You know those writing conventions, sometimes referred to as a “writer’s retreat”, that cost a lot and you spend a lot of energy to win over an agent’s or an editor’s time? Well, when I think of a true writing retreat, I imagine a quiet cabin in the woods or a lovely country bed and breakfast. I have been thinking of going on a writing retreat for a while now for a couple of days where I can just write away.
There are some interesting options – the wilderness option sounds so inviting and there is also this quaint little village called Niagara on the Lake, about two hours away that would be the perfect combination of nature and quiet civilization so I could still do the coffee break thing.
My dream writing getaway would be to travel to New Zealand or Ireland, stay somewhere on or close to the countryside, and write for a good month to finish off a good part of a novel.It will probably be next year. Lord of the Rings and King Arthur were both filmed in New Zealand. It does have a surreal, fantastial setting that would be great to write something epic in.
I think every writer, especially one that lives a busy life, should plan a literary vacation of sorts – be it a few days or week – where their only care in the world is…how many words can I get done today? 🙂
So, what about you? Do you have a dream writing retreat you want to do? Do you plan to go on one soon? Have you had an amazing writing retreat in the past?
Photo by Roberto Nickson from Pexels
Musings Of A Wildflower 
My apologies! I just noticed that I had accidentally published this post four times! I deleted the extra posts, but I hope you all did not receive four emails from me. Eek!
That’s much better than sending out an unedited post (which I’ve been known to do in the past) 🙂
Ooh, writing retreat.
The thought alone makes me swoon. Right now, with my little ones, I can only dream of taking an afternoon off to go sit at the beach with my laptop and just write a little.
I do dream about having a whole weekend to myself in the future, in some little seaside cottage. I’d open all the windows to let the ocean air in and sit in a comfortable chair in the sunlight or rock on a porch swing with my laptop—the surf and the seagulls my only music.
One day I will get there.
That sounds like it would be a lovely spot to write. You will get there. 🙂
P.S. I did the premature, unedited post recently too and I was scrambling to fix it before too many people saw it. lol.
That ‘save draft’ button is way too close to the ‘publish’ button!
What makes a vacation “Literary”? Wouldn’t any getaway that lets you recharge be literary if that is the reason for your recharging?
It certainly could be. 😉
I love working in my home office, so I’ve never felt the need for a retreat. However, my wife and I did take a 3.5 week driving trip to scout out locations for scenes in my books. We live in the Pacific Northwest. My books are set in the Seattle area and the Boise, ID area. The characters take several RV vacations to National Parks. We drove from Seattle to the tri-cities in SE Washington and did some birding. From there we went to Boise, Craters of the Moon Monument, Jackson Hole and the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Thermopolis, MT (dinosaur digs), Butte, MT (mine exploration), Glacier National Park, and then home. I took over a thousand photographs. Each evening I would write while my wife journaled about our trip. I doubt this counts as a retreat, but it gave me a lot of material and local color for my books. Next year we’ll do it again in a different part of the country.
Richard Alan
That must have been a great trip! I can see how experiencing the new sights and settings could benefit your writing. Sounds very relaxing and fun.
My dream writing retreat would be a hotel with a balcony and a view of the sea and a beach 🙂
The trouble is I’d probably spend far too much time looking out to sea and daydreaming lol
xx
lol I know what you mean with the day dreaming. Sounds like a lovely setting to write in though.
i love your blog! congrats on the e-book.
if i could go retreat it’d be to a cabin in the spring or fall where i could leave the windows open and sit on a porch with wine and read hemingway and diaz and moore and thomas and all my favorites and write on old paper and count leaves when they fall from trees. it would be nice to sleep in an old bed and wake up to burned down candles and use old skillets and forget about blogs and facebook and computers for a while.
aw, now i’m sad i live in one of the biggest cities in the US. Ha. Anyway, great writing. can’t wait to read more of your stuff!
Aww haha so you are a country loving girl living in the city like me. You painted such an inviting picture with what you described as your ideal writing retreat.
I am happy you like the blog. 🙂
except I’m a guy….haha
Well, I just…I suck. Sorry, I have not yet been on your blog but I should not have assumed either way. 😦 Mortified!
don’t worry about it. no big deal 🙂 happens to everyone now or again!
🙂
I’ve gone to a cabin in the woods in southern Oregon the past few years with several other women writers. I live for that week away! We write in our spacious rooms all day, then meet at night to chat, snack and read something we have been working on. There’s plenty of scenery for inspiration.
Wow! That is such a good idea! I might try doing that one time.
I hope you can! The mix of quiet and community is outstanding, and the chance to write as many hours as you can per day is invigorating. I wake up at sunrise there and write through until dinner. Alas, I won’t be able to go this year because I have a newborn. Hopefully I’ll go back in 2013, though!
That would be a dream come true. The idea of scribbling in a notebook (albeit I’m more of a typer) whilst sitting in a European cafe (other than UK because I’m already here!), sitting by a cabin near a lake, or staring out to a blizzard high up in the Alps has always motivated me. I think it’d be equally as beneficial as a professional writers course, in the sense that I’ll get more inspiration, experiences and observations that can only enrich my writing to a whole new level. Interesting thought and nice post and blog!
Someday, someday…hopefully whilst I’m still around!
~ JLT
I am sure it will happen for you someday! 🙂 I agree that planning such a writing retreat would be very beneficial – maybe even more so than a writing course. Money well spent, I would say.