NEWLY ADDED!
We are delighted to announce another retreat from one of our sellout tutors, prolific author and excellent mentor, Janet Gover. Places are already selling quickly – please get in touch as soon as you can.
Tue 2nd Feb 2027 (4 nights)
Earlybird – £759 (regular price will be £809) first come first serve served, limited spaces at this rate.
‘Find Your Unique Writing Voice’ course with one of our top novel tutors, Janet Gover
If you ask a fiction editor what they are looking for – the answer will almost always be… “a unique voice”. But what is ‘Voice’ and how do you find it?
In this retreat, award winning and best-selling novelist Janet Gover will help you explore your writing and find your unique voice.
The retreat will be a mixture of workshops, with exercises, and plenty of writing time. You will submit some of your work, and Janet will give you feedback in a one to one session, helping you to find the things that we never see in our own writing.
Tuesday:
Arrive from about 2 pm, in time for afternoon tea. After meeting everyone, there’s time to settle in before the welcome dinner and a getting to know each other chat around the fire. Let Janet know what you hope to gain from the retreat.
Wednesday:
Morning Session: 9:30-11:00: What is Voice and how do you find it? All writers have a Voice – come to understand yours.
Afternoon Session: 2:00-3:30: Exercises in Voice – no two authors will write the same story. Develop YOUR story with your plot and your characters.
Outside the sessions, work on your novel or spend one to one time with Janet.
Evening discussion of all things writerly – let Janet know if you have specific topics you want to talk about.
Thursday:
Morning Session: 9.30-11:00: Write the book that only you can write. It takes more than research. Use your life experience to add depth to your fiction but know when to draw the line between memory and creativity.
Afternoon Session: 2:00-3:30: Find your language – talk to your reader as you would talk to a friend. MAKE your reader your friend.
Evening discussion of all things writerly.
Friday:
Morning Session: 9:30-11:00: Write the first draft for yourself – then edit and polish for the reader.
Afternoon Session: 2:00-2:30: Who wants to hear your voice – finding the right home for your book.
Evening discussion to wrap up the retreat and define your next steps.
Saturday:
Depart late morning, and follow-up with Janet as appropriate.
A message from Janet:
I am very much looking forward to coming back to Retreats for You. My courses there are always great fun, and they inspire me as much as I hope they inspire those who attend.
This course is for writers at various stages of their journey, and is aimed at making you the best and most successful writer you can be.
Being a writer is hard work. No-one knows that better than another writer. The fellowship of writing friends is an important part of the journey. Take this time to forget all the day-to-day distractions of home, work, family, and the world in general.
This is your chance to simply BE a writer.
I do hope that once again I will see some familiar faces and some new ones.
Let me know if you have any queries about the course content – I would be happy to answer them.
Janet
Your stay at Retreats for You
You will arrive on Tuesday early afternoon and have workshops every day, plus a one-to-one – itinerary to follow. Leave Saturday morning, OR SPECIAL OFFER: ask Debbie about a self catering price to stay on on the Saturday night and make a weekend of it – your partner may be welcome to join you at that stage. Just enquire!
Your retreat includes four full nights in your own cozy room, with comfortable beds, tea and coffee making facilities, dressing gown, fluffy towels, shared bathroom unless you go for the one of the two ensuite bedrooms – they always go first (supplement). All meals included, afternoon tea/coffee/cake, wine with two course supper. Great broadband, mini home gym, wonderful countryside walks, and that dash of magic that only retreats for you can bring! This is Janet’s first summertime retreat so hopefully you’ll get some time to spend in our lovely courtyard or our enclosed wall back garden which has a little summer house. Any other queries please email Debbie or WhatsApp her on the usual number (please see elsewhere on the website).
Any other queries for Janet please check out her website as well.
www.janetgover.com
www.fictiontutors.co.uk
Follow Janet Gover here:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
More about Janet
Janet Gover is an international award-winning and best-selling author of 18 women’s fiction and romantic novels. A former television Journalist and producer, she grew up in rural Australia, surrounded by wide open spaces, horses and many, many books.
Her novel “The Library at Wagtail Ridge” won the Romance Writers of Australia Romantic Book of the Year. Another of her books, “Little Girl Lost” won the Epic Romantic Novel of the Year Award presented by the Romantic Novelists’ Association in the UK. Her small-town novels have also won or been shortlisted for multiple awards in the USA.
As Juliet Bell, in collaboration with Alison May, she rewrites misunderstood classic fiction, with an emphasis on heroes who are not so heroic.
Janet spent four years as coordinator of the highly regarded RNA New Writers Scheme. She is also a founder member of Fiction Tutors, which offers a range of tutoring and mentoring services to writers. Janet has always been a teacher, from pony clubs to universities to helping a friend learn to knit.
Janet lives in London with her husband and a very fluffy cat. She spends too much of her spare time playing silly computer games, and knitting in front of the latest thriller movies.
Janet’s latest book, The Way Back, is available for pre-order now.
