Happy New Year Folks! Now 2024 has started in earnest plans for the Write Beach Hut are full steam ahead. I'm pretty sure it is the done thing to do before shots and after shots (and obviously there is that hard bit in the middle where all the work is actually done which I'll make sure to document😅). So this is what the hut looked like when I bought it (and if you look closely you might spot a little writer in the making). The hut was a really lovely space that had belonged to a family for many years. The plan is to keep that positive energy but with some seating that is kind to writers’ backs and other fun elements to stimulate ideas and inspire creatives. Oh yes, I also need to replace the roof, and the sides and the door and put a window in and put in lots storage! Let's go!!!! #beachhuthire #beachhutstyle #beachhut #kidwriter #before #creativewriting
Earlier this year I was pretty burnt out and was trying to finish revising my novel The Myth Keeper. I hired a hut from @coolcoastalhuts and something unlocked. Words started to flow and I was grateful that the sea and the Mersea landscape had worked their magic. A bigger breakthrough perhaps was the feeling I had that all writers deserve time in a space like this glorious hut I hired. And what if it was a hut specifically geared to writers both in layout and resource? For those of you that don’t know me I have worked in publishing and with authors for 20 years and am an author myself. I am passionate about supporting creatives and I think The Write Beach Hut might be a small thing I can do to help nuture and foster creativity. I want to do that in a way that means that the cost to hire is accessible to all writers regardless of income and so watch this space as I figure out stuff along the way. As it stands right now the hut has been purchased (pictures to come) and work has started on the refurb (gulp). Excited for the story to come. #amwriting #creativewriting #colchesterwriters
Day 14 of #meetthewriter is ✨IMAGININGS✨ and it’s an easy one for me. In 2024 I will be imagining the finished Write Beach Hut and will be making mood boards and sketches of what I want I want it to be. This project stimulates and challenges my imagination in unfamiliar ways which I'm really enjoying. You know what they say ‘a change is as good as a rest.’
🏖️ The Write Beach Hut is Ready! 🏖️
It’s been a journey—longer than expected, with a few surprises along the way—but after a complete overhaul The Write Beach Hut is finally ready to welcome writers, readers and creatives!
Things didn’t always go to plan (do they ever?), but thanks to the skill and dedication of talented craftsmen like Mark from @tenhutltd , this little writing retreat by the sea is ready to go!
If you’re looking for a cozy, inspiring spot to write, think, read, journal, knit, draw or plan your next venture be it a novel or a business in 2025 come and see what we’ve created.
📍 Book your spot now at now and get away from distractions and come away with a dose of vitamin sea and inspiration.
#TheWriteBeachHut #writingretreat #beachhutife #creativespace #refurbcomplete #escapeandwrite #writersofinstagram #unplugged #coastalretreats #merseaisland #closetolondon
The only picture I took from my visit to @starkmersea this weekend. But please believe when I say this is some of the best food I’ve ever eaten and the reason I forgot to take photos is because each time a dish was presented I was so keen to dive in that the phone remained untouched! I was certainly in the moment. Mersea is so lucky to have this Michelin starred restaurant on the island!
Ooh the sun is shining and Mersea is glorious in this light. @tenhutltd have been busy making these epic pencils to go on top of the hut. How cool are they? Can’t wait to share the transformation that has taken place inside the hut!
#HappyNationalWritingDay folks! Just wanted to give an update on the progress of the refurbishment of The Write Beach Hut. We were hoping to be ready for the end of May but just like any good story there have been some plot twists, and obstacles to overcome but things are definitely taking shape *rubs hands with glee*. Can't wait to share our progress with you in the coming weeks. In the meantime here is a stamp of our logo designed by the very awesome @reyhana_illustrates that i’ve just used on a new journal. #amwriting #amjournaling #writebythesea #rubberstamps
Here we are - the final day of #meetthewriter. For the last 15 days I’ve been challenging myself to share some of my wins, realities, obstacles and observations when it comes to writing and why I’ve decided to buy and refurbish a hut in Mersea for writers and other creatives to hire so they can reset, feel reenergised or find deep focus for their craft. Today’s prompt is ✨COMMITMENT✨ and I am going to make a commitment to PLAY more in 2024. Play has always been one of my best routes for finding ideas. It’s why I love any production put on by @punchdrunkint . It’s why I collect magical looking objects (gotta catch em all) and use them in school visits or when I run workshops for adults. Inspired by Punchdrunk and my basket full of magic I hope to make The Write Beach Hut an immersive space filled with provocations and invitations for writers to play. That’s my commitment... Thanks @bethkempton for creating this #meetthewriter challange over the last two weeks. It’s been fun!
Day 13 of 15 #meetthewriter challange from @bethkempton has this prompt✨THREE✨. Here are three things I do when I'm NOT writing or trying to launch a micro-writng-retreat project! 1. I'm editing books @storymixstudio - the fiction company I founded in 2019. 2. I'm recording The Storymix Craft and Conversation podcast (a great listen if you are interested in the craft of writing and some of the conversations going on in the publishing industry). 3. Visiting schools to talk about careers in publishing or being an author. What stuff do you get up to when you are not writing?
Day 11 of #meetthewriter is ✨ODE✨. I thought I’d share this poem I wrote for the Tate a couple of years ago. It is from the POV of the forgotten muse Fanny Eaton who appears in this painting called The Beloved by Rosetti. As someone who earns their living from writing words you are never sure where your next commission will come from but this was one of my favourites. To have my poem hanging in the Tate Britain was definitely a career highlight! Loved the idea that my poem was a prompt to get children to think about those that appear in paintings and what their stories might be. If I am ever struggling for an idea a visit to a museum or gallery normally sorts me out! What works for you?
This is Day 10 of 15 for the #bethkimpton #meetthewriter challange and the prompt is ✨CHAMPION✨. I am going to have to give a round of applause to Mark @tenhutltd and his team who are putting the hard work in to build/refurbish the Write Beach Hut (in JANUARY 🥶🥶🥶). We are getting the exterior done first before moving inside and really planning the space to make the perfect retreat for writers. Can't wait to show you our progress over the coming weeks! Thanks for making imagination become reality Mark!
Day 9 of the #meetthewriter is ✨LOCATION✨. Stretching across the centuries is the Strood - the only way on or off Mersea. This ancient causeway floods often making Mersea a true Island when it does. The Strood for me is a symbol of the shape of the story that eventually emerges from the ebb and flow of ideas as you work on a novel. Strood is also an Old English word (Strode) that brings back fond memories of my first year at uni. All round The Strood is one of the things that makes Mersea so unique and appealing to the writer’s imagination. You should come and visit.
