Why I love writing on the beach
January 30, 2008
When it’s warm and sunny (like today), there’s nothing I love more than starting the day sitting on a sandy beach, breathing in the sea air and writing a few pages of my diary. In fact, I did just that this morning.
I’m not sure what makes it so special. The grains of sand between my toes? The sun gently warming my face? Or the limitless sea stretching out in front of me?
All I know is that it frees my mind, awakens my senses and is the perfect way to start the day.
from Emma in Sardinia
January 2008
Photo Credit: Dear Diary by Kiwanja on flickr
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7 Ways That Travel Helps Us Write
January 30, 2008
One of the enquiries we’ve had about the workshop is whether the focus is on travel or more general writing.
My answer was that it’s more general (within the spectrum of non-fiction writing), but also that:
“…we will be building on the experience of travel to get you
writing with more energy - writing with all your senses, being mindful etc.”
This conversation got me thinking a bit more about the ways that travel helps us write. Here are the 7 that I came up with. What would you add to the list?
Travel:
- Takes us out of our comfort zone I’ve never been on a journey yet that doesn’t do something to challenge and unsettle - but also to wake us up, to grab our attention, to bring our stagnant senses back to life
- Shifts our perspective We look at things differently both as we travel and when we arrive. Changing perspective is an important part of the writing process. As Chris Garrett puts it:
The fact is if we get stuck in a routine, if we don’t try to mix it up a bit, then we will lose our mojo which will cause our audience to be less engaged
Having an occasional break out of the norm keeps all of us on our toes. It’s also fun sometimes to have a play with your writing so that it doesn’t become a chore.
- Takes us on a journey Travel gives time for reflection. Most of us notice some shifts in our thoughts, feelings, emotions - a change in the metaphorical journey we’re on, as well as the practical one. (And that normally inspires a written response!)
- Rejuvenates the spirit Sometimes our writing has lost its soul, its spirit, without us knowing how or why. As Emma wrote, a change of scene can bring our writing back to life, awakening the senses, inspiring the words.
- Forces us to pay attention Travel can be stressful and demanding. You need to have your wits about you, to pay attention to what’s going on. This act of paying attention is a great preparation for writing (and something we’ll be practicing with you in Sardinia)
- Reminds us we’re human Travel is dirty, messy, frustrating, exciting, tiring, exhilarating, noisy, inspiring, exhausting. It brings our feet back to the ground - and stomachs to the table. Writing from this state is much more likely to be vivid, vital, exciting, absorbing.
- Tells a different story The world’s never quite the same after a journey… Something always happens that changes things, that changes you, for ever.
Join us in Sardinia and you’ll be writing at least one piece that’s inspired by your journey.
Of course we’ll all be arriving from different places. Maybe, like Emma, you’ll be coming from elsewhere on the island, or, maybe, like me, you’ll be travelling from the cold climes of northern Europe. Perhaps you’ll join us from much further afield, or pop over from the mainland of Italy. But whatever the journey you make, we know it’ll give you something to write about 
from Joanna in Edinburgh
January 2008
Photo Credit: Train Station In Alghero, Sardegna by Seewah on Flickr
What people are saying about the writing workshop
January 23, 2008
One of the great things about 1) writing your own pr material and then 2) putting it out through a blog is that you get almost immediate feedback, comments and reactions.
Here are some of the things that people have been saying about “Absorbing Writing” so far:
From Business Blog Angel:
Joanna has teamed up with another BusinessBlogAngel client - Emma Bird of HowToItaly.com - to create a most wonderful proposition…
a writing workshop cum holiday in sun-drenched Sardinia. If you want to hone your writing skills and benefit from the talents and knowledge of these 2 brilliant minds, get yourself over to Absorbing Wiriting In Sardinia fast - I have no doubt that places are being snapped up fast!
From Location Independent
Emma Bird from How To Italy and Joanna Young from Confident Writing have joined together (having met through blogging) to run the Absorbing Writing workshop later this year which is “a writing workshop in sun-drenched Sardinia…aimed at expats, nervous writers, business writers wanting to inject some oooph into their writing and bloggers who want to make their posts much more readable”.
From Success Rocks!
Emma Bird from How To Italy and Joanna Young from Confident Writing are joining together to run the Absorbing Writing workshop in sun-drenched Sardinia. Sort of knowing these two ladies from their blogging exploits, a couple of Twittersations and some emails, I am sure the workshop will be fabulous.
