Back on Track

-
Last weekend I attended another of Kate Walker's fabulous writing retreats, organized by Malaga Workshops.  The Hayes in Swanwick was a venue I'd not been to before and, although not far from Derby, it is set in lovely grounds and surrounded by farmland.  I went with the aim of not actually doing much writing as I wanted to do a lot of thinking instead. And, thanks to Kate's critique of my manuscript and her generous comments and encouragement, I was able to reassess very  carefully and positively my current work in progress. As such, from arriving feeling a little jaded, I came away with a much clearer idea of where the book is going and with renewed energy to do the editing necessary for submission after Christmas.


As always, meeting up with writing friends - aka the legendary Walker's Stalkers - was great and a fun and productive weekend flew by far too quickly.  There were a couple of new faces there too and the group really worked well, with everyone getting lots of writing done in between the feedback sessions. And when creativity proved elusive, there were the tranquil gardens to explore, which really helped clear one's head and recharge the batteries.   We even kept calm when our 'honesty' bar mysteriously disappeared on the last night.  Happily, the course organizer Lois Maddox tracked it down with her usual and admirable tenacity!


Comments

  1. Sarah Snowdon14 October 2015 at 03:11

    Hi Melissa. So glad you had a wonderful time, productive too. It's one of the best results of a course to come away with a much clearer idea of what you want to do with a story. Love the photo - a picture of tranquillity. xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lissa Morgan14 October 2015 at 06:42

    Thanks for your comment, Sarah. It was a lovely weekend and really sorry you couldn't make it. Hope your new story is going well :) xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kate Walker20 October 2015 at 08:05

    Lovely to see you again Melissa - and I'm so glad that my comments and critique helped you. That story is so worth reworking to polish it and turn it into the diamond it could be so I hope the editing goes well. Wasn't the setting of The Hayes beautiful ? And we were so lucky to get the lovely weather too so it looked its best. Thanks for the photo - I didn't get to see too much of the lake! Too busy talking with other students! Hope to see you again soon.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lissa Morgan20 October 2015 at 10:04

    Hi Kate, thanks so much for your lovely and encouraging words about my story and I'm back to it now with a vengeance! Yes, the Hayes was really beautiful and so peaceful - maybe next time we should hold the one-to-ones out by the lake so you can enjoy a bit of the tranquility too! xx

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

RNA Conference 2016

-
The annual Romantic Novelists' Conference is one of the highlights of my calendar, and this year was no exception. Held at Lancaster University, the venue was lovely even if the weather wasn't exactly sultry and summer-like.  Getting together with good friends over a bottle or three of Prosecco was the absolute high spot of a wonderful couple of days. The sessions were interesting and inspiring, among them HQ Harper Collins 'Reaching the Top in Commercial Fiction,' Vasiliki Scurfield on 'Writing the Foreign Hero' and Kate Walker on 'Emotional Punch.' One of the most illuminating sessions, from my point of view at least, was Sonia Duggan's workshop on 'Rekindling your Romance with Writing.'  Having been writing for almost ten years and as yet unpublished, this one really struck a chord with me.  Sonia gave us an exercise on composing a Dear John letter to our writing and what I wrote both surprised and shocked me and, for the first time, I was...
Read more

RNA Conference 2018

-
Image
As a writer, the annual conference is definitely the highlight of the year for me and, surprisingly, it seems to come around quickly each time. This year was no exception and, from counting down the months, then the weeks, then the days, suddenly I was packing and wondering which shoes would go with which dress! Welcome with Nicola Cornick and Jan Jones This year, the conference was in Leeds Trinity University, a campus just outside Headingly. Leeds is a lovely city but I didn't see anything of it beyond the train station. Horsforth, where the campus is located, was really nice though, and I enjoyed a short and pleasant walk from the train station to the campus with HMB author Rachael Thomas . The conference sessions were useful and enjoyable and included a double presentation from Mills and Boon. This began with editors from the longer 'Trade' imprint giving a summary of the recent rebranding of the company, and concluded with the Series editors outlin...
Read more

Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus - Happy St David's Day!

-
Image
Okay, I am a bit late posting a happy St David's Day  here, but as it isn't officially a public holiday in Wales - at least not yet - most people are celebrating it today, Saturday.  I imagine that many leeks and Welsh cakes are still being consumed even as I write, though sadly, this year, Dydd Gwyl Dewi Day has rushed up at me rather, and was gone before I knew it! My publisher, Mills & Boon, remembered however, and put together this fabulous image for my Warriors of Wales series - the daffodils are my addition!  The first in the series, The Warrior's Reluctant Wife , was out in September 2023 and the second, The Warrior's Forbidden Maiden , will be out in June. This second book features the Abbey of Ystrad Fflur (Strata Florida) where the Life of Dewi Sant was possibly preserved after the Normans demoted the mother church of Llanbadarn, where it was written by Rhigyfarch, son of Bishop Sulien. The story features the Life of another saint, almost as revered in th...
Read more