Write Your Life Stories: Writing Retreat in Italy (Tuscany)
Learn the secrets of writing your life’s stories in Tuscany: brilliant teaching and exquisite Italy in one fantastic week.
You stay in a beautiful historic watermill, set beside a river in a gentle valley in a National Park, with stylish air-conditioned bedrooms and public rooms in elegant buildings around the sunlit courtyard. You’ll take leisurely breakfasts and mouth-watering evening meals in our courtyard dining room (and also dine out in nearby restaurants to sample traditional dishes and local wines).The mill’s gardens, vine verandah, rose pergola and millstream walks are all yours to enjoy.
Saturday 5 July to Saturday 12 July 2025
Enquiries & booking
Saturday 5 July to Saturday 12 July 2025.
To enquire about availability and/or to reserve your place, email info@watermill.net or call +39 327 379 9178.
*Book before 1 January 2025 and receive £75 discount
The Retreat
Do you dream of writing your stories one day? Would you love to learn the secret formula to help you write about your life in a compelling way others will love to read? Whether you want to write a full-length memoir, individual stories, blogs or a ‘learnoir’ that will dig into your own experiences to inspire others, this one-week writing retreat could be just what you need to kick-start your writing dream.
Whether your goal is get your book published or simply to write down your stories as a legacy for your grandchildren, Jo Parfitt’s tried and tested programme will unlock your creativity and start you on your writing journey.
With daily classes designed to teach you Jo’s ingenious SPICE method, thanks to her watchful eye and gentle guidance you’ll learn to write about people, places, emotions and experiences that will let your stories leap off the page. This programme will guide you to delve into your memories, turning them into scenes and stories others will love.
Classes take place in the comfortable sitting room, the exquisite oil mill room or on the delightful vine verandah of an historic watermill, set beside a river in a gentle Tuscan valley. Breakfasts are leisurely and copious, lunches and dinners are three courses with wine and there’s a well-stocked kitchen you can help yourself from whenever you feel peckish.
Students learn an aspect of memoir writing every day, write and share in class for live feedback and then, after doing some afternoon homework, bring their polished pieces to what many consider to be the highlight of the course – feedback before aperitivi. With so many opportunities to learn, write and share, students grow in skill and confidence, find their writing voice and gain clarity on their writing goals.
Rooms are comfortable and air-conditioned and all have ensuite bathrooms. Set in beautiful gardens beside a bamboo forest and mill-stream, you are free to wander and soak in the tranquil beauty of this peaceful hamlet just outside the market town of Fivizzano.
This is a safe haven in which to be inspired, be indulged, escape your normal life and immerse yourself in an experience like no other along with a small group of others, just like you.
All students receive a copy of Jo Parfitt’s Write Your Life Stories workbook and can have up to 2000 words of their writing assessed by Jo after the course.
Everything is included from pick up from and your return to Pisa airport.
Enquiries & booking
Saturday 5 July to Saturday 12 July 2025.
To enquire about availability and/or to reserve your place, email info@watermill.net or call +39 327 379 9178.
*Book before 1 January 2025 and receive £75 discount
The Teacher
Jo Parfitt has been a returning tutor to the Watermill since 2012. Since then, over 120 students have taken this course, many of whom have gone on to write books of their own. She is the author of 32 books, including a memoir, a novel, a volume of poetry, a cookbook and several works on life overseas. She is publisher at hybrid publisher, Summertime Publishing, and has been mentoring new writers and teaching for over 25 years. To date she has helped over 300 writers get their books in print. In addition she’s worked as a journalist and magazine editor. Past students praise her for her keen eye and the compassion with which she gives feedback and encouragement to all.
Jo’s motto is ‘sharing what I know to help others to grow’ and this remains her driving force in all she does.
Enquiries & booking
Saturday 5 July to Saturday 12 July 2025.
To enquire about availability and/or to reserve your place, email info@watermill.net or call +39 327 379 9178.
*Book before 1 January 2025 and receive £75 discount
The Surroundings
The Watermill at Posara is set just over an hour from the Tuscan city of Pisa. Owned by the Breckon family for several decades, the original outbuildings, the watermill, the chestnut milling room, the villa, courtyard, gardens and environs have all been lovingly restored with an eye to detail and beauty while remaining sustainable.
Guests will discover beautiful spots to sit, write, relax or stroll on their doorstep. Sit on a terrace and listen to the rush of the water as it gushes through the mill, stretch out on a lounger beside the chuckling stream or take a dip in the pool. It’s quiet, it’s secluded and yet your mind will buzz with inspiration in this perfect away-from-it-all location many return to year after year.
Enquiries & booking
Saturday 5 July to Saturday 12 July 2025.
To enquire about availability and/or to reserve your place, email info@watermill.net or call +39 327 379 9178.
*Book before 1 January 2025 and receive £75 discount
Testimonials
See what writers say about working with me.
“I can’t thank you enough for encouraging me to join you for this eye & heart-opening week.”
Dave
“Jo’s generously encouraging teaching-style with her clear gaze, expert ear and passion for storytelling is unforgettable – she has rekindled my pleasure in writing and ensured it is now part of my everyday: what a gift!”
Rebecca
“Jo is an excellent teacher; precise, relaxed and humorous who enabled everyone on the course to find their unique voice and speak from the heart.”
Isabella
“One of the best things about your course was how it unlocked so many thoughts in such a brief period.”
Lesley
“I am sure I learned a lot and found the different stories, and the ways they were told by the others, fascinating.”
Jennifer
“This last week has been an epiphany for me. I will treasure all the feedback and keep on going. Your enabling will set me on the next steps. I will certainly do my 2, 000 words. You have given me a priceless gift. Enough of the flattery, but you do deserve it.”
Jeannine
“Jo, you were inspiring, caring, thoughtful and hardworking. All of those traits had a definite effect on our writing. You hae steered us in a direction of producing stronger, more interesting stories.”
Susan
“Jo, thank you for your experience, wisdom and insight to the genre of memoir writing – and for keeping us all on task!”
Bobbie
“Thank you once again, Jo, for all your wonderful support/ encouragement/ kindness during our week together. I already miss being there with everyone, especially Lois and Bill, and will be in touch to tell them just how much I loved their hospitality, not to mention immersing myself in the magical surroundings of the Watermill at Posara. This has truly been a life-altering holiday, in part because of you, and my gratitude is immense.”
Sarah
“Thanks again for such a wonderful week. I learned so much about technique in particular, and now have a new hobby of trying to identify good and less good examples.”
