Make Your Dream Come True

6 Lessons from a writers’ retreat in the Veneto 

 

Earlier this month, in the gentle warmth of a fading summer, a dozen writers descended on the secluded Villa Margherita, nestled on the banks of the Naviglio del Brenta, between Padova and Venice. 

 

We were assembled for a writers’ retreat. Inspired and led by author, teacher and all-round awesome human, Sophfronia Scott. Each of us had come from a different place, literally and figuratively. 

 

We had a motor-biking paediatrician from New Zealand, a laundry owner from the Balearic Islands, a writer from British Columbia and a photographer from Martha’s Vineyard. Some of us were published authors, some working on their first book, some established bloggers, some poets, some just starting out and some only thinking about writing. 

 

But all of us, under Sophfronia’s passionate and thoughtful guidance, found our voices, made effective use of metaphors, played with time, noticed what was around us and learned how to write “difficult characters”. 

 

Surrounded by the art, culture and history of one of the greatest trading cities the world has ever known, we searched for inspiration in the Venetian waters and Palladian villas of the Veneto. And we applied ourselves diligently to sumptuous dinners, prosecco and laughter. 

 

It was an immersive experience. Each new insight followed rapidly by the next, like rolling waves of awareness. We grappled with what we were seeing, what we were writing, what it meant to be a writer and how this fitted into the narrative of our lives. 

 

In the final seminar of the week, we reviewed what we had learned and the changes we were going to make in our writing when we returned home. It was striking that this mostly related to changes we were going to make to our lives, to be more effective and productive writers, rather than to our writing itself. 

 

Reflecting on the whole experience, many of the things we learned were as much about life, and fulfilment, as they were about writing. So, here they are, six lessons from a writers’ retreat, on making your dream come true ..

 

1. Make sure the dream is yours

 

In our first workshop, we focused on “finding your own voice”. We started with a challenging exercise that connected us with who we are: where we have come from, our formative experiences and our early influences. The point of the exercise was to understand that to write with authenticity you must be grounded in your own reality.

 

And, so it is with dreams. Before you can make your dream come true, you have to be sure it is your dream, a true visualisation of what you really, deeply want your life to be:

• If your dream is coloured by what you feel other people will experience, then it won’t come true. It must be coloured by what you, yourself, will get from it. 
• If your dream is a solution to an external problem, then it won’t come true. It must be an answer to the question “what is the life I want to be living?”.

 

In short, it must be your dream, not someone else’s. Whether your dream is to be fitter and healthier, or to be an accomplished winemaker, or even a published author, you have to know, in your own heart, that it really is your dream.

 

2. Put in the time and effort

 

How many times have you heard someone say they’re going to write a book one day, as if it’s just a question of finding the time and then the words will tumble effortlessly onto the page?

 

The reality is writing, like any skill, requires practice. It was impressive to see each of the writers in our group striving to improve, regardless of their level of experience. Even the best, writers with published books, saw the value in learning and experimenting.  

 

Whatever your dream in life, it’s important to put in the effort to learn and develop the necessary skills. And, of course, you never stop learning. 

 

So, don’t expect to make a decision to follow your dream one day and then to wake up at your destination the next. There’s a journey to be had and that’s where the value lies. The important thing is to take the first step and be prepared to keep walking. 

 

3. Be open to possibility and share your ideas 

 

Arriving in Venice, a few days before the start of the retreat, was a huge moment for Sophfronia. This was the culmination of her dream to lead a writing workshop in Italy. 

 

And it might have remained a dream, had she not serendipitously crossed paths with travel guru and Venice expert, Janet Simmonds (aka The Educated Traveller). 

 

Sophfronia met Janet when they shared a room at an event in the US. They talked about their ideas and aspirations and, from this chance meeting, both open to the possibility of collaboration, the idea for the “Write-of-Your-Life” writers’ retreat was conceived. 

 

In the months that followed, they worked together to design, market and sell the concept. It was Sophfronia’s dream, but it needed Janet’s knowledge and experience to make it come true. 

 

The lesson here is you shouldn’t expect to make your dream come true simply through your own efforts. You should relish the opportunity to share your dream with others and enlist them in your quest. 

 

We are, after all, social animals. We are happier and more productive when working together. And we enjoy our success more when it’s shared. Which leads me nicely on to what I believe is the fourth lesson from our time together in Italy ..

 

4. Spend time with the people you want to be

 

It’s often said you come to resemble the people you spend time with. If this is true, and I think it is, then the corollary is you should spend time with the people you would most like to emulate. 

 

I felt this very strongly during our writers’ retreat. Here was a diverse group of people, united in their love of language, committed to developing their writing skills. It seemed to me everyone was drawing strength from the others in the room. There was mutual affirmation and confirmation of our status as writers. 

 

On a more fundamental level, we each benefited from exposure to the others’ writing. By sharing our work, we learned from one another and became, individually and collectively, better writers. And, of course, we made new friends with whom to share ideas and collaborate in the future. 

 

So, if your dream is to be the chef-owner of your own restaurant, you should definitely spend time with other chefs and restauranteurs. At the very least you will learn from their mistakes and, who knows, you may even learn from their successes! 

 

5. Take the leap and change your habits

 

The most difficult part of any journey is the first step. Especially if it’s outside your comfort zone. Even more so if it’s weighed down with the expectations of your dream. The only solution is to focus on that first step and take the leap. 

 

As I mentioned earlier, in our final seminar or the week we discussed the changes we were going to make in our lives to facilitate our writing. The common theme was the difficulty in making the time for writing amongst the myriad demands of modern life. 

 

Sophfronia’s wise counsel was to remove the obstacles and get on with it. But why is this so difficult?

 

I think the problem is we are creatures of habit. We love to run our patterns. Both the deeper behavioural patterns that underpin our characters and the more superficial patterns that govern our day-to-day routines. 

 

If you’re going to change your life and live your dream, you’re going to have to start by changing a habit or two:

• If you’re going to write a book, you have to set aside at least a couple of hours each day, probably in the morning when you’re fresh. But you already have a pattern for the morning: you get up, make yourself a coffee, check your emails, shower and dress, eat breakfast, walk the dog, etc. So, you have to start by creating a new pattern, one that includes two hours of writing!

 

I think, for most of us, this is the difficult thing about taking the leap – it’s not making the decision – it’s not plucking up the courage – it’s being able to change our habits. 

 

6. Enjoy the ride

 

I’ve been writing for business readers, in one form or another, for about 35 years. But the last time I did any creative writing was at school in the 1970s. 

 

So, attending an intensive, week-long, creative writing retreat, led by an accomplished US novelist whose last book was entitled “Unforgivable Love”, was something of a departure for me. Every inch a step into the unknown. But boy-oh-boy was it fun! 

 

Your dream is a key element of the life you want to live. But it’s the journey to get there that makes it worth living. Yes, your dream is important, but so is the fun you will have along the way. 

 

In the words of Robert M. Pirsig in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: 

• “To live for some future goal is shallow. It’s the sides of the mountain that sustain life, not the top. Here’s where things grow. But, of course, without the top you can’t have any sides. It’s the top that defines the sides.”

 

It’s your dream that defines the journey – but it’s the journey where you’ll spend most of your time – so make sure you enjoy it!!

 

 

Sophfronia Scott is a writer of fiction and non-fiction and can be found at https://sophfronia.com

 

Janet Simmonds is a travel writer and Italy specialist and can be found at https://educated-traveller.com

 

Andrew Simmonds is a certified master coach and can be found at https://visionfulfilled.co.uk