Class 2: Notes

In this class, we'll discuss your ideas for possible events, which you've been thinking about over the past week, then we'll look more closely at funding options for community literary events.

For events that engage a community, options include:

* Creative New Zealand creative communities grants
 http://www.creativenz.govt.nz/find-funding/funds/creative-communities-scheme

* Local city council grants for arts and culture
http://wellington.govt.nz/services/community-and-culture/funding/council-funds/arts-and-culture-fund

* Crowd-funding

Of these, crowd-funding is the newest development, and offers the most interesting opportunities. Crowd-funding can be a great promotional activity. It's about more than just getting money.

In New Zealand, the two main options for arts projects are:

Pledgeme - https://www.pledgeme.co.nz

Boosted - http://www.boosted.org.nz

We'll look at these more closely - the differences and similarities between them - as well as some successful campaigns and what made them successful

Class 1: recap and homework

To recap …

In this class we talked a lot about ideas for the big project. There looks to be most group enthusiasm for a book and/or a competition – with support also for a video, a reading, and especially a website or blog.

Homework

Come up with an idea for a project that incorporates a competition and a book (it may be print or online), and also incorporates one or more of these things as well: a video, a reading, a website, a blog. Think creatively. Combine these things in any way you like.

Other notes

We talked about SWOT analyses – listing and exploring the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in any project, and we brainstormed a few that could apply to this group working on a competition/book project. This is essentially what we've come up with so far:

Strengths

The group is good at giving constructive feedback

The group has a wide range of perspectives, opinions, and interests

The group is smallish which may make organization easier

Several members of the group have a strong interest in and aptitude for editing

One member of the group has experience in and interest in film and video

Cohesive good communicators with each other

Weaknesses

The group has a wide range of perspectives and opinions (dissension?)

The small group size could be a disadvantage – create a risk of spreading ourselves too thin

The group are fairly introverted and not too comfortable with public speaking etc.

Lack of actual experience in project management etc

Opportunities

For project:

People love to see their work in print

People want to win

For group:

Networking with industry professionals

Networking with other writers – inspiration

May get to meet people who could be useful in finding jobs in future

Gaining experience

Threats

Lack of money

Lack of interest from public – a lot of competition

Underestimating the amount of work involved

The value of a SWOT analysis is always in what you do with it, and how you use it to help plan, so we will do more work on this as we go on, and begin to decide what our project will be.

Class 1: Notes

What is the Creative Enterprise class?

The Oxford dictionary defines enterprise as, ‘A project or undertaking, especially a bold or complex one’. The word is sometimes used in the context of business, and it implies entrepreneurship.

So your Creative Enterprise class – this year and next – is an exploration of the entrepreneurial side of creative writing:

How do you take your creative projects to the wider world?

What sort of returns (not just financial) would you like from them? And what returns are you realistically able to get?

How do you structure your projects, and your writing life in general, for sustainability – so that you can keep on writing and doing what you love?

Building something you can call ‘a writing career’ or even fitting writing into a more eclectic, varied career IS bold, and IS complex. It’s almost never a simple process – and there are as many ways to do it as writers.

Over the next two years, this course will be an opportunity for you to explore – or explore further – how writing might work for you in YOUR world. 

Creative Enterprise 1

In this first year of Creative Enterprise, there will be three assignments, which will all revolve around a real-world literary project (a publication or event) that we'll devise and work on together. 

Our first task is to decide what that project will be!

If you have any questions about this over the next week, please leave them as comments on this post.