A atmospheric old photo, well saved, from Jo’s last writing week at the Watermill

Jo Parfitt, our enthusiastic and inspiring writing tutor is back with us after a break of a few years (mainly in the Far East) and has been reminiscing on her last Writing Your Life Stories course here. She says she was stunned by the effect of running a week-long residential course, with classes in the morning, homework and private time every afternoon and group feedback (over aperitivi) every evening.

Jo says: “It was incredible! The students grew in confidence, sure, and their skills improved dramatically, but what was most striking was how a ‘place of safety’ was created: the way the students began to trust each other and recognised that their stories would be safe in this group of twelve people, who had been strangers the week before, blew my mind. I think it blew theirs too. As the week progressed friendships were formed – friendships that have lasted through the years to come.

“But we were there to write and write they did, at least twice every single day. Sharing their work daily taught everyone the value of constructive feedback and soon their work became braver and bolder; some even shared some personal stories that has until then stayed locked inside them. I felt tremendously privileged to have been witness to this development.”

A friend who is also a counsellor told Jo one of the reasons the course was such a success was that there were clear boundaries: “Not only were you living in a defined location within the grounds of the watermill and the village of Posara and that gave you physical boundaries, but being with a group of strangers all joined in a common purpose you felt psychologically safe in that environment too.” That’s why they all felt able to share, why they bonded so well and people were brave enough to write about tough stuff.

Jo says: “That is why I am now such an advocate of the residential writing course. And that is why I am delighted to be returning to Posara for not one, but two, Writing Your Life Stories courses this year. It’s true: a residential writing course reaches the places other courses cannot reach.”

We’ve had such a demand for Jo’s courses this year, that, with her first week fully booked, we’ve opened a second week for her. If you’d like to write down some of your life stories, be it a full-blooded memoir, or a shorter journal, or even a blog, we’d be delighted to welcome you here. Jo’s new week will run from Saturday 18 August to Saturday 25 August 2018. We’ve been told that this is an ideal time for many people, such as people who work in schools and universities, who can only take time off in the academic holidays and, of course, anyone who want to come is welcome. You won’t regret it! As one student on Jo’s last course here said: “I can honestly say it’s been life changing for me and the setting could not have been more perfect.”

Jo’s Write Your Life Story creative writing courses are designed to help you produce your best work, to find your true writer’s ‘voice’ and to write authentically. Among other things, you’ll discover the secret of SPICE, the seven steps to writing life stories, and put this into practice right away.

Our talented and inspiring writing tutor Jo Parfitt has just published her 32^nd book and she says: “I have often compared writing and publishing a book to having a baby. Not only does it take about nine months to gestate but then, once it is in your arms, it takes over your life!”

Monday Morning Emails is co-authored with Canadian Terry Anne Wilson, who, like Jo, has lived abroad for about three decades, has sons in their twenties and is not quite sure where to call home. This book is very different from Jo’s usual ‘how-to’ books, telling of the vicissitudes of living abroad and bringing up a family: “The birth was fairly long and painful. The third stage of labour took us to well over 25 edits and read throughs, times when gas and air did not quite hit the spot and we needed wine. But, in the end, about a month ago, our baby slithered off the press, silky skinned and gorgeous.

 “My heart was on my sleeve and as the book arrived in the world, my heart was in my mouth… Until Monday Morning Emails I had not really known how it felt to be faced with writing raw, authentic, vulnerable truth about myself and those close to me.”

Jo and Terry Anne had bared their souls, so what would people think? Jo says: “I felt like hiding behind the sofa, ready to be judged for what I had written. Was I a terrible mother? Had I worked too hard when the children were growing up? Had people suffered too much because we made the choice to keep on moving from country to country?”

Terry Anne Wilson and Jo: a successful birth.

The book was launched the book in The Hague on March 7^th and at the Families in Global Transition conference two days later: “And only then did I dare to peak over the back of the sofa where I discovered words such as: “I wanted to thank you both for putting those issues on the table in such an honest and compelling manner. Already, it has been a catalyst for my parents to discuss decisions they made all those years ago, and ask me what I think now, as an adult.” “It’s the best thing you’ve ever written.” “Thank you for starting the conversation.”

Jo says: “As with the birth of any baby. The hardest work of all begins after it arrives. Terry Anne and I have work to do. There is a website, a new blog, flyers, reviews to elicit, a book trailer, book club questions, promotions, articles to write and readings to do. Thirty-two babies in and it has not got any easier…”

So, we’re not promising book writing is easy, but with Jo as midwife, you can begin the exciting process of giving birth to your own creation during her unique and inspiring Writing Your Life Stories courses at the Watermill.

