As you can see, we have a very talented editor and a workshop this week aimed at beginner or intermediate authors. Rebecca Horsfall’s bio is below, and during this retreat you will be offered short one to ones across the week for a total of up to 2 hours tutor time, as well as daily guidance on how to polish your novel.
The week is from £545 per person, if booked now. £100 deposit will reserve your place with the balance due on or before arrival. Arrive lunchtime Monday, leave lunchtime Friday, both lunches inc if required. Ask about your dietary needs.
This week has a focus on personal attention directed specifically to each person’s needs, targeting what you require for your own novel, and the stage you are at. Any stage is acceptable, and Rebecca will offer to read your work before the retreat, or discuss it when you arrive. Rebecca will be resident for the week, along with 4 – 5 (max 6) fellow guests, so you can look forward to lots of fireside chats with like-minded souls. Or tuck yourself away to focus on you, your writing, and your precious me-time.
Monday – meet and greet first night, over wine o’clock at 6pm. You will book your one-to-one slot, which will take place at some point during the week to discuss the work you have already submitted – usually the first 3000 words, and if you want to, synopsis and covering letter. Then a two hour morning workshop on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The rest of the time is completely your own.
Tuesday morning 10 – 12: Writing great characters. This is the most essential skill in any novelist’s tool kit. Through discussion and exercises we’ll look at how to create lifelike, memorable characters, and bring them to life on the page.
Wednesday morning 10 – 12: Dialogue in fiction. How do novelists write vibrant, compelling dialogue? We’ll explore tips and tricks for writing convincing dialogue that puts us in the room with the characters and keeps the story moving whilst feeling natural.
Thursday morning 10 – 12: Finding your voice as a novelist. We look at how to develop the mature style and individual voice of a professional novelist, and try out techniques for writing prose that is not just competent but magical.
Thursday night final debrief including any tips on next steps and a general guide on how to get your novel published.
Full board including :
help yourself non-time-limited breakfast w fresh homemade bread & yoghurt; buffet lunch and dinner on the table , or take tray to your room;
no chores!;
afternoon snacks, cake, hot drinks.
Wine with dinner.
Fast free broadband WiFi for guests.
Cosy room, shared bathroom (en suite availability Tbc, being built Spring/summer, please express your interest in paying supplement if one is ready.) Comfiest beds w Egyptian cotton and choice of pillows. Please state preference if any.
Tea & coffee making in each room. Towels, hairdryer, slippers, dressing gown.
Ample lotions, potions and bubbles in bathroom to enjoy. Sleep spray or balm in each room. Double beds in most rooms, but all for you! One single with view across square to distant hills with the best mattress in the house, Sealy posturepedic, do request it.
Roaring wood burner in sitting room.
Small library, mini home gym and tv in studio.
Other places to sit if required inc heated summer house, overlooking walled garden; enclosed courtyard. Two choccie labradors for doggy therapy and picturesque countryside for running or long walks for reflection.
Occasional tea rooms in dining room for locals, mostly Wednesdays, selected dates only.
Visiting massage if booked early, ask for details. Massage devices eg shiatsu massager to borrow, memory foam cushions.
Hot water bottles in beds during colder months.
Possible yoga trip, ask for info.
Gastro pub opposite in the village square. Village shop & post-office.
Nearest rail Exeter St David’s, poss to share taxi, pls ask.
Follow up also available, discuss with Rebecca during your stay.
Rebecca Horsfall is a best-selling novelist as well as an experienced creative-writing coach and book doctor. Her first novel, the 740-page bestselling epic Dancing on Thorns was published in the UK and USA to critical acclaim in 2005. Over the past fifteen years she has worked as a book doctor and editor with more than 150 different new authors, many of whom have gone on to achieve critical and commercial success as novelists. She runs courses and workshops for the literary consultancy Jericho Writers at the Festival of Writing in York, as well as teaching masterclasses at the University of Westminster and Regent’s University in London, and is a creative-writing tutor at West Dean College of Arts in Sussex.
www.rebeccahorsfall.com
twitter: @HorsfallAuthor
To book:
Please email info@retreatsforyou.co.uk
(Book early, some places already gone.)