When shall writers meet again?

Hands up if you recognise the photo at the top of this article.

 

For those of you who haven’t (yet) visited Scargill in the beautiful Yorkshire dales, it’s well worth the trip, particularly when – as has mostly been the case for me – you get the chance to meet with other writers.

 

I’ve been on other writing weekends, too, as well as day courses and events. The first time or two, I packed a huge dollop of trepidation alongside my notebook and toothbrush. What if everyone else was a multi-published author? What if I got laughed out of the building for making an elementary grammar faux pas? Maybe the only advice I would receive would be to go home and take up macramé instead.

 

Fortunately – although I’ve nothing against macramé-ists – none of these things happened. Instead, I met other writers with varying degrees of experience who all had a passion to develop and improve their writing skills. I’ve learned so much from attending talks and workshops, and have received valuable feedback on my own words. More than that, I’ve made good friends who have been keen to encourage me on my writing journey.

 

Writing can be a lonely business, and the past two years have only served to emphasise this. I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to meet with others online, but I’ve missed sitting down with a group of writing friends and sharing ideas over a cup of cocoa. Going forward, I trust that as writers we can take advantage of both virtual and in-person events – and I’m really hoping to meet/reconnect with as many of you as possible at our jubilee writers’ weekend in June 2022.

 

All together now: “We’re on our way to Scargill Derbyshire …”

See you there?

Fiona Lloyd is Chair of the Association of Christian Writers and writes regularly for Together magazine. Her first novel, The Diary of a (trying to be holy) Mum, was published by Instant Apostle in January 2018. Fiona also works for Christians Against Poverty.

 Twitter: @FionaJLloyd & @FionaLloyd16