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Cornelia Fick

Goodreads Author

Born

Johannesburg, South Africa

Website

https://corneliafick.com/

Twitter

fickconnie4

Genre

Fiction, Contemporary, Ebooks

Influences

Lydia Davis, Maxine Chernoff, Flannery O'Connor ...more

Member Since

December 2012

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Cornelia Smith Fick has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of the Western Cape. She is a South African writer, teacher and editor. Her debut collection of short stories Eye of a Needle: And Other Stories, originated from the MA in Creative Writing at Rhodes University. A retired nurse, she worked as editor of a primary health care magazine and as writer for Takalani Sesame (radio and TV). Her poems and stories are in local and international magazines and anthologies such as New Contrast; Kalahari Review; African Writers magazine; Experimental Writing: Volume 1, Africa VS Latin America; Soho Square V, Bloomsbury; Spelk and Atlanta Review.

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Popular Answered Questions

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Cornelia Fick
1. Write every day. It sounds like a cliché but it’s the only way to master your craft.
2. Set aside time for writing and don’t allow anything or anyb…more
1. Write every day. It sounds like a cliché but it’s the only way to master your craft.
2. Set aside time for writing and don’t allow anything or anybody to intrude on your writing time. Friends won’t think writing is a real job so prepare to be firm.
3. If you write in English and it’s not your first language, get a book on English grammar and learn the language.
4. Observe people, how they walk, carry themselves, smile and go about their lives. You can tell a lot about a person by looking at their body.
5. Listen carefully when people speak, not only what they are saying but how they say it, what they do while saying it, etc. It will be invaluable when you have to write dialogue.
6. Find your own way into the story. Some people plan their stories and others just dive in. Find out what works for you.
7. Don’t be swayed by the glamorous idea of being a writer. Writing is hard work that requires commitment. Being creative in the face of a looming deadline is not for the weak-kneed.
8. Don’t talk about an idea for a story before you write it. Let it grow organically in your imagination. Talking about it will disturb this process.
9. Learn how to handle rejection. It is painful but necessary, otherwise how will you grow to become a better writer. But don’t allow someone to kill your writing dream. It is always just the opinion of one person.
10. If you have accomplished your dream and published, take a deep breath and congratulate yourself!(less)

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What are you currently working on?

Cornelia Fick I'm currently working on a fantasy novella. I've written the first draft and now I'm editing, rewriting, etc.…moreI'm currently working on a fantasy novella. I've written the first draft and now I'm editing, rewriting, etc.(less)

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Cornelia Fick’s books

Average rating: 4.29 · 24 ratings · 12 reviews · 4 distinct works

	Eye of a Needle: And other stories 4.21 avg rating — 19 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Courage the Mouse 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Beggar it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stolen it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Cornelia Fick's Blog

Eye of a Needle: And Other Stories free on Kindle for 5 days!

My book of short stories will be free on Amazon from 5 to 9 October. I wrote this collection of short stories during the MA Creative Writing course at Rhodes University. I found the experience exhilarating and explored different ways of telling a story, which is evident in this collection.

Below an extract from Akere, a fantasy. The meaning of Akere in Africtionary: a word used in Setswana and Yor

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Cornelia’s Recent Updates

Cornelia Fick wrote a new blog post Eye of a Needle: And Other Stories free on Kindle for 5 days! My book of short stories will be free on Amazon from 5 to 9 October. I wrote this collection of short stories during the MA Creative Writing course at Read more of this blog post »
Oct 06, 2025 05:50AM · 1 like · like
Cornelia Fick made a comment in the group Goodreads Authors/Readers — Welcome General Fiction Authors and Readers! topic " Hi, I haven't been here a while. Below a link to my book Eye of a Needle: And Other Stories which is free on Kindle from 4 to 9 October 2025 https://co ...more "
Oct 06, 2025 02:50AM

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Making Connections: 5136. - EYE OF A NEEDLE: AND OTHER STORIES by Cornelia Fick	4	8	Jan 30, 2018 12:35AM
Nothing But Readi...: BOOKS READ: Cedric Diggory	698	259	Sep 01, 2018 07:30AM

Cornelia’s Quotes

“Lord, what fools these mortals be!”
― William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

tags: comedy, elizabethan, robin-goodfellow

2531 likes

“My tongue will tell the anger of my heart, or else my heart concealing it will break.”
― William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew

3499 likes

“And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual. This is what I am and what I am about.”
― John Steinbeck, East of Eden

2463 likes

“And the little screaming fact that sounds through all history: repression works only to strengthen and knit the repressed.”
― John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

tags: repression, strength

1666 likes

“Usually when you see females in movies, they feel like they have these metallic structures around them, they are caged by male energy.”
― Björk

245 likes

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