Retreat West / WestWord
@retreatwest.bsky.social
All about writing great stories. Courses, competitions, workshops and a friendly online community. WestWord literary journal. Spread love with your words 💙
https://www.retreatwest.co.uk
https://westword.substack.com
https://www.retreatwest.co.uk
https://westword.substack.com
We didn't realise it was the Easter holiday weekend when we set the deadline for our Pitch to Win comp to get a free place on our Novel Creator Course. So we extended it to give you all a chance to get over all the chocolate eating and get your pitches sorted! www.retreatwest.co.uk/pitch-to-win...
March 27, 2024 at 9:47 AM
We didn't realise it was the Easter holiday weekend when we set the deadline for our Pitch to Win comp to get a free place on our Novel Creator Course. So we extended it to give you all a chance to get over all the chocolate eating and get your pitches sorted! www.retreatwest.co.uk/pitch-to-win...
The final countdown! This Sunday is the deadline for our Pitch to Win contest. You can win a place on our year-long Novel Creator course to write the novel with support all the way! This course has helped produce 6 published novels since 2020. A great hit rate! www.retreatwest.co.uk/pitch-to-win...
March 25, 2024 at 9:34 AM
The final countdown! This Sunday is the deadline for our Pitch to Win contest. You can win a place on our year-long Novel Creator course to write the novel with support all the way! This course has helped produce 6 published novels since 2020. A great hit rate! www.retreatwest.co.uk/pitch-to-win...
Just 10 more days to pitch us your novel idea and win a place on our Novel Creator course to write it! This course has helped produce 6 published novels so far since 2020! There are 2 spaces up for grabs in this comp! www.retreatwest.co.uk/pitch-to-win...
March 21, 2024 at 3:58 PM
Just 10 more days to pitch us your novel idea and win a place on our Novel Creator course to write it! This course has helped produce 6 published novels so far since 2020! There are 2 spaces up for grabs in this comp! www.retreatwest.co.uk/pitch-to-win...
Our latest Flash in Five post looking at the development of a flash story is from @coreyfarrenkopf.bsky.social. Check it out!
www.retreatwest.co.uk/flash-in-fiv...
www.retreatwest.co.uk/flash-in-fiv...
March 8, 2024 at 3:52 PM
Our latest Flash in Five post looking at the development of a flash story is from @coreyfarrenkopf.bsky.social. Check it out!
www.retreatwest.co.uk/flash-in-fiv...
www.retreatwest.co.uk/flash-in-fiv...
We've got a #writingworkshop on Sunday where we'll be looking at how to write stories from different angles. We'll be reading work by @kathyfish.bsky.social and @electrarhodes.bsky.social, among others, to show how to bring new life to themes. It will be fun! tickettailor.com/events/westword/1120070
March 8, 2024 at 3:02 PM
We've got a #writingworkshop on Sunday where we'll be looking at how to write stories from different angles. We'll be reading work by @kathyfish.bsky.social and @electrarhodes.bsky.social, among others, to show how to bring new life to themes. It will be fun! tickettailor.com/events/westword/1120070
We've got great workshops happening this weekend! Mining Your Life for Prompts with @laurabesley.bsky.social on Sat. www.tickettailor.com/events/retre...
And on Sunday I'm looking at telling stories in different ways - Finding New Angles for Common Themes. www.tickettailor.com/events/westw...
And on Sunday I'm looking at telling stories in different ways - Finding New Angles for Common Themes. www.tickettailor.com/events/westw...
March 5, 2024 at 3:57 PM
We've got great workshops happening this weekend! Mining Your Life for Prompts with @laurabesley.bsky.social on Sat. www.tickettailor.com/events/retre...
And on Sunday I'm looking at telling stories in different ways - Finding New Angles for Common Themes. www.tickettailor.com/events/westw...
And on Sunday I'm looking at telling stories in different ways - Finding New Angles for Common Themes. www.tickettailor.com/events/westw...
