Emma Writes Again

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  • The Story Path - Retreat
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    • Emma
    • The Story Path - Retreat
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    • Service Design

Emma Writes Again

Emma Writes AgainEmma Writes AgainEmma Writes Again

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  • The Story Path - Retreat
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The Concept

The Story Path Retreat

Walk your plot. Find your voice and come home with a story that knows where it is going.

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inspire your creativity

A weekend of mentoring with a published author

Join us for a generous three-day Dorset creative writing retreat in a stunning manor house, designed for writers seeking protected time, mental space, and deep focus away from their busy lives, screens, and everyday distractions. 


Nestled between the heart of Thomas Hardy country and the breathtaking Jurassic Coast, this writing retreat offers a blend of practical workshops, guided story walks through smugglers’ coves, ancient droves, Iron Age hill forts, and remarkable natural landscapes. Participants will also receive personal 1:1 feedback from the accomplished Big 5 published author of children’s books and adult crime fiction, Emma Mason, during her exclusive Story Path retreat.

Historic mansion with manicured gardens beside a serene lake at sunset.

If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.

Stephen King

Walk the landscape. Notice what changes. Then bring that movement back to the page.

the idea

A retreat for writers who think better in motion.

 

 Some stories do not arrive while we are squeezing writing into tired evenings or stolen half-hours. They loosen when we have time to think, when we walk, when the rhythm of footsteps gives the mind room to roam, and when landscape offers image, tension, atmosphere and surprise.


This retreat combines focused craft workshops with plotting walks in inspiring locations, protected writing time and quiet space to concentrate. You will develop your story, test its shape, and receive thoughtful feedback in a calm, supportive setting.

Landscape

Smugglers' coves

Iron Age hillforts

Iron Age hillforts

Iron Age hillforts

Iron Age hillforts

Iron Age hillforts

Ancient droves

Iron Age hillforts

Ancient droves

In addition to optional massages and sea swims that enhance your inner tranquility, you will use the stunning landscapes of Dorset as creative prompts during the Story Path, focusing on elements such as structure, suspense, character motivation, setting, and atmosphere in your writing retreat.

Jurassic coast paths

Jurassic coast paths

Jurassic coast paths

Hardy country

Jurassic coast paths

Jurassic coast paths

Nature

Jurassic coast paths

Nature

the spirit

Wellness and adventure

 

Think fresh air, maps, notebooks, secret paths, cliff-top questions, hidden histories and the faint possibility that your plot has been waiting for you in a cove all along.


These are landscapes made for imagination: weather, cliffs, footpaths, ancient routes, sea air, long views and half-hidden histories. They offer a natural way into setting, mood, mystery, character and plot. 

Four hikers walk towards rolling hills and farmland under a bright sky.

Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.

Louis L'Amour

why this retreat is different

Author led workshops

Author led workshops

Author led workshops

Engaging and practical sessions at the Story Path in Dorset help you focus your attention, make progress, and reconnect with the story you want to tell during your writing retreat.

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Walking for plotting

Author led workshops

Author led workshops

Experience Dorset creative writing through guided story walks that take you through smugglers’ coves, ancient droves, hill forts, and coast paths, all designed to unlock structure, character, tension, pacing, and atmosphere.

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1:1 feedback

Author led workshops

1:1 feedback

Before you arrive at the Story Path retreat, submit your work in progress along with the areas you most want to focus on. This way, your feedback will be personal, practical, and targeted, enhancing your experience..

Contact The Story Path

Design for real progress

 

 The retreat is not just a collection of writing prompts. It is designed as a learning journey, using clear outcomes, scaffolded activities, pre-retreat submission, reflection, peer conversation and expert feedback.


Emma Mason's 20+ years of experience in learning and development, pedagogy and facilitation means each session has a purpose: to help writers understand the craft, practise it, receive feedback and apply it to their own work.

Contact me

Learning design principles

Experiential learning

Retrieval and reflection

Experiential learning

 Improve your writing by trying, noticing, reflecting and improving. 

Scaffolding

Retrieval and reflection

Experiential learning

 Activities move from idea generation to structure, scene and next steps. 

Retrieval and reflection

Retrieval and reflection

Retrieval and reflection

 Walking prompts help writers reconnect with their story questions.

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Woman smiling while writing in a notebook at a table with stacked books.
Your Host

Author expertise meets learning design.

 The workshops are led by a Big 5 published author whose work spans children’s fiction and adult crime writing, alongside over 20 years of experience in learning and development, pedagogy, facilitation and feedback design.  

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ACCOMMODATION

 A private room in a Dorset manor house. Every room en-suite. All home cooked meals included. *please note that accommodation sites vary per course - all are of a high standard and based in local manor houses. 

Three days to move your story forward

Day One

Day Three

Day One

 

Welcome, settling in and group introductions


Pre-submitted work-in-progress themes introduced privately through your feedback plan


Short creative exercise to identify the emotional engine


Protected writing time with no demands, chores or interruptions


Home-cooked dinner and prosecco

Day Two

Day Three

Day One

 

Morning craft workshop on structure and tension


Guided plotting walk through a story-rich Dorset landscape: smugglers’ cove, ancient drove, hill fort or coast path


Protected writing time back at the house


1:1 feedback sessions


Optional sea swim or Swedish massage


 Home-cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day Three

Day Three

Day Three

 

Workshop: scenes, stakes and next steps


Guided plotting walk through a story-rich Dorset landscape: smugglers’ cove, ancient drove, hill fort or coast path


Protected writing time back at the house


1:1 feedback sessions


A clear writing plan and focused next steps


Optional sea swim or Swedish massage


Home-cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner

Frequently Asked Questions

Please reach us at emma@emmawritesagain.com  if you cannot find an answer to your question.

 Yes. The retreat includes protected writing time as well as workshops, walks and feedback. The aim is to give you space to concentrate away from busy routines, screens and everyday distractions. 

 Yes. You will be invited to submit a short work in progress before the retreat, along with the areas you would most like to focus on. This helps make your 1:1 feedback targeted, useful and relevant to your own writing goals. 

 Writers of fiction who want time, guidance and feedback. It is suitable for writers with an idea, a work in progress, or a draft that needs fresh energy. 

 The walking is intended to support creativity, not to test endurance. It is also optional and dependent on the weather. Think in terms of guided rambling! However, please be sensible about your own health.

 Yes. The retreat is designed for a small, welcoming group, with private rooms and a mix of shared workshops, writing time and individual feedback. 

 No. Wellness activities are optional. Guests can choose what feels restorative for them. 

The Story Path Retreat

Adult Manuscript RetreatChildren Manuscript Retreat

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