A Sensory Love Affair with Sardinia
July 30, 2008
I’ve just been for a swim and now I’m sitting on the crowded beach below my house. There’s no need for a towel. In a few minutes, thanks to the strength of the early evening sun and the salty sea breeze, I’ll be dry. Wet sand, made up of tiny grains of pink granite, slide through the gaps between my toes. In the oleander bushes that separate me from the road, I can hear the heady hum of cicadas. But only just. Drowning them out are the happy squeals of nut brown Italian children playing in the sea, singing their national anthem as they dive in and out of the water.
Summer in Sardinia, more so than at any other time of the year, is a total sensory experience. And when I indulge my senses, that’s when my writing comes alive.
Emma in Sardinia
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Ideal Writing Weekend: Extension to Competition Deadline
July 25, 2008
Just to let you know we’ve extended the deadline on our writing competition to 1st September to give more people the chance to take part
We’ve had some great entries in so far - why not join them? It’s very easy to contribute and there are prizes on offer for the best entries. You’ll find out more about how to take part on this introductory post.
Happy writing!
Writing Competition: My Ideal Writing Weekend
July 9, 2008
We’re gearing up for the spring programme of writing holidays, with new workshops in the pipeline for the second half of April (between April 17th and 2nd May 2009).
To help put the finishing touches on the programme we’d like to hear your ideas, thoughts and suggestions on the ingredients of your ideal writing weekend.
To get you talking we’ve launched a writing competition to get your most inspiring suggestions.
Take Part In Our Writing Competition: Here’s How
My Ideal Writing Weekend
Tell us about the ingredients of your ideal writing weekend. That might be a weekend you’ve already enjoyed, one that you’ve got planned, or one that you’re hoping to take part in, some day.
You might talk about how this relates to the writing process: getting past writer’s block, finding the right words, tapping into your muse.
Feel free to relate your piece to your writing or blogging purpose
You can include a mixture of pictures and words, with a word limit of 500 words.
Posting Guidelines:
1. Post your entry on your own blog by midnight Friday 1st August Monday 1st September (your time) Please note extension to deadline!
2. Link back to Absorbing Writing: Writing Workshops In Italy
3. Send us an e-mail at info@absorbingwriting.com to make sure we’ve got your entry
4. Let your readers know it’s part of a competition - who knows, they might want to join in!
5. Keep it G rated please 
Competition
The winning entry will be the most convincing description of an ideal writing weekend.
Entries will be judged by Lea Woodward of Location Independent … whose decision will be final.
Prizes on offer
1st prize: £50 ($100) Amazon gift card
2nd prize: £25 ($50) Amazon gift card
Runners up: 3 x £5 ($10) Amazon gift card
Link Love for Participants
We’ll post a round up of entries on our 3 linked blogs, which means a link from:
Last but not least
To spread the word, please give this a stumble? Many thanks
Emma Bird and Joanna Young
Writing Workshops on Wordle
July 7, 2008
This is how the news and articles from this site come out on Wordle
I love the way ice-cream stands out… and is it just me or is the word cloud kind of reminiscent of an ice-cream too?
Writing Workshops Spring 2009: Help Us Plan
July 3, 2008
As Emma mentioned, spring and early autumn are the best times of year for us to run the writing workshops. While she’s melting in the heat just now we’re busy planning the schedule of workshops for the spring.
We’re planning around various workshops between 17th April and 2nd May 2009. If you’ve got a strong preference for spring time dates, please do let us know (info@absorbingwriting.com)
We’d like to get your views on the shape and content of the workshops we run in the spring. Please do take just a few minutes to complete this customer survey and let us know what would work best for you.
Many thanks. You can follow this link to start the survey, or click on the picture below to open it.
Why Sardinia will allow you to create absorbing writing
July 3, 2008
I’m not much good in this hot weather.
Up to 30°C and I’m still firing on all cylinders. But when the temperatures soar to 37°C in the middle of the day, I spend more time trying to keep cool - an ice cream? a swim in the sea? a refreshing glass of limonata made with sparkling mineral water, pressed lemons, sugar and ice cubes? - than I do writing.
That’s why we’ve chosen April and May 2009 as the months for our next round of Absorbing Writing holidays in Sardinia. Warm enough to sit outside and write, yet cool enough to concentrate.
The island - the second largest in the Med - boasts shimmering turquoise sea, white sandy beaches, secluded coves and hidden forests.
But that’s not all. April and May, when Sardinia is drenched in early summer sun, are also ideal months for canoeing on the River Cedrino, exploring the longest caves in Italy, walking through lush green forests and ‘discovering’ Greek temples. This is the ’secret’ Sardinia: the one few tourists know.
Author DH Lawrence came here in 1921. His nine-day trip was so memorable, it resulted in him penning his bestseller travel memoir Sea and Sardinia. In it, he described Sardinia as “like nowhere. Sardinia, which has no race, no history, no date, no offering.”
His words still hold true today. Couple that with good food and wine and it makes Sardinia the ideal writing destination. In a beautiful setting and away from the stresses, strains, niggly thoughts and time constraints of everyday life, you can unleash your creativty and come up with several pieces of absorbing writing.
MatadorTrips agrees. Click here to see what they had to say about our writing workshop in the sun.
Emma in Sardinia
Photo credit: david.nikonvscanon on flickr.