Write Away With Me

Another day, another breakfast with my wacky characters in their magical home 🏡 So strange to think that the people I spend the most time talking to these days exist only inside my imagination. And their home, Hope Street Manor is as vivid to me as my own house. (Perhaps more so because I never have to clean it. I get to make all this mess and when I come back the next day, everything is in order! 🤣 ) I can’t wait to introduce them all to you one day soon. ❤️

Musings from my morning walk. Wouldn’t it be lovely
if you could sit by a pool with a margarita and wait the next instalment of your story to magically appear?
Pen perched at the ready to catch the words as they float past.
Not a care in the world.
Sometimes I guess that happens.
Ideas falling into place of their own free will.

But mostly I spend my days chipping away,
Knee deep in the story
Hoping I’ll strike gold today.
Trying this paragraph on for size.
Then another.
Deleting.
Starting over.
I used to wait for the muse to arrive.
Now I know to get writing regardless.
She will turn up in her own good time.
Expecting snacks and my full attention.
My endless adoration.
Before disappearing again without a trace.
But if I’m lucky,
I’ll be left with a great sentence or a snippet of dialogue or an image that comes out of nowhere and changes everything.

When you’ve been working on the one book for months and months, a change of scenery and a break in the routine is such welcome relief!

What is it they say? A change is as good as a holiday? But a writing holiday in this beautifully creative space takes it up a notch, 🙏🏼 - your gorgeous house (and your soup stash 🍲🍜🥣 !!!) are so appreciated!









❤️

She was the best of the best - my mum. And to my gorgeous girls who have taken me under their wing. Forever grateful 🙏🏼

I’ve taken myself away to work on my book for a few days. As I made my way here yesterday, I was thinking about setting an intention - finding a word to be my anchor over the next days and then when I arrived, I found this quote from Rick Rubin’s book and now - to be in a continual state of welcoming - is my new mantra for writing and life.

Friday - Day 5 residency and I was ready to make the most of my last day! I scored a room with two views, surrounded by sky and sea. The weather has been grey and wet but I’ve loved to be on the edge of the coastline looking out into the open horizon.

The main difference between taking myself on a solo retreat and spending a week here is the structure and support. I’ve worked from 10-12.30pm and then from 1.15 or so to 4.00pm most days. It’s been more focused writing time too without the distractions. I’ve had my phone off too!

Having lunch together is a real bonus - I found my afternoons were way more productive because I had connected with others, had a robust discussion about something interesting and laughed.

And there was Katherine McLean, our residency supervisor and a great human, who was really interested and invested in our projects and our daily experience at the lighthouse. She checked in with us at lunch and at the end of the day to see how we were faring. A simple practice but so significant. 🙏🏼🙏🏼

My marker of success for this residency was not so much about word count but more about clarity and flow and I achieved that! I had the time and space this week to stay inside the story and nut out some foundational elements like motivation and voice and point of view. I’m excited about the story again. I’ve also had a chance to connect with other creatives and make new friends! Can’t heat that 😍

Newcastle was a complete surprise to me - the arts scene, the beaches, the history and the port. I was going to take myself out for dinner tonight but instead I hung out at my own bar with this view - your apartment is divine! I’m going to miss those boat horns and the tugs but I’m already planning my return! ✍️

After a series of issues at my Air B and B I came into Day 3 @ feeling a little weathered to say the least. It might have been wet and grey outside but I had one of those sunny writing days when important details like POV fall into place. It’s always a good writing day when you read a paragraph over and make yourself laugh.

Im a person who loves planning, so it’s surprised me over this last year to realise I’m a real discovery writer. I need time to write myself into the story and then suddenly the pieces fit together like jigsaw pieces. This I’m learning takes patience.

A friend who is thinking of applying for a residency asked me today whether I felt lonely at night - I haven’t. This residency is the perfect balance between time out and opportunities to talk and share ideas with other creatives. And the quiet nights are fortifying - a place for words and images to settle and take roots.

Day 2 of residency! The wind was howling today and it’s a little grey but that’s my favourite writing weather! We each have our own space up in the cottages but when I take a break - I see everyone hard at work. It’s impossible not to be swept up into that creative force field. I’m also appreciating not having any distractions. There’s no laundry to put out when I reach a roadblock or calls I suddenly need to make. It strikes me as kind of crazy that an abstract idea that started out as a tiny seed in my imagination now takes up so much space in my head and heart ❤️ And that these characters I’ve created (who don’t actually exist in the ‘real’ world ) are the ones who keep me going, despite the odds. Anyway enough musing for one night! Here’s the day’s highlights above.

My week long residency at began rather dramatically today when I locked myself in my Air B and B! 😳😂 I thought I might be writing alone on the kitchen table but eventually I worked out to work the gate! It was a fair hike up the hill to the lighthouse at Nobby’s Beach - that got the heart pumping! I loved meeting the group that started today and listening to other artists and writers talk about their work in progress. It always inspires me to feel part of a collective who believe in the power of storytelling across mediums. We each work in a single space and swap rooms each day so we experience different views and perspectives. I settled in really quickly ( which is unusual for me). I think I just enjoyed writing in a new place with a view of a far reaching horizon (and groups of dolphins making regular appearances! ) We stopped and shared our lunch break together - I miss this - the camaraderie of workplace lunches on my solo writing days at home. We finished at 4pm and I went for a long walk around the historical part of Newcastle with some beautiful old buildings. There is something about a town you’ve never visited before that reignites your observation skills. residency

I find that having a poem on the go while I am working on a bigger writing project gives me a way into my day’s writing. I play around with it, move ideas around on the page. Reading poetry rich in imagery works too. Or reading picture books that I love. Or sketching. Anything that wakes up my imagination and puts me in that optimistic creative space where I’m ready to start storytelling. Here’s one of those poems.

This month I’ve reignited a practice that somehow I’ve pushed aside over the last year and that is to choose an image to frame and anchor my month. (TBH the image usually chooses me! ) This month my image is inspired by the stones and boulders at Gariwerd (Grampians National Park) and especially those we discovered at Billimina an indigenous rock art site, Gulgurn Mana Shelter and Bunjil Shelter. Once I have found my image l, I find a picture to put in my journal - this month I chose a watercolour I did on an art retreat with and then over the month I collect poems, songs or stories, and reflect, paint, journal and learn about the symbolism and importance of this image. Often it has something to teach me and I love the connection to nature. When we we at Bunjil shelter I sat in the frosty sunshine and mused about what might be inside these rocks, so Simic’s poem titled Stone, sparked my imagination. Just beautiful. I’ve included a copy in the pics.