Hi there lovely readers! We all love a well written story or a bloody good yarn don’t we? My dad was a seasoned journalist who wrote the former, my step dad, quite the raconteur, spun the latter. I suspect that’s where I inherited a passion for the written word. But do I have a cracking good yarn worth sharing?
To find out, I combined my love of travel and writing and took myself off to a writer’s retreat conducted in the Tuscan mountains of Italy by the wonderful Lisa Clifford. (Read about that journey here: On finding one’s voice) From there I holed up in the Cinque Terre on the coast and started writing. Thing is, I was struggling to surface from a tsunami of grief at the time, and although my writing was cathartic as I spoke my truth, I questioned if the outcomes would be worth sharing beyond the laptop. That was 10 years ago.
Have you always wanted to shape your words into a compelling story worth sharing? Super news fellow aspiring writers! Lisa (The Art of Writing) is bringing that same very special writing experience to Brisbane. In her words:
Even if you’ve simply been thinking of a story idea. Let’s write it. Even if you’ve never put pen to paper. Let’s do it.
Now had I written those words, I’d have thrown a few exclamation marks in – my way of demonstrating my enthusiasm – something I need to temper? And what about that sentence – passive or active? And did I create a compelling call to action? I know Lisa and guests will have the answer.
Your story might be a novel, a memoir or a story line that’s stalled. Perhaps you need time to dream about that seed of an idea, or your keen to improve your blogging? Designed to bring your writing to life, Lisa and her guests will help you nail down the essentials of your story. I’ve signed up and hope you can join me!
Brisbane Art of Writing Retreat – The Essentials of Story
February 9-12th 2023 – West Village – Brisbane
Sign up here: The Art of Writing
See you there!
One of the buzzwords on the internet is ‘dream.’ Make your dream come true, visualise your dream, indulge your dream. There are programmes, foundations and projects called Dream as well as Rebuild the Dream, Dream Hotels and Dream Travel. The focus now on making your dreams come true is incredible. So to coin a lyric from Les Miserables, I dreamed a dream and joined the Dream Team…I created my dream job.
Several writers, along with a British Creative Writing teacher that I have worked with in the past, agreed to join me for five days of lectures. We learn in the morning, write in the afternoons and have guest speakers at night. As time goes on, more writers and creative writing teachers have joined my team.
