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Summertime
​News

2020 Writing Holidays with Jo Parfitt

28/8/2019

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The Hague, The Netherlands

The Hague Me-Treat
When
17th - 19th April, 2020, The Hague ​
What
​Come be inspired by art and flowers in the delightful city, seat of the Dutch parliament. Visit the stunning Keukenhof Gardens when the bulbs are at their peak and the Mauritshuis, home of The Girl With a Pearl Earring. You will also have a few hours on Sunday 19th to explore at your own pace
Cost
£390 includes excursions, cocktails and canapés. Does not include accommodation or meals
Enquire
​Email at jo@joparfitt.com

The Watermill at Posara, Tuscany

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When
9th - 16th May, 2020 - 7 nights ​
What
​Write Life Stories fully inclusive residential retreat hosted by Bill and Lois Breckon. This will be my fifth time at the mill. Come and learn how to write about your life in an exquisite setting. Includes 30 hours of lessons
Cost
Approx £1,800, depending on your choice of room
Enquire
More details and how to book on watermill.net
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Jo Parfitt's Monthly Inspirer is Back

15/8/2019

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Jo Parfitt
Do you remember my Monthly Inspirer?
 
For ten years, from 2002-2012 I sent out a monthly newsletter by email to up to 3,000 people.
 
It was a simple formula:

  • I wrote an inspiring column about writing, running a home-based business or living abroad. That’s The Inspiring Bit.
  • I added some connections to some cool websites, authors, courses, conferences or companies I thought would be useful to you. That’s The Connecting Bit.
  • I told you the dates of any upcoming speaking or teaching engagements. That’s The Parting Piece. 

​Well, I am delighted to announce that The Monthly Inspirer is BACK and this time it is all about writing.
 
That’s it. That’s all it is. Past subscribers told me they loved it and it was the one email newsletter they would save and read with a cup of coffee. They bemoaned its demise. In my infinite wisdom I decided to stop producing it and move over to blogging. It didn’t work. I went from 3,000 subscribers to an embarrassingly small number overnight.
 
If you want a taste of what was in a decade of Inspirers, then feel free to download a free PDF you can read on your iPad or Kindle Fire called The Inspirer Collection.*

​And so, here we go. I hope you enjoy The Monthly Inspirer just as much this time round. Love is supposed to be more wonderful the second time around, isn’t it? At least I’m crossing my fingers that this will be the case. But for now, I’ll just uncross my fingers for a while and re-introduce you to The Monthly Inspirer…
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The Inspiring Bit

Mind Soup
 
We were experiencing a European heatwave when I wrote this…
 
It is currently 33 degrees inside my office and that’s with two fans on and the blinds drawn. I’m stifled – but my creative inspiration is certainly not on a slowdown. As it was only (only!) 28 degrees at 8 am I decided to head for a walk in the woods and deliberately left my phone behind.
 
A walk in the woods is what I do whenever I need to mull something over and for several months now I have had a massive project to mull over. It’s called the Life Story Jar and is the largest, most multi-faceted, scariest project I have ever created and is taking over my life. It’s a bit of a foray into a new area while putting all the things I have learned and taught over the years into a programme I consider to be my legacy. But that’s for another time. For now, suffice it to say that my head is all over the place.
 
So, I headed off in the shade of my wide-brimmed hat, up Bankastraat towards the Bosjes, which means ‘woods’. Out there in the cool of a leafy pathway it came to me. My mind was so full of ideas that it felt soupy, thick and hot. But now and again a rather good idea would emerge from the gloop and I’d take notice. I’d try my best to look at it in isolation and examine it long enough for it to not have disappeared back into the soup by the time I got home.  How I wished my mind were as transparent and uncluttered as a consommé; a rich, tasty, nutritious bone broth that, like my thinking, was crystal clear. The perfect consommé were I to ever achieve such a state of mind would have one single exquisitely formed idea floating in the centre, like a truffle raviolo or a soft quail’s egg. But no, my mind was a permanent minestrone and I realised that I had to accept and embrace it for what it was – a muddle, but a good muddle in which there really were some good ideas.
 
As I walked more ideas flew in, some stayed awhile, some disappeared but still the soup metaphor remained. Like the best minestrone soup, made with a perfectly chopped mirepoix of vegetables that swim in a delicious, see-through broth. And like a minestrone, some ideas float while others sink. All have the potential to be great someday, but I don’t know about you, the ones that float on the top get taken first. Just as this post today persisted for the length of my wander and was still floating on the surface by the time I’d switched on the fans and sat down at my desk.

What’s On in September

September In The Hague
​FREE WRITERS’ CIRCLE
WHEN: Friday 27th September, 10:00-12.30
WHAT: Writers’ Circle
WHERE: Jo’s house, Archipel, The Hague
COST: Free
BOOK: Email Jo at jo@joparfitt.com


​

​
FREE LUNCHTIME TALK WITH AUTHOR MARIAM OTTIMOFIORE
WHEN: Friday 27th September 12.30-14:00
​WHAT: From Blogger to Writer to Author: How to Build an Audience for Your Writing
Mariam Ottimofiore, author of This Messy Mobile Life
WHERE: Jo’s house, Archipel, The Hague
COST: Free. Includes lunch
BOOK: Email Jo at jo@joparfitt.com
​
This Messy Mobile Life
Earlier this year, after 12 months’ mentoring from me, Jack Scott and I  were delighted to publish This Messy Mobile Life by Mariam Ottimofiore. We are very lucky that she is visiting The Hague in late September and can come to talk to us about her move from blogger to writer to author.

And Finally...

​Think you might like to sign up to the new Monthly Inspirer and grab a free copy of The Inspirer Collection? Then put your email address in the sign-up box below*. Don’t worry, it won’t cost a penny.
​See you next month!
 
Jo

*Your email will only ever be used to send you Jo Parfitt's Monthly Inspirer. You can unsubscribe at any time.
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Summertime Publishing

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  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Our Authors
    • Publish with Us
    • Contact Us
    • Our Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Services and Fees
    • Publishing Programmes
    • Selected Services
  • Our Bookshelf
    • Summertime Direct
    • Anthology
    • Careers and Business
    • Children's Books
    • Country Guides
    • Expat Life
    • The FIGT Collection
    • Health and Wellbeing
    • Third Culture Kids
    • Writing
    • Springtime Shop
  • For Writers
    • LDF Award
    • Jo Parfitt, Mentor
    • author2author
    • Paddy Hartnett, Proofreader
    • Writing Retreats
    • Free Resources for Writers
    • From Pipedream to Proposal
    • e-Learning
  • Blog