The first writing retreat was an experiment to see if the idea would take off. It was only open to post grads enrolled in the School of Music and Fine Art. I have always wanted to go on a writing retreat myself, but have never had the time or money to do so. A large part of my motivation for setting it up was so that I could go on a retreat. I was writing a book at the time http://www.mheducation.co.uk/9780335263929-emea-professional-writing-skills-for-social-workers so I thought I would be able to sit alongside students and write.
I needed to make sure that the retreat was affordable for students. I was lucky to find bunk barn accommodation just outside of Faversham which was very cheap. I also applied for some money from the school of Music and Fine Art to support the retreat so I was able to charge the students £20.00 per head which included food and accommodation for 24 hours.
The first retreat was a great success. Students arrived at 11.00 and we got chatting about our writing over a shared lunch. After lunch it was straight to work with a free writing exercise and then our own writing. The retreat progressed in a rhythm of writing and then shared breaks until the early evening when we walked to the pub for dinner. The following day we got up and carried on until lunchtime.
The first retreat was a huge success. The students and I achieved a lot more writing than we thought we would. It was very motivating to write together.