About Time: You Went on a Creative Writing Retreat in St LuciaBy Angelica Malin
Dream of learning creative writing in an inspiring setting? It’s about time you went on a creative writing retreat in a tropical location – and now you can. This March 2020, St Lucia is playing host to a special one-off writing retreat at luxury boutique hotel East Winds. Here’s what you need to know:
Creative Writing Retreat at East Winds: The Lowdown
If you’ve always dreamt of writing a novel, but don’t know where to start, may we suggest that you venture into the unknown with a creative writing retreat in St Lucia? This March, guests booking into East Winds can enjoy an amazing week learning the art of novel writing, at this luxury all-inclusive hotel.
The week-long writing course will be run by freelance editor and literary scout Victoria Pepe, who has worked in publishing since 2007, previously at Little Brown Book Group. Victoria now works at Amazon Publishing, focusing on commercial fiction and in narrative non-fiction – she is the co-editor of I Call Myself a Feminist: The View From Twenty-Five Women Under Thirty.
Creative Writing Retreat at East Winds: The Course
What to expect on the course? Well, the course is designed for people who are keen to improve their writing skills – maybe you have an idea for a novel, but don’t know how to get going, or you’re more a professional writer looking to hone your craft. Victoria is a warm, encouraging and compassionate teacher, who will really help guide your novel-writing journey and help you brush up on the basics! Throughout the week-long course, you’ll be discovering more about the book-writing process, covering story, structure, characters and point of view, and also how to improve dialogue and refine your own editing process. Basically: everything you need to boost confidence with writing your novel!
What’s more, the writing course comes at no extra charge – simply book the package offer, and you’ll receive 20 hours of creative writing lessons over 5 days. The package include a room category of choice (depending on the tour operator you book with), creative writing course, garden tour or cookery class with in-house chef, private meditation session with East Winds in-house chef and a day boat trip. There’s only 14 spaces on the course, so hurry!
Creative Writing Retreat at East Winds: The Hotel
East Winds is a breathtaking, perfectly maintained hotel by the sea, with a stunning tropical garden and prime beachside location. The hotel is peaceful and serene, with 30 cottage-style suites, that offer ultimate privacy, and an Ocean-front beach house. The accommodation is set amongst the lush greenery, with all manner of trees, plants, wildfire and colourful birds in this dreamy setting.
The accommodation ranges from Superior Cottages, with their own private shaded patio, to the luxury Ocean Front Suite, boasting a private patio with beach loungers, open lounge and breathtaking views of the sea. There’s a real attention to detail and eye for design in the hotel’s accommodation – we loved their spacious patio for watching the sun set with a glass of wine at the end of the day. The hotel is boutique in feel, with a really personal, all-inclusive feel, and super welcoming staff, we couldn’t recommend it enough.
Creative Writing Retreat at East Winds runs from 28th March to 4th April 2020. Caribtours (www.caribtours.co.uk, tel: 020 3553 7543) offers 7 nights at East Winds from £3789 per person, based on two adults sharing on all inclusive basis, return flights, private transfers and access to a UK airport lounge. Price includes the Creative Writing Course, a day boat trip, garden tour, cooking class and private meditation session.