The first time I enrolled on a writing retreat I ended up getting the inspiration for – and writing the initial short story of – my collection “Degrees of Separation“. Next week I am enthusiastically anticipating my second retreat and hope for a similarly productive outcome!
Once more I go into the week with questions to answer: namely, what to focus on for my next project. Having a number of balls in the air at the moment is both a blessing and a curse, and I need to settle on the one or two that will take me into 2022.
Of course, as happened last time, something new and unexpected may suddenly arise out of nowhere (“Degrees of Separation” was born from a chance encounter at a railway station), and that is part of excitement of the event: another meeting, a chance word, the output from a conversation – who knows?!
Ian Gouge - Writer 