SCBWI British Isles 2014 Writing Retreat

Dunford House

We're delighted to have Colleen Jones report for us on a recording-breaking year for the SCBWI writers' retreat at Dunford House. 

Over to Colleen…




While others were slaving away at the Book Bound retreat, we were eating cake at the SCBWI British Isles 2014 Writing Retreat! Oh, we did a bit of writing too.

I was the lone representative of SCBWI Ireland and was feeling every bit a retreat newbie. I put my hand up when Teri Terry asked for a volunteer to gather the bios of all the participants. This was rather clever of me as I got a sneak peek at almost everyone’s bio before they were distributed to the group. The fun part was matching the faces to the bios when we met on Friday evening.

About half the group met in the pub across the road from Haslemere train station. When most of us had staggered in with our luggage around 15:30, car pools and taxis were arranged to get everyone to Dunford House. (Thanks for that, Teri.) This was my first meeting with Matt and Zoe as we admired the lush countryside and hoped our taxi driver knew where he was going (he did).

Arriving

Dunford House was once the family home of a local MP, taken over the YMCA in 1952 and turned into a meeting and event facility. All the guest rooms are named after family members. I was in the “Stella!” room. (I can never say that name without having a Marlon Brando melodrama moment.) The staff were very helpful and friendly and with them, we were very lucky to have the run of the place for the entire weekend.

The house is a warren of interesting nooks and crannies, with an endless selection of places for people to settle in to write.  One of my favourite things in the house was an old photo album, which included pictures of some of the family pets. There was an old projector in the hall, a baby grand piano that Cath Howe played beautifully, several libraries, and a conservatory full of plants with one very scared bird and then later a giant bumblebee. Both were eventually freed from their glass prison with a little coaxing and an open window or two.

Exploring

There are paths through the woods and all around the grounds. I didn’t go far on my own trek, but other people found the Bluebell Woods. The whole area is gorgeous, even in the rain, but we were lucky to also see some blue skies and sun.

Evenings were lively and loud with lots of talking, sharing of ideas and techniques, and general chatter as we got to know each other. The Friday night icebreaker was a quiz devised by Teri. I sucked at that!

Meals were simple, delicious, and mostly locally grown. Dunford catered very well for people with food allergies and intolerances. Participants brought a small mountain of cakes and other treats, which were laid out like a sacrifice to the writing goddesses. We had four guys at the retreat – that’s some kind of record, isn’t it?

Matt Killeen - Writing

Saturday and Sunday were loosely structured around meals and tea breaks, and we never seemed to stop eating! I’m still drooling over the gingerbread loaf and those little caramel balls. There were many fan favourites on the cake table. I like that we actually HAD a Cake Table.

David Fenell - Also Writing

One-to-ones were booked in advance with Elizabeth Wein and Bryony Woods over the two days. We had lots of time for writing, and I was quite amazed at how much I actually achieved when I stopped faffing about and actually focused for an hour or two at a time.

Elizabeth Wein, award-winning author of Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire and  gave two workshops on Saturday and Sunday with a focus on plot and structure. She gave us exercises to do, and there was discussion of each one. One assignment involved writing the opening scene from the point of view of a social worker and then from the point of view of an antagonist or other character. Those were fun and really helped me to look at my story differently.

Writers could be found deeply engrossed in their projects in every room, sometimes gathered in small clutches, working silently but companionably. People gathered spontaneously for tea breaks or walks outside, which generated a lot of discussion about story ideas, plot issues, character development, cake, and any other topic like how the Eurovision competition might be going (it was semi-banned from the retreat, though possibly someone took a peek on their tablet). Saturday night, we bared our souls for two (timed) minutes to read snippets of our current projects to each other in the lounge. It was great to hear what other people were working on; there was quite a range of subjects, styles, and age ranges being covered. Alas, we had to eschew the pyjama party, but Miriam and I may have started a comfy-slipper-wearing tradition! Note to self: Get thicker slippers for walking across the gravel driveway for meals.

Something's missing from this picture...

To finish the weekend in style, Bryony Woods, literary agent  from Diamond, Kahn & Woods Literary Agency, gave a presentation on Monday morning. She did a show-and-tell of some of the books that her agency has published, then did some exercises with us around writing a good query letter. In groups, we analysed a really BAD letter and fixed it. Each group had a slightly different way of rewriting the letter, and it was a fun and informative session.

I gave myself this retreat as an early birthday present. A few other people said they’d also treated themselves to the time away from their regular, busy lives. It was a chance to put the world on hold, leave the kids with the spouse, and really knuckle down and work on our projects.

There may have been a birthday celebrated. Possibly. Nick?

Thank you to Teri Terry and her team for organizing a truly inspiring and amazing weekend!

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@acolleenjones

Originally from Canada, Colleen has lived in Ireland since April 2005. She has been writing stories since age 14 when she wrote the world’s most boring (and unfinished) kidnapping adventure. Currently, Colleen is working on A Dragon Named Thelma, about a dragon who wants to sing in a folk music festival, but she doesn’t realize she can’t sing! How will her best friend, Sashi, help her realize her dream? Colleen volunteers for SCBWI Ireland.

