Where: Cheltenham Art Office, Unit 1, Lansdown Industrial Estate

When: September 16, 2017

Aspiring authors can sharpen their skills at a new writers' retreat in Cheltenham.

Writers' HQ held its first affordable, one-day writers' retreat in the town in August and is holding another one in September.

Held at the Cheltenham Art Office, at Lansdown Industrial Estate, these monthly retreats are a chance for time-strapped writers to get some words on the page.

They are hosted by local writer Alex Clark and take place from 10am to 4pm.

Writers' HQ knows how hard it is to carve out time to write around family, work and other commitments. Its retreats and online courses are all about helping time and cash-poor writers to set and achieve their writing target, as well as bust through any blocks.

Originating in Brighton, when co-founder Sarah Lewis needed to escape from her family to find time to write, Writers' HQ retreats now run across the UK in seven locations including Birmingham, Brighton, Cambridge, Cheltenham, Hastings, Portsmouth and Worthing.

They provide writers with much-needed time and space to write, as well as a never-ending supply of tea and biscuits.

Alex Clark is a published short story writer who juggles work and writing with family. She also runs Cheltenham-based flash fiction night Flashers Club.

She'll be on hand to help retreaters shake off procrastination, talk about their targets and celebrate their end-of-day word counts.

The next event takes place on September 16.