Streamwriting

This sounds gorgeous!!!!  If you want a peaceful and pampered writing retreat to finish that book of yours then check this out.  Also, remember to keep an eye on my website because there’s another writing retreat listed on there - in Spain - and over the summer months I’ll be uploading more.  Retreats are great for taking a chunk of time away from everyday life and knuckling down without distractions on your writing.If you have a retreat venue which you think is ideal for writers, then please get in contact and I’ll put the details on here (my blog) and at a later point, on my main website.  My aim is to provide as many options to the writer as possible and that includes idylic retreats all over the world!Starting with Devon…… Retreats for you.A place that gives you space.If you’re looking for somewhere peaceful to write, in a supportive and nurturing environment, I can help.Picture the scene. After a warm welcome to Retreats for you, a good meal, and a soak in a scented bath, you slip between pure white cotton sheets, and are soothed to sleep by the velvety black silence that is the village of Sheepwash, in rural Devon. Next morning, rested and refreshed, you come downstairs to find a substantial breakfast waiting for you, including freshly laid eggs and home made bread and yoghurt.The morning is spent writing at your desk, in your comfortable room (with a kettle and hot drinks tray). And after being served a simple but delicious lunch, you go for a walk in the glorious Devon countryside, returning to curl up on one of our large squashy sofas. Lulled by the peace and tranquility of the environment, you snuggle under one of the soft rugs draped over the sofa ends, and have a short nap.You spend the rest of the afternoon producing yet more quality words (why wouldn’t you, when there are no distractions and no chores to do). Later, tea and home made banana bread arrives, and you spend time gazing into the depths of the huge log fire, basking in its warmth and allowing its flames to fuel the now crackling muse.A glass of wine and a dish of olives is brought to you, and over a hearty dinner, you enjoy good company and - if you so choose, discussion of your work, along with plenty of encouragement.If however, you prefer to be solitary, that’s fine too. Our 16th century rambling thatched house and garden offers plenty of nooks and crannies. You can wander at will, make yourself comfy and relax wherever you like.The only house rule at Retreats for you is that guests aren’t allowed to do any domestic chores.All you need to do is write.www.deborahdooleyjournalist.co.uk/retreat.html

For some reason, I seem to have subscribed to this newsletter, the latest of which talks about some great sounding retreats in America and Canada.  Anybody reading this across the Atlantic might be curious to check this site out.  It’s http://www.writersretreat.com

My mid to long term aim with this site is to have a retreats page listing for properties available to rent for writing retreat holidays.  As I live in Andalucia I’m expecting to upload some seductive apartments, sexy villas, secluded farmhouse all from this beautiful region in which I reside.  So for writers looking to getaway you can search this site for the perfect writing hideaway.

(Please not these are not organised retreats or writing holidays, merely accommodation available to let for the purpose of getting away).

For people with properties to rent (and this can be anywhere in the world, not only limited to Spain) if you wish to list your property on this site in the future then this service will be available for a very low per annum fee.  Details tbc.

In the meantime, if you have a property you would like to list please contact me.  The first ten will be uploaded FREE of charge. 

This morning I took to my car (a battered yellow corsa which made a starring appearance in my bezza’s 2nd book – featuring as….a battered yellow corsa…) and drove to the other side of the mountain range. I’ve been browsing the estate agent’s windows of late and a cute little town house, ‘rustically done up moorish style’ with an asking price of under a 100 grand caught my eye. Perhaps it could make the perfect writer’s hideway? Tucked away in a tranquil village about 25 mins away where I could be as bohemian as I so desired.

The property prices in this region of Spain do appear to be dropping and this house seemed a catch for my budget. I currently reside, and have been residing, in my parent’s holiday home for the past 3 and a half years. What started as a temporary arrangement, ‘just a few weeks mum’ turned into my life. It’s been an on off love affair with this town, Competa, and only recently I decided it was back on. Having cast my wandering eye all over the globe for a place to ‘settle’ and ‘nest’ I realised I might as well settle on my own doorstep. A sweet, kinda kooky townhouse with a couple of terraces, 2 or 3 bedrooms and a little bit of work to be done, would represent an ideal starter home for me. Plus it would set in motion this dream I have of having a ‘base camp.’ Somewhere to come home to, somewhere that is home, but also somewhere I can shut up shop while I go scratch my itchy feet. It would be easy to rent out as a holiday let, or indeed as a writer’s retreat on a longer-term rental, it makes a perfect haven, and I’ve lots of friends who are builders.

So, with all that in mind when I saw the cheap as chips townhouse in the estate agent’s window my homing beacon started to flash. The only downside was the location. Competa, whilst not exactly a metropolis, is not quite the sleepy little village it once was either. It’s got shops, restaurants, bars, two or three internet cafes, a newly opened gym, a pretty good hair salon, a weekly market as well as a ready-built community of ex-pats. Population approx 4,000. Salares, where the cutsie townhouse was, on the other hand, really is a village, in fact I’d go as far to say it’s a hamlet. Population, approx 400. I’d say about 2 foreigners live there and to some that would be perfect. Get away from these yukky ex-pats and their drinking habits – get the real Spanish experience and all that.

