On Finding My Voice

The simple joy of a one-day writing retreat.

Welcome to The Autumn Chronicles, a place to shine a light on all the wonder around us as we navigate the seasons. I hope these writings allow you to sit quietly with a cup of something warm and comforting and take a few moments for yourself away from the rush and hurry. If you would like to make sure you get all newsletters directly to your inbox, please subscribe below. Thank you for being here. All photos © The Autumn Chronicles.

In the spirit of finding my voice, I have added audio to a post for the first time. It has been recorded on an iPhone and is not edited (and I am far from a professional!), so it may be imperfect and have some nervous pauses, breathing sounds and background noise. I hope it doesn’t detract too much from your enjoyment of the article and thank you for listening.

With each decreasing minute on the SATNAV, my nervousness grew. I had a complete crisis of confidence; questioning why, when my husband had asked me what I would like for my 40th birthday, I had felt like I was worthy to take up space in a room full of women who I was sure would have much more writing experience than I did. Never mind on a retreat led by a writer whose own work has been such an inspiration to me. As with so many things in my life, I needn’t have worried.

Pulling up outside a gorgeous barn in a tiny Oxfordshire village, spring sunshine bouncing off the thatched roof and the clusters of wildflowers at the base of the brick chimney, my first impression was one of awe-struck wonder. Inside, wooden beams cradled metal chandeliers, fairy lights twinkled around timber posts and a roaring fire crackled and spat in the grate. Hosted by the wonderful

Tanya Lynch

as part of her

with EASE

series of retreats, there was tea and coffee, thoughtful goody bags (this face serum will be making its way into my regular routine) and a group of interesting women invested in learning how to connect the various different versions of themselves into an authentic writing voice.

Laura Pashby

, author of the glorious book, Little Stories of Your Life (also known as the book that inspired me to start writing), introduced the sessions with a mantra, which then became a theme for the rest of the day:

“The magic is in you”

She asked us to pull a Daily Magic card and think about whether the message resonated with us. Mine could not have been more apposite for where I am in my life right now.

My husband says that my curiosity about the world and why things are the way they are is one of his favourite things about me but over the past few years, I have been growing increasingly disconnected from myself. As I go through some life transitions in the background, being able to discover who I am now, at this stage in my life, is something that is becoming ever more important to me. Pulling this card in particular reinforced that this retreat was the perfect place to take the next steps on my journey and Laura, the perfect guide: warm and friendly, open and authentic, encouraging and patient with an innate instinct for the craft of writing. I know they say never meet your heroes but I am so pleased that mine was as lovely in real life as she seems through her words.

We started with a list. Lists are a wonderful entry point when you are seeking inspiration for themes on which to write, offering the chance to view subjects in bullet points and distilling them down to their core as a way to reflect and examine. We then worked through various prompts, designed to dig within ourselves to excavate what lay dormant, learning how to frame our words through specific lenses and prisms to create a sense of authenticity and of intimacy in the moment, and engaging our senses to provide depth, structure and detail to our writing.

Inherent in this course was the permission to call ourselves writers, creating and holding space for the voices and stories within us. This startled me at first because I would never have described myself as a writer before this point. I am someone who writes as a hobby, putting out Substack essays into the ether in the hope that they resonate with someone. I have never been published, never even dreamt that it would be an option for me, so to have someone give me permission to call myself an actual, real-life writer was striking and something that will stay with me.

“And once again, I’ll have the privilege of witnessing women remember who they are when given space, permission and gentle guidance to create.”

- Tanya Lynch

Our final exercise of the day was creating a list of affirmations in the style of the old French parlour game, Cadavre Exquis. We all thought of an affirmation and took turns writing it on pieces of paper so that everyone ended up with a list of ten different mantras they could use to reflect on. One of my aims for this year is to decorate our spare room, the room where I work and where I write, and to create an inspiration wall where I can frame paintings, photos, sayings and phrases that are meaningful to me. My affirmation list, with my Daily Magic card, will have pride of place among them.

At the end of the day, I felt full, of inspiration, of hope, of motivation. After feeling so anxious at the beginning of the day, I left feeling like I had found my place, like I had come home, with one simple phrase in my head.

To read more about the inspiration behind a retreat and how it all comes together, check out Tanya’s post on what goes on behind the scenes:

Behind the Scenes

To discover more of Laura’s writing, this beautiful post about light is a great place to begin:

chasing light at the museum

I’d love to know: have you been to a writing retreat? What was your experience?

If you have enjoyed this post or if something has resonated with you, please share to help others find The Autumn Chronicles. I am so grateful to you for being here and for choosing to read these words.