Out of the Box

The first day at school is always a little challenging - where's the building? the classroom? the loos? It doesn't change if you're four or forty. The Bloomsbury Qatar summer writing institute is being held in the futuristic Student Centre in Education City - I kept expecting to see someone in Barbarella bacofoil walk by. Instead, we were an international bunch of women - everyone from local girls fresh from their science degrees who had never written creatively before, to bloggers with book contracts and professional journalists. Talk about a small pond - it was great to meet virtual writer friends in the flesh. I think it's going to be a good week.

One of the first questions we were asked this morning was 'what do you want to get out of this course'? It's a good question. When was the last time you asked yourself what you want out of your writing? Why do you do it? For me, I'm hoping to play around with some new ideas this week, start fleshing out some new characters. I hope it's going to get me thinking outside the box.

I'll let you know how it goes and any interesting exercises you might enjoy. Meanwhile on our blog tour we are off to the excellent Writer Unboxed - Kath and Therese's site is a fantastic resource for writers, whatever stage you are at. We're talking about some practical steps you can take to get your story down, no matter how crazy the juggling act gets. Enjoy.