We're just back from our latest writing retreat, to Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Sadly, there wasn't much sunshine, but we still had a great time. I've been on a few writing retreats in my time and here's wheat I think works and doesn't work. 1. Location, location, location Comfortable and spacious enough to house everyone, with sufficient space for writers. Something that doesn't involve a lot of travel (you want to write, not travel) and depending on your eating arrangements - either close to food outlets, or close to a shop. Hint: Always take a power board and extension lead. Powerpoints are never where you need them 2. Your tribe Finding the right people to bring on a writing retreat can be fraught with pitfalls. You have to have the same budgets, same expectations, be able to work independently or as part of the group. Before we go, our group agree a budget, general location and house rules eg Breakfast = fruit, yoghurt and sprinkle of muesli + tea/coffee, Lunch = cheese platter, Dinner = out. Hint: This is work. Staying with someone who isn't a writer only works if they understand you will be ignoring them to focus on your work. With the huge number of holiday apartments now available, we've found it as cheap to stay in an apartment as with someone you know. 3. Your Goals What are you going to achieve during the retreat? We found its good to verbalise that at the start and check in daily. This last retreat we had someone editing a NaNo draft (that was me), someone writing scenes their final scenes in Scrivener and eventually combining into the word draft for the first read through and someone converting hand written notes scribbled when looking after a toddler and turning them into 10000 words over 3 days. 4. It's not all writing.
This retreat we also had watercolour painting, crochet of a child's blanket, reading and outside time - moving our bodies. We stayed in a swim up room - highly recommend - but our usual walk/plot on the beach had to be cancelled due to the weather. I'm doing a run/walk streak (every day for over a year now) so I went out at sunrise (in the pouring rain every day except the last) to keep that going. I took a photo of the above sculpture knowing at some time, it will appear in a work in progress. And I photographed the sunrise on that last day to remember how beautiful it is when its not bucketing down. All in all, a great retreat. I've just finished my next 90 day plan - I'll have my NaNo draft complete, will have dabbled with the short story I wrote for a Christmas anthology that folded unexpectedly, and watched a writing technique video I got a while ago, but never got around to watching. Wish me luck.
Fiona Greene
22/5/2022 01:51:13 pm
Thank you. It was just recently. Bit of a change up. Agree, I cannot wait until the next time we get together. Comments are closed.
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Fiona Greene AuthorWhen you set out on a journey and night falls, that's when you will discover the stars." Archives
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