Laptop, notebooks, sandwiches, party banners and sparkling wine crammed into my rucksack, I set off on my writing adventure in a department store. Rather than shopping for the latest bargains in store, I shopped for story ideas at a writing retreat in the community room of John Lewis Department Store. The writing retreat was organised by my local writing group. Party fever to celebrate sixty years of the Romantic Novelists’ Association was scheduled for the middle of the day.
I collected my writing fuel at the coffee shop before venturing through the store’s security. When we walked through the corridors behind the store, I convinced myself we were about to board a plane. On reflection, I am pleased we did not meet any pilots because the factory girls are easily distracted. However, Pearl could have performed a stunning rendition of ‘Fly Me To The Moon’.
In a room aptly named the Discovery Room, we all braced ourselves for take-off into our own writing worlds. I panicked I would not be able to find any words. Nudged by the sight of authors working, I managed to get my imagination to take flight. I also deleted a character who had stowed away in one of the chapters. Once aboard the writing retreat, I had to delve into my imagination and was not tempted to chat.
The final chapter of ‘Loving You’ awaited my attention. Following edits, I realised my characters were not happy with their destinations. They needed to find out more the secrets haunting them. Armed with a huge notebook, I knew I had hidden the clues in there somewhere.
There is a time to write and a time to relax. Before lunch, we celebrated sixty years of the wonderful Romantic Novelists’ Association. We marked the occasion with the party fever and shared sixty words from our romance novels. It was great fun guessing who had written the extracts. On Valentine’s Day, I will share the photos and celebratory parcels of words from the writing group.
Since the writing retreat, I crafted more chapters of ‘Loving You’. Jim and Pearl have offered gentle guidance and Doreen, one of the lively factory women, has gatecrashed a party. The writing retreat kick started my final chapters, and the support of the other writers helped to build my enthusiasm.
Many thanks to my lovely writerly friends from the South and West Wales Chapter. I enjoyed attending the writing party and am now fizzing with words and ideas. Without membership of the New Writers’ Scheme, I would not have enjoyed this wonderful opportunity.
Do you enjoy writing retreats, or do you prefer to write in a room of your own?