MY ARVON WEEK

So I'm back!

My week cut off from friends, family and civilisation as I know it has been and gone and I have survived to tell the tale. Who knew that I could live without Facebook? Needless to say, none of my ludicrous frets came to fruition although it was a bit of a rollercoaster ride in parts - having time to think isn't always a good thing. Overall though, it was useful and rewarding in equal measure and if you ever fancy going on a week long writing course, I can thoroughly recommend the ones that those terribly nice people at Arvon put on.

The elegant farmhouse.

The farmhouse where I stayed was quaint and quirky and filled to the gunwales with books with a spot for quiet contemplation around every corner. There was even a fantastic pod in the garden which, had I been able to get in my bag, might have made the trip back north with me!

The much coveted pod.

The week was crammed full of top writing tips which I earnestly scribbled down in my bought for the purpose notebook but I can honestly say that, whilst I learned lots about how to edit a manuscript, the subject I learned most about was me.

It's a very valuable thing, taking yourself out of your life and putting down somewhere new for a bit. Without the routines of the everyday to get distracted by, you rediscover things about yourself that may have got lost in the maelstrom. I really enjoyed the freedom of spending time with people who knew nothing about me or my life except what I chose to share (and those bits of me that just ooze out at the edges.) We all came from different backgrounds had very different stories to tell, many of them far more exciting than mine but we were linked by our desire to write good books and that was more than enough to carry us along for the week together.

And being away, with only me to look out for, meant that I could reconnect with the things that make me Imogen rather than a mum or a wife or a friend. It's important to do that from time to time. All I have to do now is hold onto that and not let it slip away.

So now what? Well, the next time someone asks me what I do I'm going to tell them I'm an author without cringing or blushing or making apologies. And after that? Well, we'll just have to see...

Imogen