The Creativity Project: Retreats
Using my time alone to pump out words.
I would love to do a sleep away writer’s retreat one day, but for now, any retreat I do is at home. I love the idea of having a dedicated week or weekend to do nothing but focus on my books and writing.
This is my second time doing a in-home writing retreat. The first time was over a weekend where everyone in my house was gone. It went well, a few hiccups, but I enjoyed the experience.
This week, I’m doing it again. My husband’s on a work trip. That doesn’t mean that I’m home alone, but it does mean that I don’t have any distractions when I’m downstairs. Except for the dog. She’s the only distraction down here with me.
This retreat is a little different than the last one. For starters, it’s longer so I have some bigger goals. Second, I wasn’t actually planning on doing a retreat until the day before my hubby left.
I blame this idea on my friend.
So I’m not 100% ready for a weeklong writing retreat. No cold brew coffee made, no real plan. I’m mostly flying by the seat of my pants. My first day was just a regular writing day and I’m calling it my “travel day.”
What do I need to have a successful retreat?
- Food and drinks. Obviously, I need my morning cup of coffee before I’m functional, but a multitude of snacks (both healthy and not) and drinks are a must. I have a bunch of sparkling waters and bubble teas, but I didn’t buy myself snacks before I started.
- All of my writing materials at hand. I did a bit of a clean up on day one just so I could focus. I reloaded my container of colored pens so I don’t have to get up and interrupt my flow just to get another pen.
- Goals. What is the point of my retreat? I always like to have a word count goal in mind before I start the retreat. This time, it’s a bit different. I’m trying to get a lot of plotting done because I’m redoing a couple of the books in my series.
- A good book. Something to unwind at the end of the day of hard writing.
- A good place to write. I love my desk for all of the reasons it’s not always the best place to write. I have a reading chair on the other side of the room that is better when I’m handwriting my drafts because I can’t fall down the YouTube rabbit hole.
Other than those things, everything else is just extra. Coffee shop runs aren’t necessary, but are nice when they happen. Going for a walk is just as easily accomplished on my treadmill as it is outside (and with how hot it is, actually more comfortable).
What do you need when you burrow into a writing retreat? Let me know!