Congrats to everyone who has made the longlist of the 2024 First Chapter Comp! We'll be reading them all again now to get the shortlist of 10 for judge @eliarieh.bsky.social to choose the winners from!
www.retreatwest.co.uk/2024-first-c...
www.retreatwest.co.uk/2024-first-c...
March 5, 2024 at 2:18 PM
Congrats to everyone who has made the longlist of the 2024 First Chapter Comp! We'll be reading them all again now to get the shortlist of 10 for judge @eliarieh.bsky.social to choose the winners from!
www.retreatwest.co.uk/2024-first-c...
www.retreatwest.co.uk/2024-first-c...
Happy first Monday of the month everyone - which means it's Monthly Micro time! The prompt is lie and the word count is 150. Get writing! From now on, all winning and shortlisted stories are going to be published in our lit journal, WestWord! www.retreatwest.co.uk/monthly-micr...
March 4, 2024 at 9:32 AM
Happy first Monday of the month everyone - which means it's Monthly Micro time! The prompt is lie and the word count is 150. Get writing! From now on, all winning and shortlisted stories are going to be published in our lit journal, WestWord! www.retreatwest.co.uk/monthly-micr...
Delighted to confirm the contributors to the FAITH edition of WestWord in April. Lovely that there are some of our community members in there. Well done to @joycebingham.bsky.social and @emmapwrites.bsky.social
Really looking forward to bringing these 6 wonderful stories to the world. 💙
Really looking forward to bringing these 6 wonderful stories to the world. 💙
February 29, 2024 at 2:32 PM
Delighted to confirm the contributors to the FAITH edition of WestWord in April. Lovely that there are some of our community members in there. Well done to @joycebingham.bsky.social and @emmapwrites.bsky.social
Really looking forward to bringing these 6 wonderful stories to the world. 💙
Really looking forward to bringing these 6 wonderful stories to the world. 💙
Do you want to win a free entry to our Pitch to Win comp to win a place on our year-long Novel Creator Course? Just share this post and tag another writer you think would like to win the course too. I'll pick the winner out of a hat at 5pm UK time on Sunday.
www.retreatwest.co.uk/pitch-to-win...
www.retreatwest.co.uk/pitch-to-win...
February 23, 2024 at 10:39 AM
Do you want to win a free entry to our Pitch to Win comp to win a place on our year-long Novel Creator Course? Just share this post and tag another writer you think would like to win the course too. I'll pick the winner out of a hat at 5pm UK time on Sunday.
www.retreatwest.co.uk/pitch-to-win...
www.retreatwest.co.uk/pitch-to-win...
This year's Pitch to Win contest is now live! You can win a place on our successful Novel Creator course, which has helped to produce 6 published novels so far since 2019! Just send us your pitch of up to 40 words for the novel you'll write with us!
www.retreatwest.co.uk/pitch-to-win...
www.retreatwest.co.uk/pitch-to-win...
February 15, 2024 at 12:20 PM
This year's Pitch to Win contest is now live! You can win a place on our successful Novel Creator course, which has helped to produce 6 published novels so far since 2019! Just send us your pitch of up to 40 words for the novel you'll write with us!
www.retreatwest.co.uk/pitch-to-win...
www.retreatwest.co.uk/pitch-to-win...
What are you up to on Sunday? We have a fab workshop with @taniahershman.bsky.social
Discover what the world of Star Trek can bring to your stories! You don't need to be a Trekkie to attend! Just £10 and you'll get the replay link too.
www.tickettailor.com/events/retre...
Discover what the world of Star Trek can bring to your stories! You don't need to be a Trekkie to attend! Just £10 and you'll get the replay link too.
www.tickettailor.com/events/retre...
February 7, 2024 at 4:49 PM
What are you up to on Sunday? We have a fab workshop with @taniahershman.bsky.social
Discover what the world of Star Trek can bring to your stories! You don't need to be a Trekkie to attend! Just £10 and you'll get the replay link too.
www.tickettailor.com/events/retre...
