We did this last year. I booked a hotel in the Poconos, half-way between her house and mine, for one night via Groupon. The hotel was the bomb. First, it was humongous. It had all these little nooks and lobbies with leather club chairs and views of the mountains. Although, some dude had decided to park himself near us and talk loudly about politics -- and let's just say we weren't on the same side. That stressed me out. Funny, how simple it all seemed a year ago. But, I digress. There were two restaurants, a bar and grill, and a buffet. So we were fed. I think they even served complimentary coffee in the lobby. No kids. No spouses. No responsibilities. Just us and our words.
This year, we're going for two nights. Oh, the luxury! And my plan is to plug away as much as I humanly can on the second book in my YA mystery series. Without distractions, I have no excuse not to hack away a chunk of this draft.
I'm incredibly excited. It's a relief to work. I feel more like myself when I'm writing. My identity is so wrapped up in my kids that I forgot who I am most days.
Writing retreats need not be fancy, formal things. Grab one writing buddy. Find a hotel on Groupon and get the hell out of Dodge. It's a worthwhile investment in your sanity and craft.
I so want to go on a writing retreat! For me, I think the key would be to go with another writer friend b/c I'm alone all day every day while my kid is in school and, in theory, that's dedicated work time. Except it's not because the dogs have to be walked, groceries bought, house cleaned, blah, blah, blah. I know that a lot of people work outside the home and have all of those responsibilities AND still find time to write -- which I've also done before -- but it's different when part of the writer job description also includes "everything else that could possibly need to be done by the person not stuck in an office all day." Going with a writer friend who's just as intent on getting words in as I am would mean that a) I'd have no excuse not to fall into the Netflix trap and b) I'd have someone to keep me accountable and on task. It sounds wonderful and I hope you have a fabulous -- and productive -- weekend!
ReplyDeleteThanks, B! I'll do a post after the fact with photos. It's just Katie and I lounging in yoga pants with our laptops, but it's awesome.
DeleteOh, a writing retreat sounds wonderful! Maybe we need to plan an ATB meet-up. We could go visit Brenda across the pond ;) I hope you have a wonderful weekend and get lots and lots of writing done!
ReplyDeleteI'm so jealous! A writers workshop - enjoy every minute and I like Carrie's idea of a ATB meet-up! Would that not be interesting? We could blog about it!
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