Retreat! Retreat! A writing retreat: The highlights

One of my most favorite writerly things to do is to go on writing retreats. It's a luxury, no doubt, but one I need. I am the mother of three kids. Even when they're at school, I find it hard to just sit and write. There's laundry and vacuuming and errands and phone calls--all vying for my attention while I'm trying to compose. So once a year I disappear for a weekend and write. I've done this for four years now, but the last two years have been spent at the Highlights Foundation outside Honesdale, PA.

If you are a writer and you live within driving (or even flying) distance of Honesdale, PA, go to Highlights for an Unworkshop. For a $149 a night, you get accommodations and farm-to-table food. I repeat farm.to.table.food. You will eat like a queen and the food is prepared by chefs and not, you know, yourself.

This year I attended an Unworkshop with my two buds--Katie and ATB's own Mary. Mary and I were revising, Katie was drafting. And we were hella productive. I mean we left brain dead, or, at least, I did. When you work ten hours a day staring at blue light from your computer, trying make words go better, you eventually succumb to its effects. Let's just say that on Monday, I did nothing.

Anyway, don't just take my word for it. Let's see our awesome weekend in pictures!

The sign to my uber cute farmhouse room. All rooms have their own ensuite.

The farmhouse living room where we worked. You can see my laptop and blanket on the left.

A writing nook

The Farmhouse has a lot of cute antiques. Mary found a sword which was totally on brand.

Best tuna salad ever! I tried to recreate it at home but it didn't taste the same.

Cream of broccoli soup. This ain't no Campbells. And homemade sourdough from a 40-year-old starter.

Dinner! Those are garlic mashed potatoes. Salad! And roast chicken from a local farm.

Pavlova! I've never had this before but it's insanely good.

Blueberry pancakes and eggs and Black & Brass coffee and heaven.

This is a happy nourished author

It was Mary's birthday while we were there. She was adorably low-key about it.

 And there you have it. If have the opportunity to attend a Highlights Unworkshop, you should go. You'll leave productive and chubby. Both good things. I also left with a recipe for tuna salad and pavlova.

Retreat repeat

Hey guys! What a day, huh? Who's following the news about the Golden State Killer?! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you need to Google and then read Michelle McNamara's book, I'll Be Gone In The Dark, which is a chilling account of a serial killer and serial rapist who terrorized people in California in the 70s and 80s. McNamara spent her adult life researching this crime and her book was finished (posthumously) with the help of her husband, Patton Oswalt, and other researchers. Check it out.

And, you're welcome.

In blogger news, I am going to my third annual writers retreat this weekend. Woot! You can read about last year's rendezvous here. In the previous two years, I went with my friend Katie to a hotel in the Poconos, but this year Katie is too important and too busy for the likes of me. I kid on the snark, but seriously, the girl is too damn busy doing super awesome author things and she couldn't go. But, not to fret, Mary of ATB fame is coming with. And I couldn't be happier.

We're going to the Highlights Foundation and doing, what they coin, an unworkshop. For $130 a night, you get a room all to yourself and meals and snacks, and you just write. Someone else worries about feeding me and all I got to do is put words down in Scrivener?! Sold!

I can't stress this enough--whether you're a writer, artist, scrapbooker, whatever--if you're a mom (especially) you need a retreat of some kind. Forty-eights hours to simply draft. No interruptions, no housework, no errand-running, no yardwork. Just a laptop and the good company of a good friend (that's you, Mary). It's a gift I give myself and I intend to do it every year.

Lucky for me, Highlights is only a 45-minute drive. Where I live, nothing is that damn close. I'm so excited to head out Friday, and I'll report back after the weekend.

Wish me a high word count.

Two-peat retreat

On Friday, this mamacita is headed to her second annual writers retreat. Ta-da! Actually, it's just me and my girl, Katie. But we're making it a yearly thing.

 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.