Discover what the world of Star Trek can bring to your stories! You don't need to be a Trekkie to attend! Just £10 and you'll get the replay link too.
www.tickettailor.com/events/retre...
I'm running a free writing hour on Zoom tomorrow. Join me to make time for your work and get new words on the page.
www.tickettailor.com/events/themi...
www.tickettailor.com/events/themi...
February 6, 2024 at 3:30 PM
I'm running a free writing hour on Zoom tomorrow. Join me to make time for your work and get new words on the page.
www.tickettailor.com/events/themi...
www.tickettailor.com/events/themi...
Calling all #flashfiction lovers - our SIXTH Online Flash Fest is happening 1 month today! We've got fab workshops with @dublinwriter.bsky.social, Catherine McNamara, @marthawrites.bsky.social and Rosie Garland. Come it is going to be FUN!
www.tickettailor.com/events/retre...
www.tickettailor.com/events/retre...
February 5, 2024 at 10:50 AM
Calling all #flashfiction lovers - our SIXTH Online Flash Fest is happening 1 month today! We've got fab workshops with @dublinwriter.bsky.social, Catherine McNamara, @marthawrites.bsky.social and Rosie Garland. Come it is going to be FUN!
www.tickettailor.com/events/retre...
www.tickettailor.com/events/retre...
Another fab new workshop added to our Events calendar. Come along and write some sci-fi/fantasy hermit crab #flashfiction with @summermoth.bsky.social
Just £10 for 2-hours and everyone with a ticket gets the replay link too. It's going to be fun!
www.tickettailor.com/events/retre...
Just £10 for 2-hours and everyone with a ticket gets the replay link too. It's going to be fun!
www.tickettailor.com/events/retre...
January 25, 2024 at 2:14 PM
Another fab new workshop added to our Events calendar. Come along and write some sci-fi/fantasy hermit crab #flashfiction with @summermoth.bsky.social
Just £10 for 2-hours and everyone with a ticket gets the replay link too. It's going to be fun!
www.tickettailor.com/events/retre...
Just £10 for 2-hours and everyone with a ticket gets the replay link too. It's going to be fun!
www.tickettailor.com/events/retre...
What are your plans this Sunday? Join us for a great workshop with @laurabesley.bsky.social. I'm really looking forward to it and have my drafts ready to work on! Even if you can't make it live, everyone with a ticket gets the replay link!
www.tickettailor.com/events/retre...
www.tickettailor.com/events/retre...
January 24, 2024 at 11:07 AM
What are your plans this Sunday? Join us for a great workshop with @laurabesley.bsky.social. I'm really looking forward to it and have my drafts ready to work on! Even if you can't make it live, everyone with a ticket gets the replay link!
www.tickettailor.com/events/retre...
www.tickettailor.com/events/retre...
Our current community writer-in-residence, @summermoth.bsky.social, is running a workshop on Thursday. It's free to our community members but you can join us for just £5!
buytickets.at/retreatwest/...
buytickets.at/retreatwest/...
January 13, 2024 at 4:45 PM
Our current community writer-in-residence, @summermoth.bsky.social, is running a workshop on Thursday. It's free to our community members but you can join us for just £5!
buytickets.at/retreatwest/...
buytickets.at/retreatwest/...
How are you getting on with with your monthly micro? Just a couple more days to submit! Is your character barking up the wrong tree? Or maybe your story is about bark on a tree, or a dog barking. Maybe a seal? We can't wait to read them! www.retreatwest.co.uk/monthly-micr...
January 12, 2024 at 11:47 AM
How are you getting on with with your monthly micro? Just a couple more days to submit! Is your character barking up the wrong tree? Or maybe your story is about bark on a tree, or a dog barking. Maybe a seal? We can't wait to read them! www.retreatwest.co.uk/monthly-micr...
