Although hopefully I manage to get the words right on this website, I know that sometimes the design could do with a bit more pep. One of the things I love about browsing blogs is how many crafters, artists, and gardeners have taken to it all with such verve. I often step away from the screen inspired and wanting to do this, or that, or at least get rid of all THAT in my house, so I can get a bit more of THIS…

And it’s also true that this is a strange time for me. I have just one more week as Canterbury Laureate. The Wise Words project will finish this weekend with the launch of possibly the most beautiful anthology in the world (watch this space) and my time as the RLF Fellow at the London School of Economics has come to an end (a happy year over the initial contract). For the first time for some years, most of my days can be my own.

So what will I do?

WRITE!

I have been writing my next novel in my head for some months now and it’s dying to get out, and I am still very much working on my stories from the garden project.

But I have also trained this year as a Relational Dynamics coach (with the lovely support of NAWE and Arvon), and so this website will slowly take a different direction over the next few months. My coaching practice will focus on working with people – businesspeople, lawyers, even academics – who do not consider themselves creative, or who have gradually lost the enthusiasm for writing, painting, art, that they once had, to help them remember just how much fun it is to play on the page and in doing so, help their professional writing. It makes me so sad when people complain how hard writing is – it really doesn’t need to be.*

So, to help me change this website’s track, I’ve enrolled on a blogging course with Holly Becker at Decor8. I know this is a little odd because I’m teaching online writing at Arvon soon myself, but heck, I hope I never stop learning. I want to do collage photographs, beautiful atmospheric illustrations, graphic design and banners and …. oh all these things Holly does with ease on her website.

And I also hope I NEVER get too proud to ask for directions…

** If you, or someone you know, think you can benefit from this type of coaching, do get in touch with me at sarahsalway @ gmail.com.