15th, I was 4 pages away from completing my second feature-length screenplay; a psychological thriller called Two...
Shakirah Bourne
Jun 29, 20136 min read
On Dialect – How Caribbean people supposed tuh talk in a story, eh?
In a previous post about how I met Olive Senior, I mentioned that I wanted to do a separate blog post on the Bocas Lit Fest session with...
Shakirah Bourne
Jun 22, 20133 min read
Too Many Ideas Syndrome (TMIS)
Last night I dreamed about a movie. It was one of my favourites because it is so brilliant – a fantasy movie with poignant main...
Shakirah Bourne
May 1, 20135 min read
How I Met Olive Senior
So if you’ve been following my scribbles and read the post about the Evolution of my Writing voice, you would know that Olive Senior is...
Shakirah Bourne
Apr 30, 20130 min read
Shakirah Bourne
Apr 23, 20132 min read
Sometimes I feel like giving up…
I am angry. I do not want the “I’m sorries” and “My condolences”. I would like things to be fair. Good people – live. Bad people – die....
Shakirah Bourne
Apr 23, 20134 min read
Watching Characters Come to Life – Payday the Movie
Don’t laugh at me. But I was catching up on some old episodes of Glee, and Rachel Berry was singing “Don’t Stop Believing” in her dream...
Shakirah Bourne
Mar 22, 20134 min read
Writing Creative Non-Fiction
I attended a workshop on Writing Creative Non-Fiction on Wednesday, March 20th, conducted by Andrea Stuart, and organised by the NCF...
Shakirah Bourne
Mar 17, 20135 min read
The Evolution of My Writing Voice
I’ve wanted to write this post since my partner in words, Hadlee Sobers, asked getWriters what writers most influenced their writing...
Shakirah Bourne
Mar 10, 20130 min read
Shakirah Bourne
Mar 3, 20132 min read
10 Steps to Handling a Rejection Email
“You’ve got mail!” “Many thanks for sending your work to us at …… Your submission was interesting; however, after a preliminary internal...
Shakirah Bourne
Feb 28, 20133 min read
Structuring Your Screenplay
It’s easy to lose your way when writing, especially in Act II. Here’s the diagram that I use to help me control the plot and structure of...
Shakirah Bourne
Feb 26, 20132 min read
Do you have a Dream Journal? Crazy Caribbean Fantasy
Excerpt from an unfinished novel: "Michael’s dreams taunted him. There was a world in his sleep that disappeared when he awoke. Even...
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