Joseph Heller, author of Catch 22, said that ‘every writer I know has trouble writing’. The most common problem writers have is not writing, and Urban Writers Retreats help you to overcome that and actually write.

I run one-day writing retreats in London; long enough to make real progress but convenient enough to fit into real life. Retreats provide freedom from the everyday chores and excuses that get in the way of writing like phones, relatives, tv, the internet and work. For autumn I’m bringing FUN back to writing with afternoon tea at the retreats, a silly warm-up game, and a wordcount horserace. There may even be writing hats.

I also run the Urban Writer’s Playground, a forum and community where writers can use the power of accountability and working together towards a common goal through tools such as weekly writing targets and check-ins. This is where we hold online writing retreats.

What’s an online writing retreat? Well, the point of a retreat is to give you time and space to write and some tools (like goal-setting sheets) to make that happen. In your own home I can’t prevent you from checking Facebook or doing work-avoidance clearing. But I can provide you with a structure to help motivate you to make it happen with goals and check-ins, and a forum of like-minded people to share with in the breaks.

You can get a free trial in the community to test out the progress updates and online retreats.

The Guardian newspaper says that,

‘it might just prove to be the most productive day of writing you’ve ever had.’

This summer I also ran a sold-out 4-week online bootcamp. We had daily writing exercises, weekly goals and check-ins and an online support group, and the journey took us from teeny tiny 5 minute prompts to planning and writing our own stories. It was ace. I don’t know if I’ll run it again, but it will be made into an e-course that comes right into your inbox – sign up to the newsletter if you want to hear when it’s released.

Escape from distractions might sound like heaven or bootcamp, but time and space dedicated to writing are a both a necessity and a luxury. By stapling yourself to a chair* with nothing but your work, you’ll be surprised at how much you can achieve.

You can also book retreats as a present for your favourite writer – see the retreat details page for more information.

*(Not literally. That would be very silly. And messy.)

No interruptions, no distractions. Concentrate and create