**SPECIAL OFFER** Update on our Anglesey Weekender

We're really chuffed to say that - after so many writers expressed (somewhat forlorn!) interest in our residential retreat but said they couldn't stretch to it right now, we strong-armed had a little chit chat with the owners and they've agreed to give us a discount. Woo hooo!

We can now do the weekend for £180  - that's four nights, full board. All rooms are singles. Bargain or what?!

As at 5th Feb we have only two spaces left...

A non-refundable deposit of £125 can be paid to secure your place, with payment in full to be made no later than 21st February. Full details here.

Writer's Retreat 28th Feb - 4th March 2013

Inspiring surroundings, fields, forest, beach and coastal walks with amazing panoramic views across to Snowdonia.

If you want to make progress with a writing project this is the perfect place to escape distractions for a few days. Unplug the internet, put your e-mails on hold and hang up your mobile phone. 

Our retreats have an informal atmosphere offering the opportunity to meet a small group of other writers, exchange work, get constructive feedback or just talk about your work. We keep our costs low as we are not for profit - our aim is simply to bring writers together and make the writing process less solitary. 

Recently, we've hosted poets, novelists, pop science and screen-writers - the retreat is open to those working in all genres and at any level of experience.

All food and non-alcoholic drinks are provided - we ask you to help yourself to lunch and breakfast, prepare one evening meal with others and bring your own booze if you want to!  (Just let us know in advance if you have special dietary requirements).

The property is wheelchair accessible.

Bodorgan railway station is nearby - the journey is just over 4 hours from London or Cheltenham Spa, 3 from Manchester.

Cost: £190 per person for 4 nights, full board. £170 for a shared twin room. A non-refundable deposit of £125 can be paid to secure your place, with payment in full to be made no later than 21^st February.

For enquiries and bookings contact us via writingspaceuk@gmail.com

Anglesey Weekend in Review

WritingSpace Class of March 2012

Kat Lewis, one of our guests on last week's retreat on Anglesey, writes below about how she found the experience ...

I have a lot of classic writer worries that clash with the idea of a writers retreat. Things like, will I be the rubbishest at writing?

I sent Juliette an email asking to please be excused from reading my work during the retreat. She wrote back saying, ‘if you don’t feel like it then that’s cool – the weekend’s meant to be nurturing and productive, not an ordeal!’ And that's exactly how it was.

Every promise was honoured. Juliette and Des cultivate a calm, unpressurised environment. The house was just spectacular with views over a valley which I know they specifically chose it for. Food was fab; cooking together was fun, dinner conversation flowed and within the very first hour everyone felt comfortable enough to help themselves to bits and pieces in the kitchen as they would do at home. The evening’s readings were a wonderful way to get to know each other better (and practice reading!). Some of us had some wonderful walks while others wrote on. There's no pressure to write - many seemed to use the opportunity to use the vast piles of resource books on writing to read and think. It's very much your space to use in a way to benefit your writing.

On my weekend we were lucky enough to be tutored by Richard Skinner who gave us a stimulating workshop and saw us all for personal tutorials. For me, his presence added a welcome professional/academic element to the experience. I left feeling refocused on my writing and I hugely benefited from his thoughts.

My only regret about WritingSpace is that I didn't go to the others.

Roll up, roll up WritingSpace fans! We have a SPECIAL OFFER for yoooooo ...

We have two places left on our upcoming retreat 15th - 19th March for those of you who would like to come along but perhaps don't feel ready to get involved in the workshop rough and tumble or hand over 5000 of your precious words to our eagle-eyed tutor, novelist Richard Skinner.  Perhaps you'd just prefer a less structured time to focus quietly on your own thing.

Either which way, we're keen to have a full house for the weekend, so have decided to offer these places at £50 per night full board so you can come and spend your time working in splendid isolation but still have the chance to join in with dinner and readings. 

As one past guest said, 'it's the best thing you'll do all year.'

Email us on writingspaceuk@gmail.com or feel free to contact Juliette (07951 327639) or Des (07768 882843) for further enquiries.  Full details of the tutored retreat can be found by clicking on this link.

Polish Your Piece - Retreat 15th-19th March 2012

This Spring, come and join us on a tutored WritingSpace retreat to clean up and a polish a piece of your writing.  Perhaps you have a short story that has run out of steam or a problem chapter you need some objective and expert advice on. This tutored retreat will help you in bringing a piece of writing to completion, and ready for submission to a competition, magazine or publisher. 

Over a long weekend, we’ll be offering six writers the opportunity to get structured feedback in one-to-one tutorials and group workshop sessions, along with dedicated writing time, on the beautiful island of Anglesey. 

The retreat will be tutored by Richard Skinner. Richard is the author of four novels. His first, 'The Red Dancer', was published in 2001 by Faber and has been translated into seven languages. A translation of his second, 'The Velvet Gentleman', was published in France in 2008 and was shortlisted for the Prix Livres & Musiques. For his third novel, 'The Darks', he was awarded an ACE Writers’ Award. He has written a writer’s handbook entitled Fiction Writing, which was published in 2009. His poetry collection, 'the light user scheme', will be published in 2013 by Smokestack. For many years, Richard has been an Associate Tutor at Goldsmiths College, London, where he teaches on the MA in Creative & Life Writing. He is Director of the Fiction Programme at the Faber Academy and a tutor on its six-month 'Writing a Novel' course.  Check out Richard's website here. 

Before the retreat:  you will need to send a sample of up to 5,000 words which Richard will read before you meet. 

On the retreat

On Thursday evening Richard will meet your for an initial mini tutorial. 

On Friday Richard will run a group workshop from 10am until 4pm, with an hour for lunch. The workshop will seek to cover key topics that can help you polish your prose, such as point of view, narrative structure, dialogue, character, editing and re-writing.

On Saturday you have free time to write and polish up your work.

On Sunday Richard will hold an hour long one to one meeting with you to discuss your writing in detail, your progress and the future development of your piece. In the evening you will have the opportunity to read out an excerpt from your piece and discuss it with the rest of the group.

 

The house is set among inspiring surroundings of fields and forests, with beach and coastal walks and amazing panoramic views across to Snowdonia.

If you want to make progress with a writing project this is the perfect place to escape distractions in an informal atmosphere for a few days.

Unplug the internet, put your e-mails on hold and hang up your mobile phone. 

The retreat is open to writers in all genres of fiction and at all levels of experience.  

All food will be provided – we ask you to help yourself to lunch and breakfast and prepare one evening meal with others.  (We will give you recipes to follow and also send you a booking form in advance so you can let us know if you have special dietary requirements).

The property is wheelchair accessible.

You will be expected to arrive between 5-6 pm on Thursday 15^th March and there will be initial tutorial meetings that evening. Check out is on Monday 19^th March by 10am.

Cost: £325 full board (excluding alcohol) – PLEASE NOTE THAT ROOMS ARE SHARED (twin rooms, single sex).  Nearest train station is BODORGAN – we recommend that you book your train tickets early to keep costs down.

To book, email: writingspaceuk@gmail.com 

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