And we're off - the first Monthly Micro comp of 2024 is live! We've re-vamped it a bit for the new year and each month the word count to write to is announced along with the prompt. Happy writing! We look forward to reading your stories!
www.retreatwest.co.uk/monthly-micr...
www.retreatwest.co.uk/monthly-micr...
January 8, 2024 at 8:31 AM
And we're off - the first Monthly Micro comp of 2024 is live! We've re-vamped it a bit for the new year and each month the word count to write to is announced along with the prompt. Happy writing! We look forward to reading your stories!
www.retreatwest.co.uk/monthly-micr...
www.retreatwest.co.uk/monthly-micr...
It's the final Christmas Countdown story today and it's a not so festive tale from @jankaneen1.bsky.social! Looking forward to hearing Jan and @nomad-sw18.bsky.social read theirs at the RW Community Christmas party on Sunday!
🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝
www.retreatwest.co.uk/writing-santa/
🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝
www.retreatwest.co.uk/writing-santa/
December 15, 2023 at 10:41 AM
It's the final Christmas Countdown story today and it's a not so festive tale from @jankaneen1.bsky.social! Looking forward to hearing Jan and @nomad-sw18.bsky.social read theirs at the RW Community Christmas party on Sunday!
🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝
www.retreatwest.co.uk/writing-santa/
🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝🎅📝
www.retreatwest.co.uk/writing-santa/
Today's penultimate Christmas Countdown story from Steph Percival is full of festive secrets and discoveries. Enjoy!
www.retreatwest.co.uk/what-i-learn...
www.retreatwest.co.uk/what-i-learn...
December 14, 2023 at 10:13 AM
Today's penultimate Christmas Countdown story from Steph Percival is full of festive secrets and discoveries. Enjoy!
www.retreatwest.co.uk/what-i-learn...
www.retreatwest.co.uk/what-i-learn...
Delighted to announce the WestWord nominations for Best Small Fictions 2024. Congrats to:
@sfreligh.bsky.social
@hilary55.bsky.social
@jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
@sullyj.bsky.social and
Oanh Nguyen!
Good luck to all of you!
@sfreligh.bsky.social
@hilary55.bsky.social
@jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
@sullyj.bsky.social and
Oanh Nguyen!
Good luck to all of you!
December 13, 2023 at 2:11 PM
Delighted to announce the WestWord nominations for Best Small Fictions 2024. Congrats to:
@sfreligh.bsky.social
@hilary55.bsky.social
@jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
@sullyj.bsky.social and
Oanh Nguyen!
Good luck to all of you!
@sfreligh.bsky.social
@hilary55.bsky.social
@jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
@sullyj.bsky.social and
Oanh Nguyen!
Good luck to all of you!
Today on the Christmas Countdown is a spooky story from Alan Kennedy.
www.retreatwest.co.uk/the-clicking...
www.retreatwest.co.uk/the-clicking...
December 13, 2023 at 10:25 AM
Today on the Christmas Countdown is a spooky story from Alan Kennedy.
www.retreatwest.co.uk/the-clicking...
www.retreatwest.co.uk/the-clicking...
After yesterday's sad story, today's Christmas Countdown story from Taria Karillion is fun and silly!
www.retreatwest.co.uk/notes-to-sel...
www.retreatwest.co.uk/notes-to-sel...
December 12, 2023 at 10:47 AM
After yesterday's sad story, today's Christmas Countdown story from Taria Karillion is fun and silly!
www.retreatwest.co.uk/notes-to-sel...
www.retreatwest.co.uk/notes-to-sel...
Today's Christmas Countdown story is a sad but hopeful one from Rhona Stephens.
www.retreatwest.co.uk/lottie-and-me/
www.retreatwest.co.uk/lottie-and-me/
December 11, 2023 at 12:11 PM
Today's Christmas Countdown story is a sad but hopeful one from Rhona Stephens.
www.retreatwest.co.uk/lottie-and-me/
www.retreatwest.co.uk/lottie-and-me/