Decency Be Damned!
Woot! I did it! A seven-day roving writing workshop across Yorkshire, England, hosted by the brilliant Kirsten Koza, founder of Writers’ Expeditions — whom you should definitely check out if you haven’t already: http://kirstenkoza.com. I mean, how could I possibly bypass a trip called Decency Be Damned! — with THIS description??
We’ll brave a ghost walk in Europe’s most haunted city, devour an orgasm of chocolates, and we’ll hunker down and write with an internationally bestselling crime novelist in the very hotel where Agatha Christie hid during the national manhunt for her. We’ll plot mayhem at the Guy Fawkes Inn, spend a night in Lewis Carroll’s house, and feast on the exploits of the Vikings and Romans—of course, all the while, delighting in English countryside, seaside villages, and stately homes. Writer’s block be damned! Decency be damned! This workshop is a daring adventure of storytelling and writing!
And it was everything advertised and more. Wish I could have tucked you all in my suitcase for all the fun, but the best I can do is hit a few of the highlights and tell you to follow Kirsten and sign up for the next one of these she offers!
- Sneaking pictures of strangers on the amazing cobblestone streets of York and then writing (and sharing) hilarious character sketches about them;
- The fabulous Harry Potter-ish steam train experience, including the actual stop used as the Hogwarts train station. (Sadly, no cart delivering chocolate frogs to the compartments though.)
- The spooky beauty of Whitby both inspired Bram Stoker and was where Lewis Carroll spent his summers — so Kirsten had us all writing hysterical mash-ups of Alice in Wonderland and Dracula WITH ourselves as the central characters. C-R-A-Z-Y fun.
- Writing in the ruins of Richard III’s Castle at Malham and on the grounds of the magnificent Castle Howard (which Bridgerton fans will recognize as Simon’s estate, where all that steamy fun between Simon and Daphne went down!) So of course, OUR assignment here was to write a steamy love scene set in the same place. (Favorite memory here = colleagues literally trying out positions on the steps of the Temple of the Four Winds to see what was physically feasible. Decency be Damned, indeed!)
- A most excellent character workshop with the oh-so-talented British crime writer, David Mark https://www.davidemarkwriter.co.uk/ in Harrowgates’s Old Swan Hotel – where British mystery writer Agatha Christie spent eleven days incognito, checked in under her husband’s mistress’s name no less, while a nationwide hunt was underway.
- Plus amazing abbeys and cathedrals, moors and dales and distilleries — and most of all, such a fun and gifted group of writers with whom to share the adventure.
To: Tamika, Amanda, Megan, our fearless leader Kirsten and guide Matthew, Heather, Diane, Gwyn, Kate, David, Chloe, & Brittany — thank you all for sharing in the trip of a lifetime!
