Make Your Own Writing Retreat (or any retreat)

Writing is a challenge for me, and a joy, and darn hard work, and an accomplishment. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time writing the last few years, writing what I want to write about and getting back to the creative bent of my younger years before a husband, two sons, gainful employment, housework, social expectations, continued study, and, for a while, constant moving took over my life. Please do not think I am complaining. There is little I would change given the chance, and I thank God for every one of those blessings in my life.

After I retired, I thought about going back to concentrated writing but was afraid that ship had sailed and spent most of my time doing such things as resting (I was terribly tired.), enjoying summers with grandchildren, traveling with my husband, as well as cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and feeding cows from time to time–some things never change! Eventually, I found myself writing again, creatively, I mean–an often unpaid or poorly paid occupation with few visible rewards (unless you have the genius and work ethic to become a JK Rowlings) that only other writers understand–so I rarely try to explain it. Eventually, I went back to writing regularly with the support of my always supportive husband.

So, you would think a woman of a certain age who had raised her children, had retired from her career, had finally settled in one location, and had begun to find herself a bit blue now and then would have all the time in the world to write. But the rub is this: writing with an intention to produce something–even if that something is a blog post that few people read or is a manuscript that joins her other manuscripts in a deep drawer or file cabinet because she is not satisfied with it, or it has been turned down by 5 to 10 publishers–takes a tremendous amount of time, energy, and emotion to produce. And, by the way, unless a writer is a tried-and-true best-selling author, 5 to 10 rejections is absolutely nothing. In response to an interview, Jody Picoult said that she sent her first book manuscript to over one hundred literary agents and to over one hundred acquisitions editors and was rejected by them all. If you are not a writer, you might be aghast at that, but it is par for the course. The odds are not with you! Yet writers continue to write. It makes little to no sense, so why attempt to explain the inexplicable.

I could say much more on this subject, but I will stop because my aim here is to talk about the writing retreat I (with the ever-ready help of my husband) made for myself. There are times even writers who are no longer keeping a strict (non-writing) work schedule, simply have to get away from the house to get some real writing done. Working at home is difficult because there are far too many distractions, even in a quiet house. I do almost all of my writing at home, but I do not pretend it is easy. A home, at least for me, has too many distractions. I wall myself off in my home office, but I can feel the dust falling on the living room furniture, remember the dishes in the sink, know I haven’t washed clothes in a week, think I am starving my husband (competent in feeding himself though he may be), and imagine newspapers, old socks, and books strewn throughout the house. My guilt is not conducive to putting three words together that make any sense.

At any rate a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to get a project done that I had been working on for a while–like a few years. It is an over 92,000-word novel I have revised numerous times, and an executive editor from an important publisher asked to see it. In the end, she did not take the manuscript, but explained why it was not for her and gave me some great suggestions (I thought) for improving it. She said she was sure I would eventually find a place for it. I am not banking on that, but I care enough about the manuscript that I wanted to work on it some more. So–let’s see, I started on draft 8 or 9 or something. I’ve lost count. I wanted to get this draft finished, and I couldn’t seem to get enough concentrated time without interruption or guilt imposing itself. So, I needed, I thought, to get away. Many writers go to writer’s retreats, some which are not expensive but require an invitation or financial need and others which I hear are wonderful but rather pricy. My husband and I usually take at least two longish trips a year (now that we have time), so we turned the fall vacation into my writing retreat. We took a vacation rental (Airbnb?) in the wilds of Oklahoma, only 6 hours or so from our home, took a bit of food and drink with us, and selected an area that my husband would enjoy exploring on his own. So, he left our rental every morning and came back in the late afternoon. Sometimes, I would go for a long walk with him when he came home. In the meantime, I had the place to myself. I stayed in my pajamas, sans make up, well-kept hair, etc., and wrote all day, either on the deck amid pines and hardwoods or inside the house before a window that provided a calming view. I didn’t worry about dust or unmade beds or phone solicitations. I wrote. In those three days (we took a day to drive there and one to get back, making five days gone), I got more done than a month or more at home. I didn’t complete the revision but had done so much, I was able to finish it in just over another week.

Now, for those of you who have projects that you want to complete–portable projects, that is, I would like to suggest a self-designed retreat. For writers, I think an occasional retreat is a must. A change of pace and space revives the soul and makes it impossible for you to attend to all those constantly nagging errands and tasks (big and small) that being around the house demands. If you are not there, you cannot do them.

Granted, the place we chose for my retreat cost a bit of money, but we used it for the vacation we generally take anyway. So, I am convinced that a nice retreat can be had for little money if need be. Use some of your creativity to come up with ideas. Isn’t that our stock and trade? After all, for writers all that is really required is a room with a table or desk, chairs, and a bed, wifi, your own laptop, paper, pens, maybe a kitchen, and definitely a bathroom. Oh, and pajamas. Invest in a few pairs of pajamas as they will be your wardrobe for most of the retreat. Whether you write, paint, sketch, illustrate, knit, or photograph, try a period of extended time to do only that. Some ideas if you do not want to spend a lot of money:

• Many state parks have inexpensive cabins with all the necessities.
• House sit. Keep the house occupied and feed the dog.
• Use those points you’ve been saving to purchase a hotel room for two or three nights.
• Trade homes for a few days with a friend.
• Stay in a Yurt, especially if your project doesn’t require the Internet.
• Use your vacation time and money.
• Think, think, think, and figure it out. A retreat, used well, can be the most productive time of your life.