Last weekend, Edwina Shaw and I hosted the inaugural ‘Relax & Write’ yoga and writing retreat for women at Camp Koinonia in Evans Head. The retreat was a huge success – we had ten wonderful participants, all at different stages of their yoga and writing practice, but none of that seemed to matter. Edwina began each day with an early morning yoga session, and then we had workshops in memoir and fiction writing, editing and other matters related to submitting work. Between workshops, there was time to write or sleep or go to the beach or have a massage, and then we gathered again in the evenings for drinks and a candle-lit meal in the chapel. Just before everyone went home, we had a collage-making session that provided us all with insights that we weren’t expecting, and made me realise once again that collage is a very powerful medium.

 

Edwina and I both agreed that we achieved what we set out to do – to create a nurturing environment where a group of women could relax and write and get to know each other and create ongoing friendships. We now have a ‘Relax & Write’ facebook group – a place to share writing opportunities, and support and celebrate each other’s literary efforts. Edwina and I are already planning our next ‘Relax & Write’ retreat for early March 2018, where we’ll offer a new range of workshops in Writing in Scenes, Creating Realistic Dialogue, Songwriting, and Screenwriting.

Three cheers for our first ‘Relax & Write’ retreat … thanks to Marie and Craig for making Camp Koinonia so special, thanks to Johnny West for his fabulous dinners, and thanks to Becky Holland for documenting the weekend with her beautiful photos!