This blog post is very overdue, but I’m sure I am not alone in feeling quite overwhelmed by the passage of time! Sometimes it feels like life is happening while I’m studying my to-do list. Writing -and I know many of you will be nodding your heads- often has to take a backseat, and that’s not always to do with time. It’s to do with headspace. If you are juggling work and diaries and life, it becomes very difficult to visit your imagination. We’re constantly advised (and I’m guilty of saying this!) to ‘live inside your character’s head’ or ‘see the world through your character’s eyes’ and if we’re not able to give them our full attention- where does that leave us as writers?

Feeling guilty, frustrated and fraudulent, that’s what. Surely writers have an organised routine and devote entire days to their art? Perhaps if you are Jeffrey Archer, with a villa abroad and a publishing contract lined up, but as we know, life isn’t like that!

So, I have to tell you about a wonderful little writing retreat I went on last month. It wasn’t planned as such- it came about as the result of a chance conversation. It wasn’t in Spain, it was just down the road. I didn’t have any plans, no ambitious ‘get that first draft nailed’ goals, but I can thoroughly recommend house-sitting as way to refresh your batteries and give your creative juices a boost.

There are some photos below- I won’t name names or locations for privacy – but it was so refreshing to wake up somewhere else for two weeks and to pretend that real life wasn’t awaiting my return! New walks, new sights and sounds- it’s amazing what effect a change of scene can have on the writing process! While there, I entered a publisher’s competition for a five- book deal (I can dream!) and managed to write a synopsis and first three chapters of a Gothic novel set in Whitby. This is what the cover might look like one day!

It was great fun, a new challenge and took my mind off my climate fiction Waterbound which is still out on submission (come ON, publishers- what’s not to love?!).

So, I would recommend a complete change of scene if you are struggling to write- even if it is only on your doorstep. Sometimes the most creative of places can be just a few steps away!