Tiaras, shamanic journeys and cake cake cake… the SCBWI Retreat at Dunford House

What do you get when you put twenty-nine writers plus one editor in a beautiful house in the Sussex countryside, feed them with slap-up meals and endless cake? An amazing, stimulating time and some inspired writing says Tania Tay.

We had a pyjama party on our last night. Do we look like we're having fun?

Dunford House

This was my first writing retreat and I couldn’t wait to get there.

Our guest writer was Lucy Christopher (below right - editor's note: look, she's grown her hair!), author of Stolen and Flyaway, who teaches creative writing at Bath Spa University, and the guest editor was Rebecca Frazer (left) the editorial director at Orchard Books. We could book a one-to-one with Lucy or Rebecca to discuss our WIPs.

... an evening of cake, wine and chat about writing - the best kind of evening there is!

From the moment we arrived, the stimulating conversation began over chocolate chip muffins on the lawn. Then we settled into the gorgeous 18^th Century rooms of Dunford House. There was time for some to rattle off a few hundred words before an evening of cake, wine and chat about writing - the best kind of evening there is!

Saturday, after a huge breakfast, Lucy Christopher led a workshop on creating vivid settings, and making Place a vital character in our stories. 

Lucy's a very expressive speaker

She explained that her starting point is the setting, above character or plot. It was fascinating to hear how, before writing Stolen, she spent three weeks immersing herself in the Australian desert, talking to locals, absorbing the atmosphere, and making lots of notes. 

For Flyaway, she got a job with the RSPB, and for her current work, The Killing Woods, she lived near the woods. Lucy gave us the exercise she uses herself, to make setting work harder in the story. 

We made notes based on sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. Next we noted the emotions, the fear and/or excitement the setting created. Lastly, we put our character in the setting, moving towards something. We then used our notes to write a short piece. We came away from the workshop totally inspired, ready for a few hours of writing.

Lucy in red silk pyjamas.
She wore normal clothes too

After tea, cake, chat and dinner, Lucy Coats, took us on a shamanic journey. She uses “creative napping” to induce a trance state to help remove blocks. In ancient times, bards and druids - the storytellers - would go into a similar trance to inspire creativity. 

We closed our eyes and relaxed to soothing music and she guided us through a meditation. The visualisation worked for many of us and some had incredible breakthrough visions about their stories.

We came away from the workshop totally inspired.

Sunday, after a morning of writing time, Lucy Christopher was back to tell us about her writing life. She suggested we write the books we do because of presences in our lives, conscious and unconscious. 


She also talked about writing blocks and how she overcame them while writing her third novel, a dark thriller, with the help of poetry, drawing and listening to songs. She then read the first chapter of The Killing Woods to us - even before she sent the final edited version to her publisher – and the power of her writing had us in silence.

In the evening, Candy Gourlay hosted a Tiara and Pyjama Party. Queen Philippa Francis opened proceedings with a poem and others shared their writing. 

All hail, Philippa!

The variety and quality of writing astounded us all. There was everything from poems and hilarious writing for younger ages, to gripping middle grade and YA adventures, mysteries and fantasies. Several writers said they were inspired to up their game….

Monday came too soon, and it was time to pack and go, but not before the last session with Rebecca Frazer, editorial director of Orchard Books. Rebecca was as far away from scary editor as possible – absolutely lovely and really generous with us. 

She gave us the background of Orchard Books, how they see themselves as a boutique publisher with the backing of Hachette. Then she took us through the acquisition process, which explained why there are so many opportunities for rejection along the way. 

She also talked about market trends and what people are looking for at the moment. There is a definite need for more Middle Grade fiction, where humour is important. Marketing trends suggest there is now more emphasis on finding author-led series. In teen and young adult fiction, the 50 Shades effect means that romance is big news, especially contemporary romance and issues stories. 

Rebecca then spoke about pitches and how to pitch our ideas in a query letter. Die Hard meets Rainbow Magic here we come…

 Marketing trends suggest there is now more emphasis on finding author-led series in teen and young adult fiction...

Finally, it was time to go back to the real world. I left feeling frazzled, full of cake, but inspired – and I haven’t quite calmed down yet. The readings made us appreciate being surrounded by the huge range of talent that is in SCBWI. 

I feel really privileged to be part of this gang of lovely, generous and talented writers. Thanks especially to Lucy Christopher, Rebecca Frazer, Lucy Coats, Candy Gourlay, all the staff at Dunford House and, of course, our amazing organiser Teri Terry without which none of this would have been possible.

Teri Terry who organized it all.

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Tania has been published in Sable Lit Magazine and is now writing MG and YA fiction. She has an MA Degree in History of Art and is also a professional cake decorator and baker. She is part of the writing features editorial team for Words & Pictures.