Tuesday 2 September 2014

Announcing Fictionfire by the Sea Workshop and Retreat for Writers

Godrevy Lighthouse from St Ives
ANNOUNCING FICTIONFIRE BY THE SEA - WORKSHOP AND RETREAT FOR WRITERS

I hope you’ve had a wonderful summer. Much of mine was spent teaching on creative writing summer schools for Oxford University, but before that we had a lovely holiday in Cornwall. I’ll be heading back to Cornwall next month – and I hope some of you will be too! I’m delighted to announce I’ve not only opened bookings for the autumn/winter season of Focus Workshops, but I’ve also organised a weekend workshop and writing retreat for you in St Ives.

Here are brief details of these upcoming events – visit the website to find out more!

FICTIONFIRE BY THE SEA

Do you dream of a place where you can step back from the real world, where you can take time to think, free from distraction, where you can share the joys and challenges of writing with like-minded souls? I’ve designed my first Fictionfire by the Sea guided workshop retreat for you, in St Ives, Cornwall, from October 17th to 19th.

St Ives
There’s nowhere better to be if you’re looking for inspiration. St Ives, with its magical light and atmosphere, its thriving artistic community and its spectacular views, is just the place to feed your spirit with renewed creative energy.

The venue for the weekend will be Zelah Studio, only metres away from Porthgwidden Beach and with great views across St Ives Bay to Godrevy Lighthouse. I’ll be running workshops focussing on how to stay true to your writing dreams and on evoking the spirit of place in your fiction. You’ll also have the time to pursue your own writing projects and I’ll be on hand throughout to give you advice.

Porthgwidden Beach
Local Costa Award-winning novelist Ann Kelley will join us on Sunday 19th for a reading and Q & A session – her stories evoke an exquisite sense of location.

Accommodation will be available at discounted rates for those who want it, at www.stivesretreat.co.uk

Zelah Studio
Much fuller details of the location, workshop schedule and what’s included are on the Fictionfire by the Sea page on the website: www.fictionfire.co.uk/page28.htm. The aim is for you to recharge your batteries, fill your notebooks with fresh writing, and leave with rediscovered vision and purpose.

Booking for Fictionfire by the Sea is now open – limited numbers of places available – www.fictionfire.co.uk/page28.htm

FOCUS WORKSHOPS October to December

1 Share and Support (October 11th)
You’re invited to share and discuss your work with other members of the group in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. These Share and Support Workshops are very popular, so do book early!

2 How to Write a Synopsis (October 25th)
Synopsis-writing = Stress! This workshop will show you how to encapsulate your work while still keeping its power to hook the reader.

3 Paths of Glory (November 8th)
In this centenary year of the outbreak of World War 1, this is the first of two workshops exploring how writers deal with the subject of conflict – how they explore concepts of honour, how they convey drama and emotion.

4 Aftermath (November 22nd)
The second of these workshops on the subject of war examines how conflict affects the soldier who survives, the family at home, the nation. We’ll consider honour, victory, defeat, loss and memory.

5 Share and Support (November 29th)
The second of this season’s Share and Supports – for details, see Workshop 1.

6 Festivities and Frost (December 6th)
How do writers make use of descriptions of winter and Christmas scenes? What purposes do they have? What effects do they create? Whether you’re ‘Bah, humbug’ or ‘God bless us, everyone’, this workshop will show you the potential of the festive season in fiction.

As usual, all workshop last from 2-5, with servings of tea, coffee and cake. Each costs £30 and there are discounts for booking more than one workshop.
Visit www.fictionfire.co.uk/page26.htm for more details. Booking is now open.

In other news, I’ll be attending the Historical Novel Society’s conference in London this coming weekend. Last month I was so happy to win first prize in Words with Jam magazine’s First Page competition with the opening page of the historical novel I’m working on, so that was a brilliant vote of confidence in the project, spurring me on. Here’s the link: http://www.wordswithjam.co.uk/2014/08/first-page-competition-2014-results.html

Hoping to see you by the sea in Cornwall or at a workshop in Oxford soon!


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