Last Week!
My writing desk – mainly for hand written notes just now
Last week was one of those exciting times when I was allowed out for a couple of days.
It’s not easy when you’re let off the leash. I was going to Swanwick Writers’ School, which was a first for me, to give two one-hour workshops to aspiring and existing writers, but all the time while I was there I was thinking of the next scenes I ought to have been writing for the current work in progress, or what on earth I should call it. I came away with a number of ideas that are now being put into action, and I do think (or hope) that the time away has brought me back refreshed and ready to complete the book in short order, but it’s always the case that an author doubts whether the trip away was a good idea. Invariably there is a sense of guilt at not sitting at the desk.
The worst aspect, I think, is always the fact that it takes so much time away. For example, to get to Swanwick I had to travel for some four and a half hours, on both Wednesday and Thursday. While this involved sitting on trains and being able to write a little, in fact I find trains difficult places in which to achieve much. And the coffee is undrinkable. So, to get there to give a couple of short talks, I lost two days of work.
Lovely old building at Swanwick
However, it doesn’t really matter. It was good to get away, it was very good to meet with such lovely folks at Swanwick (organisers, committee and attendees), and it was inspiring to talk through other peoples’ ideas and see how their own work was progressing. I’ve never been to a writing school, nor even participated in a writing course, but it was wonderful to be there and to see so many keen writers. It’s a really relaxed place, with a great atmosphere, but the keenness and enthusiasm of the people who trek to Swanwick cannot be overstated. They are determined to improve, and that in its own right makes it an inspiring place to go. Then again there are the fabulous grounds, with a lake, lovely gardens and plenty of space to wander off and find some peace away from other people to sit and sketch out ideas or fine-tune some writing.
I’ve never been to Swanwick before, but I will certainly go again if it’s feasible.
With that bit of work over, the next thing is to finish the current book. That’s going to involve my head being down all this week and next. It’s not easy: I have family over from New Zealand, I have more family visiting from up east, too. But I do have to finish this book.
It has been a dreadful year. So far we have lost six good friends, some appallingly young, I’ve suffered two catastrophic computer failures, both of which cost me three weeks of work, and all in a year when I have more work than ever before. So, I do have to finish this project as quickly as possible, crack on with the next, and then plan for the future too.
One of the questions I had last week was, whether I had a name for the new book. I had to explain that I have no trouble writing books (usually), but that I always have real trouble thinking of a decent title.
This book is currently ‘Untitled – Poitiers’. I think I need to work on that, too!
Tagged: author, book writing, creative, crime writing, Derby, fiction writing, history, Swanwick, workshops, writing, writing festival, writing school, writing workshops
