A few weeks ago I packed up my pens, notebooks & laptop and headed to the wonderful city of Oxford.
Every year I endeavour to find a few days to cut myself off, put my head down, and do nothing but write. Time to fully immerse myself in my writing is as rare as hens teeth in my world so, when the time comes around I grab it with both hands and dive in.
This was my first time ‘retreating’ in Oxford, and it did not disappoint. I stayed at a wonderful place owned and run by nuns (yes, seriously I did), and at times it felt like I had landed somewhere between Call the Midwife and Inspector Morse!
There was a library, a chapel and a TV room, but I spent pretty much all of my time writing in my room. My friend and fellow writer Rosie Canning and I would get together each day over lunch and dinner but outside of that is was all about the words!
I had time to think, time to stare into space, and time to imagine. In the few days I was away I managed to write over 7000 words. I was as pleased as punch with my achievement and it gave me a much needed kick up the behind! My WIP now stands at just under 30,000 words, and with a fair wind and perhaps another few days away in Oxford later this year anything could happen!
