Storytime

to go away with your writing group. In no particular order.... 1. LIKE MINDED SOULS. It is just great to be with a group of people who get what you do. They know why you scribble down ideas on napkins, or listen to conversations. Understand when you sit silently in contemplation of a plot line. Why you struggle to find the exact words to describe something, stare mesmerised at the sea. They understand because they do it too.  2. BOOKS. It's always a chance to talk about books. What we are reading, what we heard was great, what we tried to get into and failed. Books are passed around. Are oohed and aahed over. Blurbs are read, storylines picked apart. We pass books on, borrow books, recommend books. There is always talk and chat about books.  3. WORKSHOPPING. It's a chance to get those pieces read and commented on. Chewed over, talked about some more. Time for some one-on-one chats, for group discussions. Over the years at these retreats we have seen m...

Last weekend was our yearly writer's retreat. For some reason we tend to go away in the chill of autumn/ winter (probably because it takes that long to find a weekend we are all happy with). It's a weekend where we take so much more food than anyone can eat...where we bring laptops and note pads....magazines and books.....pens and highlighters....and walking shoes. These weekends are usually spent with lots of talking and walking. This year however the weather didn't play ball. There were a few walks, when the weather decided to behave....but mostly there we were, spread out on the couch or dining table, fire lit and inspiration flowing. That is what the weekend, for me, is all about. When we first began going away I would feel so guilty. Guilty that I was out there going for walks and doing anything BUT write. Oh I would scribble some ideas down, perhaps work on a poem, or maybe edit a bigger piece of work...but there was none of this 'I will now put down...