Workshops and Groups: Developing Your Novel

Welcome to Nikki Moore who is back with another in our Workshops and Groups series.

It’s hard to believe that we’re already well into February - the year has flown by so far but at least the

evenings are starting to get lighter... With the longer days in mind, if you’re thinking about how to fill your time and are an aspiring writer or published author with a novel-in-progress, why not check out a workshop run by two multi-published RNA members?

Here’s what you need to know;

Workshop Title: 
Developing Your Novel – Tutored Writing Retreat with Alison May and Janet Gover.

Workshop Details: 
Friday 6^th May to Sunday 8^th May 2016 at Ettington Chase near Stratford-Upon-Avon.

Workshop Brief / What the Tutors Say: 
The weekend is all about having time and support to work on your novel. There will be a mixture of group workshops, exercises, one-to-one tutorials, and lots of individual writing time, in a fantastic country hotel in the heart of Shakespeare country. We have two tutors leading the workshops who will be on hand all weekend to provide a sounding board, chat about writing or offer a pep talk should you need one.

Aimed at: 

The weekend is aimed at anyone who has a novel-in-progress – whether that’s a finished draft or an idea they want to get started on. Workshops will cover vital writing techniques including character and dialogue, plot structure and setting, self-editing and how to present your book in the best possible light to an agent or editor. Bring your questions and problems. We’ll tailor the weekend to your needs.

Each participant is also invited to submit the opening of their novel for a detailed analysis and one-2-one discussion with Alison or Janet.

Course Tutor Biographies:

Alison May

Alison May is a qualified teacher and writes romantic comedies and award-winning short stories.  She has a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Birmingham, and has taught creative writing for colleges and universities, writing conferences and literary festivals. You can find out more about Alison here.

Janet Gover

Television journalist turned award-winning novelist Janet Gover writes women's fiction, romance and

short stories. From horse riding instructor to university lecturer, Janet loves teaching and leads workshops at writing conferences in the UK and abroad. You can find out more about Janet here.

 

Booking details:

The weekend costs £395, which includes the tutorials, workshops, accommodation, meals and access to the hotel gym and swimming pool. For RNA blog readers, there’s a £25 discount if you book before end of February and quote ‘RNABLOG’ in your email. Bookings close on 7^th March.

Full details about the weekend, and Alison’s other courses, can be found here or email Alison  alison@alison-may.co.uk  for more information.

Why not treat yourself to a weekend devoted to your novel in beautiful surroundings with like-minded people?

Nikki Moore - Bio

A devoted Dorset girl, Nikki Moore has a HR day job, two kids and a lovely boyfriend to keep her busy alongside the writing. Published mainly by HarperImpulse, she’s the author of the #LoveLondon series, which has been in the Top 100 short story charts on Kobo and the Top 20 in the Amazon UK bestsellers Holiday chart. Some of her books have also been nominated for awards. Nikki is a strong supporter of aspiring authors, loves to chat about writing and reading, and can often be found on Twitter when she should be writing.

You can find out more about Nikki via her blog. or Twitter @NikkiMoore_Auth

Thank you, Nikki and good luck with your workshop, Alison and Janet, we hope you have a great weekend.

The RNA blog is brought to you by,

Elaine Everest & Natalie Kleinman

If you would like to write for the blog please contact us on elaineeverest@aol.com

Sue Fortin: Writing Retreat Alternatives

We are thrilled to welcome Sue to the blog today. Both of us love attending writing retreats and enjoy one day retreats as well as our weeks away to the Kent coast with fellow writers, where we drink wine, write and drink wine…  

Over to you, Sue.

Many a time I’ve clicked the ‘like’ button on someone’s Facebook status which says something along the lines of ‘Off to Devon for a writing retreat.’ or ‘Just back from a great writing retreat weekend.’ or ‘Can’t wait to meet up with the lovely [insert author’s name] for a writing retreat’. You may have

detected the common theme here of a writing retreat. Yes, I’d love to go on one and have wished it were me making those sort of status updates. Alas, family commitments, time and money all thoughtfully merging together to make it possible, is a rarity, if not an impossibility, for me.

However, it got me thinking of some possible alternatives to try instead.

Micro Retreat

Change in writing space – sometimes when I’m under a deadline or a bit distracted or have a specific goal for the day, I move from my desk and take my laptop to the dining table. It’s a very small difference in physical space but it can make a lot of difference in head space. It’s surprising how this small change can have a big impact.

Mini Retreat

Phone a friend, a relative, a neighbour – see if you can commandeer their spare room/table/study/office for a couple of hours or, better still, a whole day. When I visit my mum, I like to sit up in her spare bedroom which she has set up as an office. Like the Micro Retreat, it’s the change in space that helps. I can be away from distractions there, I don’t have to answer the house phone, the door or even have any housework calling me.

Day Retreat

Get together with some local writers and hire a village hall for the day. You could all bring a picnic lunch or something towards a group picnic, then allocate a table each and spend as much or as little of your day writing. Break it up nicely with said picnic. Set a word count or some sort of goal and then, at the end of the day or session, compare notes on how well you did.

Friends Retreat

Hire a cottage for the weekend with some friends. At off-peak times of the year, you can get accommodation at very reasonable rates. You could even just hire a mobile home or a lodge at a holiday park for a long weekend. You can set your own pace and goals between you. Or if you want to save some costs, maybe one of the group can put everyone up for a couple of nights. Everyone can chip in with food and drink to help keep costs down. In fact, I did this last year with The Romaniacs. We had a mini Sparkle weekend at Debbie Fuller-White’s in Shropshire. It was great fun and we did actually get some writing done. We enjoyed it so much, we’re doing it all again this year.

It’s an ambition of mine to hold a writing retreat over in France, where we have a second home, and it was this notion that inspired me to write my novella The French Retreat.

Links:

Amazon.co.uk   

 www.suefortin.co.uk

Sue, we love your ideas and France sounds ideal! Good luck with your book.


The RNA blog is brought to you by,

Elaine Everest & Natalie Kleinman

If you would like to write for the blog please contact us on elaineeverest@aol.com