I went on a £1,000 writing retreat — this is what I learnt

Times

3 days ago

Back in 1816, during a summer where the rain never stopped, Mary Godwin found herself in the Swiss Alps with her future husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Lord Byron. With hiking off the menu, the trio decided to have a competition: who could write the scariest story? The result, of course, was Frankenstein.
You could see this story as proof of the benefits of bad weather on holiday; I choose to see it as proof of the benefits of writing retreats. I know I'm not the only person who has had an idea for a novel bouncing about in their brain for years — more books than ever are being published in the UK each year (about 200,000, compared with 120,000 ten years ago) and that's without the further thousands being self-published online. There's a reason so many people want to write books. The idea of crafting your own manuscript, immersing yourself in a world of your own making and then it being enjoyed by others is intoxicating. The idea of actually sitting down and churning out 90,000 words? That's less intoxicating.
Life, work and social commitments were crowding out the time I'd set aside to reach my already rather low goal of writing 1,000 words of mine each week. The hours I did manage to ringfence I spent rewriting my opening paragraph for the twentieth time. So when I discovered that Hawkwood College in the town of Stroud, Gloucestershire, was launching a series of writing courses I jumped at the chance to try one out.
Hawkwood is a mere 10-minute drive from the centre of Stroud, but as the taxi driver navigated the potholes of the college's long driveway, inching past biodynamic vegetable gardens and the resident herd of cows, I realised I'd be escaping all the trappings of urban life.
The main house dates back to 1845 (it was named, rather strangely, after a 14th-century English mercenary) but has been functioning as an adult educational centre since 1947. Then, it focused on Steiner methods (indeed, we shared the building with a group of Steiner teachers, tunic-clad women who toted very fetching lutes), and soon expanded to a huge range of short-term courses. Today Hawkwood's 150 courses each year include forest bathing, basket weaving, spoon carving and embroidery (you can see the influence of hippyish Stroud here), but it also hosts conferences, corporate retreats and, now, writing retreats, as it offers accommodation, with 28 rooms.
If you're looking for total luxury, Hawkwood isn't for you. The old house has a well-worn feel to it, all creaking floorboards and slumping sofas. Some of the bedrooms have en suites, some have shared bathroom facilities. But for me, this was all part of its charm. No one worries about tramping mud into the dining room after a walk around the grounds, no one cares if you tiptoe down to the kitchen in your pyjamas for a bedtime cup of tea.
'We want people to feel cared for and looked after,' Hawkwood's CEO Alicia Carey explained to me over lunch. 'We want them to switch off from the busyness of life.' And Hawkwood's food provision made me feel more than cared for. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all homemade with fresh, organic ingredients (many of them harvested from the Hawkwood garden) and served promptly with a ringing bell. But you'll also enjoy 11am biscuits, fresh from the oven, and afternoon tea at 4pm. I'm still thinking about the meatballs with potatoes — and the sticky hot cross buns.
And what about all the writing these meals were supposed to fuel? Writing courses can be strange beasts, as the kind of people who want to pen novels tend to be characters themselves. We had a marvellous mix of seven people on our five-day course — including a private chef, a stand-up comedian and even an opera singer — and I was nervous about how we'd all get on. If worse came to worst, I reckoned, I could retreat to my attic room with a view.
• Seven of the best UK retreats for aspiring writers
Step in the horror writer Ally Wilkes and the freelance editor Cat Camacho, the double act who were leading the course. The pair have impressive industry experience and — even more useful — worked together on Wilkes's first manuscript. That means they could share the proper details of the writing, editing and publishing process, even the bits that are usually hidden for confidentiality reasons, such as Wilkes's first draft and Camacho's comments on it.
Each day had at least one masterclass, on topics ranging from structure to novel openings. These were dense with information, but still collaborative and relaxed. Often they came with optional homework, which we could choose to share with the class — and this was Wilkes and Camacho's real skill. They made each of us feel comfortable enough to share our work with strangers and have it inspected live in front of us — a process that was completely invaluable for me. How else would I have found, for instance, that the piece of Northern Irish slang I'd unthinkingly slung into my opening scene meant nothing to English readers?
We could also sign up for as many as six 30-minute one-on-one tutorials with either Wilkes or Camacho. A few other people on the course had previously attended Arvon courses, which have a similar format (and price) to this one. They were shocked by the difference. At Arvon, you could only have a maximum of 30 minutes of one-on-one time and — sacré bleu — you have to cook your own food. By contrast, Wilkes and Camacho made it clear that we could chat to them about our work any time we wanted — even if that meant interrupting their knitting or wild garlic foraging.
By the end of the week our little group genuinely became friends. One afternoon the private chef sneaked us out of the estate in his vintage convertible. With the Gloucestershire valleys opening up around us, we headed to the Woolpack, the pub Laurie Lee immortalised in his autobiographical novel Cider with Rosie. We ordered pints of local pale ale and toasted our own writerly endeavours, even if the trip meant we just missed the bell for dinner that night.
And what about my novel? Well, when I arrived it was a hazy idea, flashes of a character and a setting. I worried it would never take full form. But by the end of day one I had a structure for the whole plot. By the end of day two I'd reworked my opening to something that fitted better. By the end of the week I had a first chapter and confidence that one day I may actually write the whole thing.
Laura Hackett was a guest of Hawkwood College and the Writing, Editing and Publishing Your Novel courses with Ally Wilkes and Cat Camacho, which have three nights' all-inclusive for £747pp from September 4-7, and four nights for £950 from November 3-7 (hawkwoodcollege.co.uk). Times+ members can save an exclusive 30% on courses at Hawkwood. Visit thetimes.com/timesplus for more information
The bestselling author of Foster and Small Things Like These is running a summer retreat in Co Carlow, Ireland. The focus here is on theory, with lectures on narrative, time, character and dialogue — and there's a reading list you'll need to complete beforehand. But if that sounds exciting rather than daunting, you'll have the chance to learn from one of contemporary fiction's great writers. It's held at Teach Bhride Holistic Centre in Tullow, which has accommodation, in single en suites, and is held from August 1-9. Details Eight nights' all-inclusive €3,000 (ckfictionclinic.com). Fly or take the ferry to Dublin
If daily lectures make you want to run away and hide, an untutored retreat might be best for you. In Llanystumdwy, the ones hosted at the Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre simply provide the time and space (and food) for you to work on your novel in your own time, with no distractions. When you're not scribbling away in your private room, you can go walking along Cardigan Bay or into the woods, or retreat to the library, and come together with fellow guests over home-cooked meals. The next is held from August 4-8. Details Four nights' all-inclusive from £550pp (tynewydd.wales)
Arvon is the best-known name in the UK writing retreat game — it hosts one almost every week at a couple of venues. So you can choose the date that suits you, or the tutors who pique your interest: the authors Sarah Moss, Eliza Clark and Nina Stibbe are all present on different weeks, but come prepared to show off your cooking skills and help wash up. Coming up (currently with availability, though many others are fully booked) is a five-night tutored fiction-focused retreat with Marcel Theroux, Kamila Shamsie and Caroline Brothers, July 21-26, at Totleigh Barton, a thatched 16th-century manor house. Details Five nights' all-inclusive from £895 (arvon.org)