How many people can claim to have slept in a Black Wooly Bugger? I can. That was the name of the room I stayed in at The Compleat Angler in Marlow, Buckinghamshire this weekend. I spent two days with three other writer friends, thanks to the huge generosity of the person who organised the event. Three cheers to Sara!
I arrived in Marlow on Friday night and walked across the Thames, dragging my weekend bag past sights such as these. (How did Sara know my current manuscript features the Thames and a rowing club? Excellent research opportunity!) I met my friends in the hotel foyer and 30 minutes later, bags deposited in rooms, we were writing. Sara had drawn up a strict timetable for us. It occasionally slipped, what with our important writerly need to chat and gossip, but loads was achieved. My work over the weekend went more slowly than I would have liked, but still - work was being done. I read through my second draft and tweaked and tweaked and cut and tweaked. If I ever see the word 'glance' in another manuscript of mine ever again, I'll rip each of those letters out of my keyboard one by one. I also never want to see another character turn their back or look into someone's eyes. Ever. Again.
One of the anecdotes of the weekend was about Jilly Cooper, who once left a handwritten manuscript on a bus, on the way to deliver it to her publisher. It was the only copy and she had to write the whole book again from scratch. 'I could never leave behind a manuscript like that,' someone commented. 'Oh, I could!' I replied. I know myself far too well. When I arrived back in Paddington on Sunday afternoon, I got off the train ... and left my laptop in the luggage rack. With a yelp, I leapt back to retrieve it. I hadn't backed up any of the weekend's work. I don't think I deserve to write, sometimes.
Many thanks to my lovely friends for an unforgettable weekend. I ate Mexican food, drank wine, grazed on chocolate, drank some more wine, and enjoyed many hours of writing. Oh, and for a few moments I dangled Sara's baby from my knee. Fantastic.
PS I'm currently reading Before I Die by Jenny Downham. I'm nearing the end. If you hear noisy and unseemly sobbing at any point over the next 24 hours, it will probably be me.
Leave a comment