Writing Holiday Testimonials

Writing holiday: Torill H.Lauritzen (left, here with co-student Enid Berntsen and tutor Tracy Culleton) participated on the writing holiday with Tracy Culleton in May 2009. Read what she says about the course:

Why did you want to participate in this writing course?
I participated in this writing course because I wanted to improve my writing skills under nice, warm and relaxing circumstances.
Have you participated in any writing course before?
Yes, twice, in Crete and in Oslo.
What was the difference between this course and the course or courses you have done before?
The main difference is that the purpose of the course differs lot from teacher to teacher. Some teachers only give lessons, other goes more deeply and coaches you due to which challenges you are faced by in your own writing.
What did you like about this course?
What I liked most about this course was that this was a real writing course with a teacher who is an experienced and skillful writer who focused on developing the participants talents.
Was there anything you didn´t like or that could have been better?
No, there was not anything I didn`t like about this course. I`m very satisfied and got both knowledge and inspiration.
The teacher speaks English, while your mother tongue is Norwegian - was that a problem?
No, it was not a problem. She said that she was not a language teacher, so she worked with the methods of writing, such as developing characters, plots, pacing, point of views etc. - and not language as such.
How would you describe Tracy Culleton as a teacher?
Tracy Culleton is a very good teacher. She is very professional and has a huge knowledge in the art of writing. She taught us a lot and was very inspiring and structured in her lessons, all in an easy and humorous tone. She took a serious interest in us as writers to be, and gave us individual advice.
You also had private coaching with Tracy, how did that go?
That went very well. She really got me going and gave me motivation and inspiration. She made me think different and released my thinking pattern.
The writing holiday took place at Kairos Garden. What do you think about your stay here?
I like the stay at Kairos Garden very well. The facilities was very nice with big, clean rooms, bathrooms, kitchen and dining room. We had our breakfasts and dinners at the taverna in Kairos Garden, and the food and service were very delicious and creditable. The hospitality of Tove and her Greek husband Christos and two sons are warm and heartily. You really feelwelcome. At the same time it is nice and quiet so that you can relax, read and write. It`s only 5 minutes with the bus til the nicest beaches in Greece. I will come back, I assure you!

Dates and program for the next writing holiday at Kairos Garden