Today’s article is written by regular contributor Christi Craig.
Every once in a while, I read about a weekend retreat or a month-long writing residency, and I dream.
If only I had a month to squirrel away on just writing. If only I had money to pay for just two days to slip away and write.
Lament long enough to a good friend and fellow writer with a creative and determined spirit, and you discover that dreams are not impossible; they just need to be tweaked a bit to become reality.
My friend Victoria and I are both working on novels, and we both have young children at home. Getting away isn’t easy for either of us. So, when she sent me an email and suggested we plan our own weekend writing retreat—one that was low in cost and rich in hours—I said, Yes!
I can’t speak for Victoria, but I can share my experience in the plans and how I made it work for me and my novel.
Time.
In my life, weekends fill up way in advance, I’m talking six months to a year in advance. So, if I want to secure time away for writing, I have to X-out those days in red on the calendar—his, hers, theirs—as soon as possible. Make sure that everyone knows, come rain, shine, or baby’s got a cold, I will not be on the home premises for those few days.
Partnering with another writer for a weekend like this sealed my commitment to the date, as well. Neither of us were about to let the other peter out on the plans, especially because we were in the same boat when it came to finding time for intensive writing.
Space.
Location and lodgings both played important roles in our plan. Victoria and I live a hundred miles apart, so we needed a place located somewhere in between, one within short driving distance. We didn’t want to waste precious time racking up mileage. With accommodations, we considered renting separate rooms in a Bed and Breakfast, thinking that kind of environment might be more comfortable than a hotel. But, I knew I would need more room to spread out, pace the floors (most likely). And, I didn’t want to worry about odd looks from strangers at the breakfast table, after a night of wandering the halls and mumbling my way through story structure and plot. We opted, then, to search for a house or cottage to rent.
Googling “cottage for rent” brought up two websites right away, PerfectPlaces and FLIPKEY, both of which offer international rentals. We went with FLIPKEY, and, believe it or not, we found a beautiful, three-bedroom Victorian house, complete with kitchen furnishings and a lovely sitting room, in a quaint town oozing with history, art, and creativity. The cost of the entire house was the same price we would have paid for a room at a Bed & Breakfast.
Strategy.
When I am gifted a chunk of time, free from all responsibility, I dilly-dally. I drink too much coffee. I catch up on emails. I check Facebook, drink more coffee, check Facebook again. I take a nap. For this weekend to be a success, I needed a plan.
I hoped to gain some strong footing with the novel-in-progress, but the temptation to bring that short story I’d been fiddling with or that really great book I’d been itching to crack open–for a break here and there, you know–was strong. Just like Facebook, though, small writing projects and interesting reads distract me from bigger endeavors. Since this weekend was about tackling the novel, I left everything else behind. Everything.
Then, I set some reasonable, SMART goals. I knew I wouldn’t bomb through a second draft rewrite in two days, but I figured I could set my story structure in solid order, so that my rewrite wouldn’t be as daunting. Friday night, I typed an outline of my entire first draft. Saturday, I wrote the outline headings on half-sheets of paper and shuffled those papers around the sitting room floor like a giant sliding box puzzle. By Sunday, I had a strong story line and a renewed hope that this novel would see The End.
Revelry.
Thanks to cold and rainy weather that weekend, it was easy to sequester myself inside with my story for two days. But after spending much of Saturday hunched over paper and drowning in my own heavy sighs, I needed respite. Victoria (the great writing friend that she is) could see that. She poured the wine, we stepped away from our work, and we talked all things writing and life.
Don’t underestimate the power of downtime. During those discussions, we not only celebrated all our hard work, but we shared strategies, asked each other questions, reasoned out parts of our novels. We proved that walking away from the work can be just as productive as being immersed in it.
And, immersing ourselves in the work, and only the work—over an entire weekend—wasn’t as impossible as it had seemed.
If you could plan your perfect writing retreat, where would you start and how would you strategize?
I love this post! I have not done this particular type of retreat, but I did a girl’s weekend with some friends last summer where we rented a cottage, cooked our own food, etc. It was a great getaway for our friend who had an infant because we had space enough for him and didn’t have to worry he’d cause a noise violation say at a hotel (and he was perfect so it didn’t matter!) Anyway, that ended up being a really cool long weekend that could easily work for a few writers. We had a whole 4 bedroom house and split among us was not very much money. That plus a plan, I could really get some things done. I may need to consider my own retreat!
Stephanie,
What a cool experience for you and your friends! I hope you do this again, as a writing retreat or even as an artist’s date–time to get away and let your mind relax so your creative juices can flow.