“Twitterstations” by the way refers to conversations taking place via Twitter. If you’re on Twitter you can follow Emma @emmabird and me, @joannayoung
Writing on Twitter is an art form in itself (great for improving your skill in brevity) but it’s one that we’ll probably need to save for another day! We will be working on blog writing skills in the workshop though, and you’ll get the chance to post your own material on to this site… so if you want to “inject some oomph” into your blogging…why not sign up now?
from Joanna in Edinburgh
January 2008
How writing helps to shift our focus
January 22, 2008
One of the things I notice about writing every day is that helps to shift my focus.
When the ‘big picture’ threatens to overwhelm we can use our words to shift back down to the here and now, paying attention to specifics, noticing, and wondering, at the detail of everyday life.
And when the world seems drab and grey we can choose to look up and around for different possibilities, new worlds to be explored, that wild unnoticed flash of colour.
Some days this matters more than others. I don’t know what it is about January in the UK. A fortnight ago I was writing about ‘holiday day’
the most popular day of the year to banish the post-Christmas blues and book a summer holiday
Yesterday was dubbed “the bleakest day of the year” in Britain, because of these six things:
the dank and gloomy weather; Christmas debt; a feeling of monotony after the Christmas cheer has faded; broken New Year’s resolutions; low levels of motivation; and a desperate feeling that you need to take action to improve your drab existence.
And yes, the weather yesterday was truly miserable. Cold, dark and pouring with rain. (And no Emma it doesn’t entirely help to hear that it’s t-shirt weather in Sardinia!)
So I kept my focus firmly on things that would keep me looking up, looking forward, and thinking positive thoughts.
Writing. My Italian class. Looking forward to autumn sunshine in Sardinia. And thinking, yes, a writing holiday in Italy does, indeed, sound good.
from Joanna in Edinburgh
January 2008
Photo Credit: Vista by antonellomusina on Flickr
The magic of Sardinia (and how it helps your writing)
January 17, 2008
I’ll never forget the moment I fell in love with Sardinia.
I was living in Milan at the time, where the cold, damp weather and the permanent smog left me yearning for sunshine and winter walks along the beach.
I was desperate for a holiday in the sun but as a young, strapped-for-cash journalist, my budget didn’t stretch that far. Thank goodness for Ryanair, then, and my Eur10 flight to Alghero for a New Year getaway.
In the end, I’m not sure what is was that made that weekend in the medieval city so special - was it the narrow cobbled streets with washing strung across in the heart of the old town centre? The long, sandy beach shaded by pine forests? Or the unspoilt fishing port where locals are pleased to see you?
Whatever it was, Alghero worked its magic. Less than four months later, I moved to Sardinia for good and I’m as in love with the island now as I was six years ago.
That’s why I’m so pleased to be running this Absorbing Writing workshop/holiday here with Joanna. When I was in Milan, I often felt the soul being sucked out of my writing and, even though I’m a trained journalist, had no idea how to make it come alive again.
Sardinia has changed all that and now I can’t wait to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and produce something that other people want to read.
I know it will change your writing, too.
See you soon!
from Emma in Sardinia
January 2008
Photo Credit: photo number sixty nine by Miss Baker on flickr
A writing holiday in Italy: something to look forward to
January 7, 2008
Apparently today (7th January) has become known as Holiday Day, because it’s “the most popular day of the year to banish the post-Christmas blues and book a summer holiday.” (It must be true, I got that from a Government news site!)
It’s easy to see why - first day back to a full working week, all the festivities over, the weather in Britain cold, sleety and dark.
Makes me kind of glad I’ve already got a holiday in the pipeline to look forward to. Okay, I know I’m going to be working over the four days of the workshop, but it’s hard to think of four days, five nights eating, drinking, talking, absorbing writing as work…
One of the things I love best about organising travel and holidays is the looking forward, the anticipation that goes with it. To help build my sense of anticipation I’ve signed up for a beginners Italian class. I know I won’t need it (as Emma speaks fluently - she lives in Sardinia after all!) but it adds to the intensity of the experience if you can pick up some of the conversations round about you, and venture a few words yourself.
Our charming Italian teacher beat the gloom of the Edinburgh night by teasing us with an introduction to the language of food and drink. Espresso, she purred. Cappuccino. Vino. Pizza. Pasta. Birra.
She was teaching us masculine and feminine noun endings but I think we were all lost in the images, tastes, sounds that her words were conjuring up.
Reminding me of something else I’ve got to look forward to. Teaching and learning how to capture, to realise, the simple evocative power of our words.
from Joanna in Edinburgh
January 2008
Photo Credit: Alghero Beach by david.nikonvscanon on flickr