Wow, what a week
- Sophie
- May 19
- 2 min read
I'm heading home from Adelaide today after the most amazing experience these past 5 days at my masterclass. Outside of special family events, this may have been the best week of my life. There were 14 of us in the Masterclass, led by Fiona McIntosh, a bestselling Australian author who writes bestsellers in crime AND historial fiction. It was such a friendly group, Fiona is SO knowledgabe (about writing and also commercial publishing), but also very funny, and we spent a lot of time learning, laughing, and encouraging each other. It was held in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, which is such a beautiful setting, and we got a lot of sunshine even though its almost winter.
My spot for the week
Autumn in the gardens
AND of course, I had quiet evenings with no parenting duties or chores, which was such a nice break from routine. I even got a bit bored and lonely some nights, which were emotions I rarely feel, and was a great reminder that even though life can be a bit exhausting at time, I am very grateful for my beautiful family. I was so relieved to hear the kids have been fine while I've been away too. They had fun with their grandparents, uncles and aunts over the weekend, and lots of attention from Al too of course. Given O hasn't coped so well when I've gone away before, this has been very welcome news, and allowed me to enjoy my time away without any guilt.
The other important aspect to this week is that I have renewed confidence in my writing. Fiona gave me very positive feedback, and basically told me to stop doubting myself and just finish the manuscript. During the course I came up for a new opening for my novel that's more attention grabbing, and developed some new ideas, and now I'm ready to come home and keep writing! I'm giving myself until my birthday in late September to finish the first draft. I now have a group of writers to stay in touch with and encourage each other, and I know this will be of immense value too!
So now, its back to reality. I'm having a slow morning before checkout, and then will uber straight to the airport for my midday flight. I'll pick up little gifts for the kids from the airport, and enjoy some reading and relaxing on the 2 hour flight. I'm planning to catch the train home from the airport since it will only be mid afternoon when I fly in, and hoping to be back in time for dinner with everyone at my parents house.
How has everyone else's week been?
Has anyone else every done something life changing or inspiring? If you have kids, how do they go when you travel away from them?
That sounds like an incredible week, and how fantastic to get some positive feedback on your writing! I'll have to look up Fiona McIntosh and add her to my TBR list. As a stationery fan, I have to say the photo you took with all the branding and a nice looking notepad... *drool.
Glad you got some time to yourself, and a bit of balance.
I'm so glad you had such a great time at your Masterclass! It sounds like it was a positive experience and gave you a lot of inspiration. And what a gift that you were able to take this week for yourself, and the kids were just fine. <3 And they got to see mom doing something just for her!
What a week indeed!
I need to do a mom's weekend away this summer. At the moment I am pretty much crawling to the finish line as we wrap up the year. I cannot wait to give my last final exam, enter the scores and go home for the summer :)
I'm so glad that you had such a wonderful experience and received such wonderful feedback from a published author! It's good to give yourself a deadline of your birthday. Hopefully this course put the fire in your belly to finish!
The kids do pretty well when I travel. They are so used to it now. Will used to really struggle and would often wake during the night but he stopped down that late last year thank goodness. I try to FaceTime with them when I can but it often doesn't go well as they fight over the phone or don't focus on the conversation with me. But it's nice to check in and let them know I'm thinking of them.
I am so, so happy to read this post! I'm happy you had a great time. I'm happy you had time and space to feel lonely (not something you get to feel very often!). I'm happy you're coming back with fresh enthusiasm and new ideas for your writing.
Hooray. Maybe something you can aim to do once every year or two????