By Elaine Fraser
In 2010 my husband and I traveled to
Tuscany to celebrate our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. We stayed in the
wonderful Le Fontanelle in the Chianti region and lapped up the joy of being under the Tuscan sun.
One afternoon, overlooking a valley with
terraced vines and pines, I sat on a lounger and wrote. Inspired by an incident
I witnessed in a piazza in Aix-en-Provence, I wrote the opening scene of a
novel.
After the trip, I put the notebook away,
but kept thinking about how to develop this story into a full-blown novel.
For the next three years, I wrote the
beginning three thousand words of the novel and visualised the rest of the
story. I worked on three other YA books in the meantime, but in September this year I went back to where it all began.
I attended the Art of Writing
retreat in Tuscany. It was fabulous to be in a quiet farming region with twelve
others for the purpose of focusing on creativity.
We shared meals, classes and walks
along quiet paths as we shared this precious time.
Going back to Tuscany where I had begun
this novel was important. The setting took me back to that place where I
imagined this story, and I was to be guided by three accomplished and encouraging
tutors: Lisa Clifford, Jane Corry and Conrad Williams.
The daily routine of classes in the
morning, personal sessions and writing time in the afternoon and evening Skype
sessions with agents and publishers was an effective way to develop my novel.
Everyone was at different stages of their
projects, and the sessions were designed to help us not only write better, but
also to aid us in developing our projects to completion.
A key session, Writing From A Sense of Place, by Lisa Clifford, was
fabulous. Lisa used examples from her books and the surroundings to help us
develop a sense of place in our own writing. The session keyed us in to the
five senses and the exercises helped us to bring life to our writing.
Jane Corry, who writes under four names, ran
most of the classes. She is both an excellent writer and teacher. Jane’s
sessions stretched us in our techniques and pushed our boundaries. We had a lot
of fun as we worked alongside each other and read our work aloud. Everyone
listened to each other read and gave encouragement with generous spirits.
The afternoons were spent writing on a
terrace outside our room, on a hammock in the garden or in the gazebo. We had
access to Wi-Fi, so could keep up with research or social media, however, I
found that I hardly checked Facebook, Twitter or whatever. With notebook in
hand, I wrote every day and late into the evening.
I had sent 3000 words of my WIP to the
tutors and each one gave written feedback and talked through the suggestions
they’d given me. In the workshops I wrote some parts of scenes and developed
characterisation.
I also had the opportunity to discuss
structure in individual sessions with each of the tutors. I was tossing around
the idea of having three streams to the story the central character’s past and
present as well as another character’s story.
I was going round in circles trying to
figure out whether to write in first person throughout or vary it between first
and third.
By the fourth day, I’d nailed down a
structure that would work, along with central scenes to develop and the point
of view was established.
In the evening, the Skype meetings with
agents and editors were interesting and gave us an opportunity to ask questions
directly about anything to do with publishing.
Each of
the participants had fascinating life stories and discussions around the meal
tables were full of laughter and deep conversation. From England, Dubai,
Australia, the USA and Italy it was a mix of culture and experience that was
uniquely cohesive. Lifetime friendships were birthed in this group.
Mealtimes
and aperitifs were times to continue discussions about our writing, however, as
we all connected so well personally, as well as professionally, the discussions
were a warm mix of exchanging life stories, discussing where we all were in our
life journeys, as well as our writing lives.
Being in Tuscany caused us to be more
mindful of our surroundings. As we wrote here, we absorbed the inspiration to
be found in the landscapes, the warmth of the hospitality along with the local
produce and wine. It was a stop in life that had an amazing effect on each one
of us as the significance of where we each were on our spiritual, creative and
life journeys.
In setting aside a week to be
mindful in our writing, we also became mindful of our surroundings. Each moment
became an inspiration, a spark and memory that will enrich our lives and
creative work.
My primary goal in attending the retreat
was to get direction for my novel. The bonuses were that I was encouraged to
finish my book and to pursue publishing, along with making some special
friends.
I think that’s why it’s worth going on
journeys. They take you out of your comfort zone, heighten awareness and open
up your soul in ways you never imagined.
My next writing adventure will be at
the Christian Writers’ Conference near Melbourne. Perhaps I’ll meet you there!
Elaine Fraser
Author
Beautiful: beauty tips for the soul
Too Beautiful: more beauty tips for the soul
Perfect Mercy Book #1 Beautiful Lives Series
Love, Justice Book #2 Beautiful Lives Series