Christi, I really like what you said about strategizing. I am fortunate to be part of a yearly writing retreat at the house of a friend…everyone comes with a specific goal for their work. In “real” life though I too easily don’t work on the WIP (literary novel) because it’s easier and feels more doable to tinker with a story or, God knows, get lost on social media! Thanks for the nudge back to considering implementing more writing strategy in my daily (aka crazy) life.
Helen,
That’s my next goal, to make this kind of weekend a yearly retreat. And, I hear you on how difficult it is to translate that effective use of writing time at home. Your comment serves as a great reminder that I don’t have to wait for a rare weekend away to plan and execute some SMART goals. Thanks!
Thanks for some great ideas. There’s only my husband and me at home, so plenty of peace and space to work, but I still get distracted too easily. I’ve longed for a writing break but can’t afford the commercial ones. This sounds like a great solution.
As an extension, if money is REALLY tight, why don’t two writers offer each other a break in their home? If I let you have my spare room, promise you no interruptions, and let you share our meals for a few days, you could do the same for me another time.
Just got to find someone to share with now.
Ann,
I love this idea, even more cost effective! I have a couple of friends with enticing guest rooms–a temporary writer’s studio 🙂
I have an idea!
Christi, this is a great post. You and Victoria have found a brilliant way to support each other as writers. I was invited to a weekend writing retreat several years back (as a guest, which was a real treat). It was wonderful and I long to do it again. This may be just the thing.
Susan,
There are so many great places for retreats in our area (and yours). I’d love to make this a yearly event.
I know people who have done just that, and it can really work well, especially if only one person knows where you actually are. My aunt finished her dissertation in the spare bedroom of a friend a block away. Only her husband knew she was not at the NY Public Library (an hour away) those three days a week.
Thanks for posting this. Exactly! I attend a retreat a year and my favorite feature is the ability to be alone in a nice environment and then come together later, over meals. I also like a hot tub feature. I make time – it’s my professional development time. Some universities require their staff to attend one professional development meeting a year. I have friends who meet at a B & B in the middle of Nebraska. I also attend one in Idaho Springs, CO on the fly. I liked how you outlined your novel – and that you had a smart plan. I do the same and sometimes, for fun, dip into the deliciousness that is another project. 🙂
Elisabeth,
I love that you call label these retreats as professional development, because that’s exactly what it is! And, calling it so gives such time away the importance it deserves. Thanks for your comment!
PS. The hot tub does sound nice, too.
Since I live alone, I have that kind of writing experience most of the time. What I need is the writing partner who needs, like I do, someone to bounce ideas off. It would be wonderful to have someone who writes, not necessarily what I do, but who would like to throw ideas around, ‘what if,’ ‘then what,’ ‘what if we make them do this?’ Those kind ideas would be great to have someone to work with.
Barbara,
I definitely could not have done quite as much work without my fellow writer friend there. After I got all my half-sheets in a decent order, set the story on a much better path, she sat down and let me tell her how the whole novel unfolded, beginning to end.
Great post! love the picture. I totally need this! Close to home but not too close! Hopefully this will get me motivated.
Michele,
Good luck! I hope you find the perfect place to slip away for hours of writing 🙂
From a busy mom’s perspective, this is such a great idea. With four young children, I can’t justify the cost or time it would take to attend most organized retreats, but I could certainly rent a cottage on the lake for a weekend. Looking forward to doing this when the twins are just a little older! Thanks, Christi 🙂
Suzannah,
A busy mom, you are! I hope your weekend away comes sooner than later!
Hi Christi. Your article is so inspirational. Best idea = PLANNING. Thank you. I sure need to do that or I will fritter away my time with coffee. Your advice is also timely as I am planning a writing retreat next week for five days at the house of a friend who is widowed, and is eighty going on sixty. She lives 2 hours drive away near our beautiful Lake Te Anau, New Zealand. Her house is perfect with a second bedroom and lounge tucked away at one end of the house – lots of floor room to spread the paper and privacy so that no-one thinks I’m a nutter if I talk to myself!! Best of all I can take walks beside a beautiful lake set against the backdrop of our majestic Fiordland mountains. Like Ann Marie Thomas there is only my husband and I at home but I get distracted and interrupted.
Valmai,
Five days–heaven! I really do love that idea of finding space in the home of a good friend. Sounds like you have a wonderful week ahead of you. Enjoy, and (as someone told me just before I went off on retreat) may the Muse be with you 🙂
Such great ideas! I would love to get a few writing friends (especially a few I have never met in person) and meet somewhere to write and get to know each other.
Nina, I love the thought of expanding on this idea. There are plenty of folks I know online, who live within a reasonable distance, whom it would be fun to meet IRL. Sort of an informal writing conference 🙂