Middle Stanley

Just come back from a wonderful weekend at Middle Stanley Farm on a writers retreat with my inspiring colleagues from Leicester Writers’ Club.

Two and a half days of eating, talking and writing amongst good company and the background of the Cotswolds.  Even the weather couldn’t dampen the proceedings, though it had a damn good go at soaking anyone who walked from one building to the next.

My takeaway from the weekend: I was reminded of some of the fundamentals of good writing, easy to forget when you’ve been doing it a while.  I was also reminded that Jack Nicklaus, when he dominated the world of golf, would go back to his original coach at the end of every season and say, “OK, teach me again from the beginning.”     Moral:  even as we do our best work, we’re already learning the bad habits that will destroy us.

Hmm, maybe I need t go back and take creative writing classes again!