In April this year, I spent four and a half days at Totleigh Barton in Devon on an Arvon Foundation writing retreat with yoga. This was a real writing treat. Although struggling with ‘eye problems’, I connected with nature and my senses and knuckled down to some serious writing.
| In my relatively short stay I grew used to my cosy little room; desk facing the garden with a large tree of pink hanging blossoms, twittering birds and spring sunshine. |  |
After five wonderful days focusing on my writing in the middle of peaceful farmland, returning to crowded and built-up London to face the hum-drums and demands of my day-to-day life made me feel quite resentful and hard done by.
Oh why can’t I be granted the wish to simply write, twenty-four seven, if I choose to?
Still, I learnt a few yoga moves from Lucy, our instructor at Arvon, and through chatting with the other writers on the retreat, learnt other relaxation techniques which I hope will serve me well in the future.
I can happily say that as well as firming up my story plot and structure, I wrote more than double the amount of words I had written in six months prior to the retreat. I also met some very interesting people, including Debbie Flint, a romantic fiction writer and (would you believe it?) QVC presenter! We all had some good laughs and it was encouraging being with over a dozen writers who were in different stages with their writing.
Oh why can’t I be granted the wish to simply write, twenty-four seven, if I choose to?
Still, I learnt a few yoga moves from Lucy, our instructor at Arvon, and through chatting with the other writers on the retreat, learnt other relaxation techniques which I hope will serve me well in the future.
I can happily say that as well as firming up my story plot and structure, I wrote more than double the amount of words I had written in six months prior to the retreat. I also met some very interesting people, including Debbie Flint, a romantic fiction writer and (would you believe it?) QVC presenter! We all had some good laughs and it was encouraging being with over a dozen writers who were in different stages with their writing.
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