We’ve had such a demand for Jo’s courses this year, that, with her first week fully booked, we’ve opened a second week for her. If you’d like to give birth to some of your life stories, be it a full-blooded memoir, or a shorter journal, or even a blog, we’d be delighted to welcome you here. Jo’s new week will run from Saturday 18 August to Saturday 25 August 2018. We’ve been told that this is an ideal time for many people, such as people who work in schools and universities, who can only take time off in the academic holidays and, of course, anyone who want to come is welcome. You won’t regret it! As one student on Jo’s last course here said: “I can honestly say it’s been life changing for me and the setting could not have been more perfect.”

Bring your experiences to life

Jo’s Write Your Life Story creative writing courses are designed to help you produce your best work, to find your true writer’s ‘voice’ and to write authentically. Among other things, you’ll discover the secret of SPICE, the seven steps to writing life stories, and put this into practice right away.

Here are some excellent, but firmly tongue-in-cheek writing tips, courtesy of famous New York Times columnist, the late William Safire. Some are his own, some came from other writers. All, while amusing, are also very true. As well as urging us to avoid alliteration and clichés, Safire also advised:

• Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
• And don’t start sentences with a conjunction.
• Sentence fragments? Eliminate.
• Prepositions are not words to end sentences with
• If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
• Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
• Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
• Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.
• If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.

Good stuff, and there’ll be plenty more sound, practical advice, too, from Jo Parfitt, during her Write your Life Stories weeks at the Watermill.

Jo’s first week with us, from 22-29 September, is now completely full, so ‘by popular demand’, we’ve opened a second course: Her new Write Your Life Stories week will run from Saturday 18 August to Saturday 25 August 2018.  Come and join us: you won’t regret it! As one student on Jo’s last course here said: “I can honestly say it’s been life changing for me and the setting could not have been more perfect.”

Jo’s creative writing courses are designed to help you produce your best work, to find your true writer’s ‘voice’ and to write authentically.  Jo Parfitt has published more than 30 books herself, has helped more than 100 authors get into print and more than 1,000 people to begin writing. She’s an inspiring, compassionate and encouraging teacher: her motto is ‘sharing what I know to help others to grow’. Jo says: “The course at the watermill will provide a safe haven in which to unlock your creativity, write from your heart and hone your writing craft. It will also help to remove blocks to your writing. Sessions at the mill will empower students to write in a compelling way that makes real experiences come to life.” 

Jo Parfitt
Write Your Life Stories

18 August to 25 August 2018 Still some places 

AND 22 to 29 September 2018 Course full 

To learn more about Jo and her course at The Watermill, please click here.

Jo Parfitt, our inspiring Write your Life Stories tutor, has just published her latest book. It’s called Monday Morning Emails and it concerns two mothers sharing the ups and downs of living a global life. It covers six months, twelve countries – and a thousand thoughts.

Jo says: “It seems Monday Morning Emails is being well-received. A recent reader said: “Simply splendid, raw, personal and gripping. All three elements, the diaries, memoir and self-help, spoke to me. So much more to learn and read!’ “

You can not only learn about how to write your memoir, blog or journal from Jo, but also meet her co-author Terry Anne Wilson, who is attending Jo’s week-long course here. (More details of Jo’s week here below.)

Terry Anne Wilson

A continent apart, Jo and Terry Anne made the commitment to email each other every Monday morning for six months. Part memoir, part diary, part self-help, the result is a vulnerable and insightful recollection – the then and now – of expatriate life between two friends. Over the past twenty-five years, Jo and Terry-Anne have created homes for their families in 12 countries from Japan to Kazakhstan, Malaysia to the Netherlands, the US to India and Oman. Combined, they have raised five sons, supported their husbands’ careers, and cultivated their own passions in writing, publishing, mentoring and more.

Jo Parfitt

Monday Morning Emails delves into a myriad of tough subjects including identity, parenting, Third Culture Kids, faith, rootlessness, traumatic childhood experiences, anxiety and depression. Jo and Terry Anne emerge from this candidly emotional exchange drawing joy and growth from facing life’s challenges before an ever-changing backdrop. And together they affirm that mothers are mothers, wherever home may be.

