Family storytellers can be great at the dinner table and terrible on the page. Why? Because for many, writing their tales in solitude takes away the timing, the expression, the ability to read the room, the satisfaction they get when their stories land or make their loved ones laugh. But there’s one thing that writing down memories offers both the writers and the readers: written remembrances don’t disappear when the storyteller leaves.
This retreat is for people who have stories — the kind that have been told (or not) — and want to get them down in a form their family will enjoy reading. You’ll learn the craft personal essayists use to publish in mainstream publications and literary magazines, because what makes an editor pick a piece for publication is what could keep children and grandchildren reading to the end. We’ll focus on creative forms in which you can tell your stories, on how to fine-tune your voice and include humour, on how to choose details that’ll keep them interested, and on how to structure a collection of stories.
We’ll work with short forms, like the New York Times Tiny Love Stories format, as well as longer personal essays and memoir. You might leave with a finished piece (or two) and a clear sense of how to plan the collection your family will one day be glad exists.
This 4-night retreat includes daily 2-hour morning sessions of teaching and exercises, followed by afternoon writing time guided by memory prompts. One evening, we’ll gather informally over a glass of wine to map out what a personal legacy collection might look like for each of you. You’ll also have the option of follow-up feedback on a piece you finish once the retreat ends.
Bring your anecdotes, your complicated family tales, the stories you’ve told a hundred times and the ones you’ve been afraid to tell. And, of course, bring the details you usually leave out.
Arrival Day
Arrive around 2pm, make yourself at home, grab a slice of cake and get to know your fellow guests and tutor around the fire. Free time. Wine o’clock at 6/6.30pm before supper.
Day 1
We’ll explore the genre of creative non-fiction and how you can use it to tell your stories. We’ll discuss how to separate the situation from the story, how to find your theme, and what shapes a story can take.
Afternoon: Me-time and writing time.
Prompt if needed: Think of an object that has lived in your home for years and write about it.
Later we will discuss the memories that came up when you did a deep dive on this prompt.
Day 2
We’ll open with reflections from yesterday’s writing before moving on to voice, point of view, tense, dialogue, and how to use humour in telling your stories (because the stories your family will return to are usually the ones that made them laugh).
Afternoon: Me-time and writing time.
Prompt if needed: Write a Tiny Love Story about someone in your family (it doesn’t have to be romantic love).
Later we will discuss the memories that came up when you did a deep dive on this prompt.
Day 3
We’ll look at memoir — how it differs from a collection of anecdotes, how to build a structure around it, and how to think about a collection of stories as something with a shape of its own.
Afternoon: Me-time and writing time.
Prompt if needed: Brainstorm what your collection of stories might look like.
Later we will discuss the memories that came up when you did a deep dive on this prompt.
Evening: Over a glass of wine (or tea with scones and clotted cream), we’ll talk informally about what you came up with in your afternoon brainstorming session.
Wed 20th January 2027 (4 nights)
£769, earlybird £729.