More About Retreats
Urban Writers Retreats provides space and time to write away from distraction. To help you structure your time each day is split into morning and afternoon sessions and writers define their own goals in advance and review them against their progress at the end.
How does it work and what’s included?
• Writing retreats hold up to 18 people and currently run once a month on Sundays. Days run from 10:00-18:00 split into morning and afternoon sessions.
• Tea, coffee and biscuits are provided
• You get space to write at a desk/table and power points for laptop users
• I provide a selection of reference books and creative writing exercises to kick-start your brain if it stalls
• We all complete a goal-setting worksheet before the retreat to focus the mind
• Your fellow writers provide a supportive community atmosphere to share difficult patches or spur your competitive spirit
• You'll leave with the knowledge that you have achieved real progress on your manuscript
• No phones, no email, no internet, no tv, no interruptions from partners/children, no judgements. Heaven!
You need to bring:
• Pen and paper or laptop (we have plentiful power sockets)
• A manuscript you are currently working on, or a definite idea of what you want to write about
• Commitment and determination!
What’s the cost?
A day at Urban Writers Retreat costs £35. Discounts may be available for booking a series of retreats. Please see the dates and bookings page.
Where are the retreats?
Retreats may be held in different places, so please see the dates and bookings page for details. They will generally be in creative spaces such as converted warehouses or arts centres in London, and I try to find quirky spaces with a pleasant atmosphere that I feel will be conducive to writing.
Who will benefit from an Urban Writers Retreat?
Anybody who is serious enough about writing to want to commit themselves to it for a block of time. You might be a professional writer with a deadline or who needs a change of place to focus on new writing or editing. You might have been on creative writing courses and want to finally put everything you’ve learned into action. Or you might have never finished a piece but want to know what could happen if you just force yourself to write. This is for anybody who wants to dedicate themselves to progressing with their work for a solid block of time.
How do I book?
Payment is needed to reserve a place, and is currently taken by cheque or paypal. Please see our dates and bookings page for more information.
I made a booking but need to change or cancel. Can I?
Changes and cancellations to can be made until 14 days before the writing retreat you booked onto. After this, I'm afraid no changes are possible. If you book a series of 3 retreats you must specify which ones you want to come on at the time of booking. If you want to make changes later I will try to accomodate you, but changes must be made within the same block of sessions (January-April or May-November in 2009) and are strictly subject to availability. Changes must be made at least 14 days before your booked date or the date you wish to change to.
Why do this when I can write at home? The biggest problem writers have is not writing. Yes, you can write at home, or in a cafe, on a train, in the library... But do you? With so many distractions and reasons not to write, it's all to easy to avoid or simply forget. People who write for a living still procrastinate about their own projects, even though that's the writing that means most to them. Coming on retreat means committing to your writing rather than just talking about it or pretending to write but actually daydreaming about running away and joining the circus. You’re part of a little writing community and working surrounded by other writers can be really inspiring. Either that or the shame of doing nothing when everyone knows you should be writing should spur you on.
The primary reason to come on a retreat though is to write and grow as a writer. In a room with nothing to do but write, you might write more than you ever thought you could in a day, overcome apparently insurmountable plot problems or leave with detailed plans for a play and a novel. Anything is possible!
Can I turn up late/do half the sessions/go for a walk?
This retreat needs to work for you, but out of respect for your fellow writers and your own writing please try to minimise disruption within the sessions. Feel free to work however you feel most comfortable and you’re welcome to take breaks when you wish and bring tea and biscuits back into the writing room, just try to be considerate. If you can't arrive on time it means you will miss the introductions and need to be careful not to disrupt the room, but it's not a problem otherwise. Just try to let me know in advance.
What about wifi or phones?
We have plenty of power sockets for laptops. Internet and phones are huge distractions though, and even if you have an impressive amount of discipline most of us don’t. Therefore there is no wifi and you should turn your phone off in the writing room. This might mean that you’ll need to prepare ahead and bring any internet research you need with you.
Will I have to read my work to the group?
No. We don't generally have a reading session because people are here to write on their own projects and polishing something enough to read out might not be appropriate to their plans. It's more difficult than in a class because we're not working on the same projects or at the same pace. Having said that, it varies from retreat to retreat and there is always the opportunity to share your work. Make sure you let me know if you'd like to have a reading and feedback session on the day and I'll arrange it.
What if I get stuck? Are there lessons?
The Urban Writers Retreat is about giving you freedom to actually write, not about teaching you how to write. If you get stuck while you’re on a retreat, you may find the best thing you can do is to write through it and mark problems to deal with later. There will be some brief creative-writing exercises available to help kick-start your thoughts and you’ll be able to share your problems during breaks with your fellow writers to get suggestions. If you feel you need more guidance or tutorials, contact me and I can suggest some organisations that run courses.
Who are you and why are you doing this?
Hi, I’m Charlie. I’m here to facilitate your retreat, to provide a supportive atmosphere and tools to help you write (the important things like tea and biscuits). I'm not a writer but I have an MA in English Literature and attended a writing course at New York’s Writers Studio, and I struggled for years with motivation and confidence before writing a novel and a screenplay within 6 months (unpublished).
Writing a small amount daily can be useful, but I find writing exhilarating and rewarding when I commit larger less frequent chunks of time and really focus, when I can see real progress at the end of each day. Without the time or money to go on a traditional writing retreat and inspired by short, sharp exercise bootcamps, I decided to deal with my procrastination issues by creating short retreats in London that would fit into my everyday life. I've enjoy working alone but near other people for tea-break chats and it was clear that I wasn't the only writer needing time and space to concentrate, so I took a deep breath and hired a room for a couple of weekends. When copywriters (real proper writers!) booked places and people returned the next month it confirmed that Urban Writers Retreat was A Good Thing, so here I am arranging the second series and constantly trying to improve.
Shouldn't you have an apostrophe after 'Writers' in your name?
I've changed my mind a thousand times. Different sources of information suggest that both ways could be considered correct for different reasons. I decided in the end to take it out because I like the grammatical ambiguity. I sometimes think of it as an exhortation: Urban Writers, Retreat!
Which after all, is exactly what we want to do.
How do I contact you?
I can be reached on hello@urbanwritersretreat.co.uk. Please feel free to contact me with any comments, requests for retreats that meet your specific needs, or to say hello. I can also be contacted on 07971 593883 and you can sign up below to for to receive information on retreats and for a chance to win a day at the writing retreat.