Caressing the words

Plotting, Planning, Preparing

We’re running a writing retreat in Wales, and it’s going exceptionally well, if I may say so.

This week’s retreat is Do It. There are no daily workshops, just a group of writers spending the week writing. We provide breakfast and dinner, as well as some afternoon nibbles, and they do the writing. We also provide office hours, so that any of the writers can come chat with us about their work in progress.

Several have taken the opportunity to talk through their next project. They’re planning, discussing things like point of view, story arcs, crisis points, and tropes.

I love every minute of it

There’s something really special about working with writers as they prepare their books. The development of ideas, the questions that arise around plot, the need to deepen characters and dig deeper…it’s magical. It’s also incredibly humbling that they trust us with their word babies, knowing we’ll do our best to steer them in the right direction, while never taking control.

And this has led to the next retreat, where several people want to go back to WOW 1, to refresh their understanding of core writing craft. That will be in October, and I’m already looking forward to it.