MAILBOX
THE HONEST OPINION My past experience with certain people involved in the Writers ’ Guild of South Africa ( WGSA ) hasn ’ t been great . I ’ ve attended several development programs run by people involved in the WGSA which have either promised a lot and underdelivered , or have been complete dead ends . Now I ’ m not going to put the blame on anyone in particular , but it has left me with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth .
But I like to think that I am no fool , so I keep my ear to the ground and take a look through their frequent newsletters on the off chance that something worthwhile pops up . I was reading their newsletter today and was surprised to hear that they had launched the first online issue of their magazine WGSA MAG ( in all honesty I didn ’ t even realise they had a print version ). Anyway , I clicked the link expecting it to be like my past experiences with certain members of the WGSA : disappointing at best , utter trash at worst .
Turns out it ’ s not either of these things . I haven ’ t read the magazine from cover to cover but I paged through looking for any articles that I might find interesting . I ended up stopping to read quite a few pieces . The magazine is a good combination of editorial pieces , news , and tips for writers and filmmakers , whether you ’ re established or up-and-coming . Of course there ’ s articles I had absolutely zero interest in ( a few of the articles about local productions or local film politics didn ’ t grab me at all ), and the ads are a bit annoying , but I can also say this about some of my favourite publications .
Rowan Govender
Geek Ink Blog
6 | WGSA MAG July 2013
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