I’m coming to the end of my first week of my residency exchange in Australia (thanks to the wonderful Tyrone Guthrie Centre), so I thought I’d check in.

Singapore was a good idea. It’s a really safe and lovely city to explore, tranquil and small but with plenty going on. It meant I adjusted to the time zone before arriving in Australia (Singapore is 7 hours ahead of Ireland, The Blue Mountains, 9 hours). There was a Tapestry of Spiritual Music festival on, so I got to see/listen to some amazing world music, distracting myself from jet lag while filling up on creativity before a month of concentrated writing.

Let me describe Varuna…

A particularly impressive maple

It’s a beautiful house and garden, only ten minutes walk along a track to some amazing marked mountain trails. There’s quiet, focused time every day from 9am until 6pm, and then we gather (up to five writers) each night for a fabulous dinner. The house has an extensive library – each room is themed (I’m have the UK & Ireland shelves) – as well as old guest books of writers who have stayed here, and every room has a biography of Eleanor Dark, the writer who originally owned the house. My room is quirky and comfortable, with a delicious reading chair and a window next to the bed that connects to the workspace. The window overlooks the garden and the autumnal trees, with continuous noise from cockatoos, rosellas, parakeets, and galahs.

Seeing as I’m on the other side of the world, and I love nature, I’m taking time to enjoy and explore the local environment as well as write. Some of my favourite experiences so far include…

A top deck train ride through the mountains

• Discovering a bowerbird’s bower, complete with collected blue items (three females and one male present)
• Chatting to an elderly gardener who recommended a book, then later delivered a copy as a gift to the house! (The Tree of Man by Patrick White)
• Walking mountain trails as morning mists rise or the sun sets
• A flock of ten black cockatoos flying overhead
• Following new sounds (birds, lizard, bark peeling)
• A shy (and rarely seen) lyrebird crossing my path while I was writing in the mountains in the early morning – watching it forage for food
• Learning about (and meeting) Australian authors (I’m halfway through and loving just_a_girl by Kirsten Krauth)
• Discovering an ‘aboriginal interpretive walk’

A female bower bird, offering a prized blue gift. 

As for my output, this is the first time I’ve had a month of uninterrupted writing time in about six years. My editors notes on The Book of Revenge – Nine Lives Trilogy 3 are due any day, and so this week has been all about settling in, finding my stride, and working on multiple small projects – some finishing off, some new – including short stories, creative non-fiction, an interview, blog posts and starting to world build for my next project. It’s been steadily productive. The evening chats, resources and focused time have led me in some unexpected directions and everything feels a little bit calmer, on track and richer.

We all know how up and down writing is as an occupation, and confidence in my writing has taken a bit of a knock. Mainly due to exhaustion (publishing three books in 12 months takes its toll, and the fourth book has been challenging as a result), but also fear (I’m out of contract after this next book), juggling too many things (eye roll!) and some harsh self criticism. And so part of my aim here is to take a step back, take stock and reset. Thankfully, that has begun.

You might think that a writing residency is a holiday, but that’s an inaccurate description. In some ways it is, because I don’t need to shop or cook and I’m not freelancing, but it’s concentrated time to think, plan, create. Let me give some examples of how a retreat can help…

1) As part of my residency, I had a consultation with Carol Major. I gave her some new work (short stories) which felt risky and scary, but it’s been a while since I’ve had chance to work on anything completely new due to contracts and deadlines. Our chat gave me a real boost, asserted that yes, I can still come up with fresh ideas and turn them into something worth reading, while igniting my hunger for more. This is a huge relief.

2) I’ve been trying to write about my difficult relationship with my mother, and its proving extremely difficult. Deciding to work outdoors in the sunshine, I stumbled upon an ‘aboriginal interpretive walk’ in regenerated land. The walk had informative plaques and gorgeous scenery, and immersing myself physically and mentally to its past, present and future, was really inspiring. It gave me a different perspective for my essay and fed into the tone, adding a new strand. It’s also sparked a short story idea, yet to be started, that I aim to write during my time here.

That’s the thing with writing; there are always humps and slumps. And I believe there should be – if we’re not challenged, how can we strive for better and improve? As I go into the second week, I’m feeling much more positive than I have done in months. Let’s see what the week brings…