Come and learn more with Jo at the Watermill. Jo’s first week with us, from 22-29 September, is now completely full, so ‘by popular demand’, we’ve opened a second course: Her new Write Your Life Stories week will run from Saturday 18 August to Saturday 25 August 2018.  Come and join us: you won’t regret it! As one student on Jo’s last course here said: “I can honestly say it’s been life changing for me and the setting could not have been more perfect.”

Jo’s creative writing courses are designed to help you produce your best work, to find your true writer’s ‘voice’ and to write authentically. Among other things, you’ll discover the secret of SPICE, the seven steps to writing life stories, and put this into practice right away. Jo Parfitt has published more than 30 books herself, has helped more than 100 authors get into print and more than 1,000 people to begin writing. She’s an inspiring, compassionate and encouraging teacher: her motto is ‘sharing what I know to help others to grow’. Jo says: “The course at the watermill will provide a safe haven in which to unlock your creativity, write from your heart and hone your writing craft. It will also help to remove blocks to your writing. Sessions at the mill will empower students to write in a compelling way that makes real experiences come to life.” 

Jo Parfitt
18 August to 25 August 2018 Still some places AND 22 to 29 September 2018 Course full Write Your Life Stories

To learn more about Jo and her course at The Watermill, please click here.

You’ll be as busy as a bee writing the stories of YOUR life

We’ve still a few places left on one of Jo Parfitt’s inspiring Writing your Life Stories weeks. If you’re itching to write why not join us for perfect week of work and relaxation? And to inspire you more, here are some writing tips from the celebrated novelist Margaret Atwood (pictured above). They originally appeared in The Guardian newspaper in England and they range from the practical to the spiritual, from pencils to prayer…

Margaret’s tips:

1. Take a pencil to write with on aeroplanes. Pens leak. But if the pencil breaks, you can’t sharpen it on the plane, because you can’t take knives with you. Therefore: take two pencils.
2. If both pencils break, you can do a rough sharpening job with a nail file of the metal or glass type.
3. Take something to write on. Paper is good. In a pinch, pieces of wood or your arm will do.
4. If you’re using a computer, always safeguard new text with a ­memory stick.
5. Do back exercises. Pain is distracting.
6. Hold the reader’s attention. (This is likely to work better if you can hold your own.) But you don’t know who the reader is, so it’s like shooting fish with a slingshot in the dark. What ­fascinates A will bore the pants off B.
7. You most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary grammar book, and a grip on reality. This latter means: there’s no free lunch. Writing is work. It’s also gambling. You don’t get a pension plan. Other people can help you a bit, but ­essentially you’re on your own. ­Nobody is making you do this: you chose it, so don’t whine.
8. You can never read your own book with the innocent anticipation that comes with that first delicious page of a new book, because you wrote the thing. You’ve been backstage. You’ve seen how the rabbits were smuggled into the hat. Therefore ask a reading friend or two to look at it before you give it to anyone in the publishing business. This friend should not be someone with whom you have a ­romantic relationship, unless you want to break up.
9. Don’t sit down in the middle of the woods. If you’re lost in the plot or blocked, retrace your steps to where you went wrong. Then take the other road. And/or change the person. Change the tense. Change the opening page.
10. Prayer might work. Or reading ­something else. Or a constant visual­ization of the Holy Grail that is the finished, published version of your resplendent book.

So why not bring a pencil and a prayer on Jo Parfitt’s creative writing week this August? Jo’s first week with us, from 22-29 September, is now completely full, so ‘by popular demand’, we’ve opened a second course: Her new Write Your Life Stories week will run from Saturday 18 August to Saturday 25 August 2018. You won’t regret it! As one student on Jo’s last course here said: “I can honestly say it’s been life changing for me and the setting could not have been more perfect.”

Jo’s creative writing courses are designed to help you produce your best work, to find your true writer’s ‘voice’ and to write authentically. Among other things, you’ll discover the secret of SPICE, the seven steps to writing life stories, and put this into practice right away. Jo Parfitt has published 31 books herself, has helped more than 100 authors get into print and more than 1,000 people to begin writing. She’s an inspiring, compassionate and encouraging teacher: her motto is ‘sharing what I know to help others to grow’. Jo says: “The course at the watermill will provide a safe haven in which to unlock your creativity, write from your heart and hone your writing craft. It will also help to remove blocks to your writing. Sessions at the mill will empower students to write in a compelling way that makes real experiences come to life.” 

Jo Parfitt
18 August to 25 August 2018 Still some places AND 22 to 29 September 2018 Course full Write Your Life Stories

To learn more about Jo and her course at The Watermill, please click here.

And a final, not-too-serious, tip from another great writer: