Last week I had the great privilege of mentoring at another Writers’ Retreat. In addition to a couple of workshop sessions, at the core of my mentoring are 1-2-1 sessions with each of the attendees during which we discuss their current and future projects. Sometimes they arrived burdened with uncertainty over what to do next, how to get round a ‘block’, struggles with planning or momentum…
More often than you might expect the answer they seek is buried inside them, and the opportunity to stand back and discuss their work with a third party can be just the catalyst needed. And from my side, the sessions are really stimulating; I often learn as much as anyone!
No two stories are totally identical. It’s brilliant when they leave the session/the Retreat having finished something they were working on / found a way forward / are enthused and have a plan or a raft of new ideas.
So my thanks to the attendees: Mary, Marion, Katie, Ruth, Josie, Lucinda, Rachel and Sharon – and to Jan for choosing to utilise my skills and experience.
Ian Gouge - Writer 