Swanwick Writers Summer School 2019

First Days

This year is SWSS 71st year.  It is my 4th year of attending.  We gather in the main hall to be addressed by the Chairman.  'We' are 293 delegates all with one thing in common - the love of the written word.  There are 15 international delegates, 11 different countries are represented.  And many from all corners of the UK and surrounding islands.

What I love about this place is that you can attend alone and immediately find someone talks to you to find out where you are from, how many times you have attended, what are you writing etc.  Conversation is easy.

Meals are served in two dining areas where you meet different people and make new acquaintances. I ate with delight choosing from the various dishes to have chicken Kiev, roast potatoes and sweetcorn followed by a big dish of crème brulee.  Yum.

The grounds are as beautiful as ever but the wind and rain of today have somewhat battered the blooms.  I did notice some strawberries in the planters leading up to the main house and I may be tempted to pick one when no-one is looking! Lol

The first night after dinner speaker was Paul Dodgson who took us through his journey of becoming a writer from his time at the BBC and radio plays to his memoir The Road Not Travelled - he had wanted to be a rock star.  He ended with a song he had written and we all joined in the wordless chorus which was fun and actually sounded good.

I attended a Birds of a Feather gathering where groups of different genre writers flocked together but I found the noise level of so many people chatting in the main house lounge rather overwhelming, so politely left and went to my room.  It was nice walking the short distance from the house to the Lakeside block, I am rarely outdoors after dark.  The night air was fresh and silent, my bed beckoned.

Sunday morning started with meditation.  Instruction in mindfulness with the aid of a tic-tac mint was interesting, sitting for 5 minutes in silence and stretching and yawning were all a gentle wake up for the busy day ahead.

Having 3 meals a day with nearly 300 other people is quite something.  I had breakfast in my room thanks to Quaker Oats so Simple pots and Whitworths cranberries together with my second cuppa to fully get me going.

Next stop is Part 1 of 4 with Della Galton - How to write your first novel.  We heard about Pitch/Premise and this is mine for the novel I have written:
 

Journey with Shelia Walker on her physical and mental de-cluttering expedition  

which leads to a new direction with some touching special moments along the way.

What do you think?  I may work on it further but your comments would help.  Is it too long; not punchy enough; does it intrigue you; does it tell you the basis of the storyline?

Then Della explained the importance of the first page, which is usually 350 words, and several things that need to happen there.  I will be checking mine out but mentally ticked a few off that I could remember I had written.

We also touched on Plotting which I was pleased I know I have done ok with. 

I also attended Val Penny's short course, part 1 of 2, on Promoting your Work.  She worked through the alphabet with helpful hints.

A short Chapel Interdenominational Service before lunch of Roast Turkey (or beef or pork); Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, green beans and parsnips followed by a slice of black forest gateaux and fresh cream.

After lunching with 4 ladies and 1 man when we chatted about river and lake swimming, it was back to Val Penny for session 2 of 2 to complete her alphabet of helpful hints.  I see from my notebook I wrote much about understanding Twitter (my favourite social media site).  Tweeters will notice I use hashtags more now.

Coffee and cake was served but I declined opting to go for a walk around the grounds for some fresh air.  No rain but breezy.  It is so hard not to take photos of the lovely grounds and here are just a few, some you may have seen on Twitter already.

5.15pm each day is Unwind your Mind with Zana Lamont which is always a lovely 45 minutes of music, movement (Thai Chi style) and relaxation.  Just what we need after a full evening and day.

I had an early night after the evening meal and will continue with more news of my writing holiday soon.

Note: the courses and other activities  I mention are MY choice.  There are so many things to choose from and delegates can dip in and out of any as they wish.  It is all very informal and relaxed but quality time to feed our passion for writing etc.