Room To Write is a fantastic writing course offeredΒ by Marcus Moore and Sara-Jane Arbury of Spiel Unlimited. This residential course runs twice-annually from Friday to Sunday and offers excellent exercises and tuition for both new and experienced writers.
Its venue, the Ceridwen Centre, is in rural Wales, sleeps 25 and hosts a variety of retreats from artistic and holistic workshops to weddings and outdoor activity breaks. The place itself is delightful; every inch of the accommodation is designed with comfort in mind, and you won’t believe how lush the surrounding gardens and valleys are. Not only that, but the farm is committed to sustainability, with solar energy, a biomass boiler and rescued chickens.
All food was lovingly cooked on site by Roger and Simone, who own and run Ceridwen, and Max, their new apprentice chef. All of the food is vegetarian and organic and delicious, and mostly grown at the centre itself. You certainly won’t go hungry, here! Expect home-made pear tart, roasted cherry tomatoes, delicious cottage pie with lentils, and coleslaw to die for.
As far as the writing was concerned, Marcus and Sara-Jane created a welcoming, easy-going atmosphere which felt supportive and creative. The tasks were challenging, but always fun. Often, writing tasks involved a deadline and I was surprised at the high quality of work produced from everybody after only a few minutes. Tasks were varied, ranging from haiku hiking to working on poetic structure, to group work with dramatic monologues and using the environment to inspire writing.
I was surprised at how talented all of the other writers on the course were. It was wonderful to listen to each other’s work and be inspired. Everyone entered into peer review in the best possible spirit, and I feel this environment was carefully created by Sara-Jane and Marcus.
There was also the opportunity to have private, one-to-one mentoring on work of your choice. I found this session extremely valuable and came away with lots of new ideas for a piece I am working on.
I was very impressed with the standard of the tuition and mentoring.
If you are looking to improve your writing, in a beautiful and sustainable location with delicious, organic food, you should really check this course out.
To book or find out more, contact Spiel Unlimited by phone on 01285 640470 or 07814 830031 or email spielunlimited@gmail.com.
Pasha Lyndi π 