Snuck on the side of a river bed the area around Salares is much greener and fertile than round here, and it really is rather picturesque. Steep winding lanes, pretty courtyards flowering with geraniums, the obligatory stray cats, some of them half-dead from cat aids, dainty arches, a few cobbles thrown in here and there and the wonderful sound of silence. No mopeds whizzing along the streets with teenage boys whooping as they spin past, no cars buzzing along the lanes, 2 bars which were shut, lots of old folk who all said ‘hola’ and one very hot English girl, ridiculously overdressed in a red and black dress more suited to a wedding than a day trip. Unfortunately all my other clothes were in the wash.

So I hiked up and down endless steps, feeling the force of the 2pm sun scorching my face and taking bird like sips from my tiny bottle of water every twenty metres or so. Could I find the sodding house? No. I thought it would be easy – from the pictures it seemed identifiable enough – an outside wrought iron staircase leading up to the roof terrace made me assume I’d be able to find it easy-peasy. After half an hour of trekking through Salares’ vertical streets I gave up. I had realised in that brief half hour that Salares could not do for me.

The idea of a writer’s retreat tucked into a sleepy Spanish haven sounds idyllic. It still does sound idyllic! But I sensed the reality would be somewhat different. And perhaps more lonely than I could stand. I’m actually very good in my own company, why choose to be a writer otherwise? But writing is such a solitary profession, why choose to isolate myself even more? I’m content if I know I can leave the house at any moment and find interaction on my doorstep – and I don’t mean interaction with a flea-ridden half baked cat, or some Spanish bloke a hundred years older than me. So it was back into the oven-esque corsa, and back home to Competa. This town still fitted the ideal of a mountain hideaway but at least it had life too.

The writer’s life I mused. It’s not all stereotype.

I’m thinking it must be about 1,000 degrees outside. And not far off that inside the house either. Here I am, sat on the sofa, with the ceiling fan whirling round and spreading its coil of warm air.

I have to say I’m feeling a bit frustrated today. When it’s hot like this, life becomes slow-moving (which is something - considering the pace of life here normally never gets beyond third gear anyway) and slow-moving is one of life’s lessons I have to learn to accept. Especially cos I’ve done all the hard work and am now sat around waiting for my break.

Anyway, the past year has been a whir – something to consider on days like this. Sometimes it’s really easy to get fixated on the negatives (aka the no letters) but there’s been tonnes of positives since I started this novel-writing journey. The best bit is that I wrote an entire first draft in just under three months. Not bad going huh? When I write, I write super fast. Robin (Sperm Wars) is the same but Liz, his wife, writes in a word perfect kind of way. I have another writer friend like that; a good day for him is a perfectly constructed page. I tend to fifth gear it and then sort the car crash out later. At least, that’s what I did on this book. I wrote it in Sydney whilst being a writer in residence at a fancy hotel. And for three months I felt like a proper writer – not worrying about bills or everyday bores, but solely concentrating on writing my book. I can honestly say it felt like I was living my dream. I set myself word-count targets for each day, and when that became limiting, I changed the targets to weekly ones. And the days I didn’t feel like writing, I went out and stocked up on my creativity bank – a few art galleries, some movies, book-stores, walks in the park, a stroll by the ocean and laughs with my mates. I loved every minute because it gave me a glimpse of how my life could feel all the time and wouldn’t it just be awesome (to coin an Aussie phrase) if I got paid for this as well????

In contrast editing is a bit of a bore. Back from Oz late last year, and back to everyday life, I’m having to edit my car crash alongside earning a living. So the focus slips and slides a bit. I edit other people’s books to earn a crust and one day I hope to be editing my book for a living too. I’m assuming that being paid for it might increase my motivation – especially on days where stepping outside literally makes me sink to my knees.

Am on my umpteenth edit at the moment, yep I edit as quickly as I write, and at the moment I’m responding to specific feedback and trying to make my novel more show, and less tell. (Can you believe I fell into that classic writer’s trap?!) At the same time as editing/tweaking/polishing, I’ve been submitting the first fifty pages to agents. So, I’m still on the journey and yet those initial ‘living my dream’ feelings have faded somewhat. Particularly in the face of a no letter.

And so on days like these, it’s doubly important to remember those Oz feelings and also it helps to project myself into the future and visualise how I will feel when I get my chance. Yes, I can say proudly, I am a novelist, I do have an agent, and I have just got myself a book deal!!! I imagine I shall feel rather proud of myself, just like I did when I passed my driving test (third time lucky). In true Hannah style, I sobbed rather dramatically onto the steering wheel. I knew I could do it, I knew if I kept going I would do it, I knew I had the talent and the capability to do it, but still, when it happened I broke down.

I’m thinking this could be the same when I get me an agent. A sort of mixture of relief and empowerment. I’m also convinced the wait will serve me in some way. I think if I had passed my driving test first time I wouldn’t have nearly felt the same depth of emotion I did when I passed third time. Third time made up for the first two times of failure. Third time proved something to me.

So, imagine if the first agent I had approached had said yes! What a dull story that would make. What a short trip! There would be no impatience, no tale to tell, no delayed gratification, and no blog! So, all things happen for a reason, and as The Peaceful Warrior says, ‘it’s the journey which brings us happiness and not the destination.’

Regents Court Hotel - www.regentscourthotel.com.au