Tag: solo writer’s retreat

• February 5, 2017

  My Solo Writing Retreat to Vashon Island

  

  It was a dark winter’s night when I drove onto the ferry from Point Defiance to Tahlequah. I was off to nearby Vashon Island for a day-and-a-half solo writing retreat to start my novel. On the short trip from Tacoma to Vashon, I tried not to think too much about the enormous task I was about to undertake and instead focus on the surreal sight of the ferry dock disappearing into the mist.

  It may only be a fifteen-minute ferry ride away, but Vashon feels far away and remote. In contrast to the cities surrounding it, it is home to only a few thousand people, spread out over a densely wooded area about the size of Manhattan. After I told her about my goal of finally finishing a novel over the next three years, my amazing spouse bought me two nights at an Airbnb for my birthday. So, I packed up my laptop, a few books on writing, and a bag of snacks and hoped inspiration would follow.

  I have often found that I need to leave behind familiar spaces to start something new. Working at home, it’s easy to get distracted by thoughts of laundry that needs washing or what to make for dinner or a thousand other domestic considerations. Even though I was only a few miles away from my house, the process of packing up, of traveling, of arriving on an isolated island, sparked my subconscious to get to work.

  I woke at daybreak (not a spectacular feat at these northern latitudes), made a cup of tea and setup my laptop. My retreat was a small Frank Lloyd Wright-style cabin with wood-paneled walls and a clean, modern aesthetic. A desk was built into a wall of windows overlooking Puget Sound to the north. Nearby, I discovered a turntable and a collection of LPs. I put on a Crosby, Stills and Nash album, gently lowered the needle onto the record to set it spinning and opened a new Word document.

  

  I’m not sure if it was the view, the curl of steam coming off my tea, the crackle of vinyl or the fact that my brain had been secretly preparing for this trip for three weeks, but for some reason, the words started flowing. I wrote twenty pages that day — my entire first chapter — which is far more productive than I’ve been in months. To be fair, I didn’t dream up the premise then and there. This is my fourth attempt (or is it the sixth?) at a novel idea I’ve been playing with for years. But this time, my fingers moved at the speed of my ideas and the ideas themselves were significantly better. I left on the twelve o’clock ferry the next day with a good start on my manuscript, a few pages of character notes, and a severely depleted snack bag.

  Retreats are amazing like that. They give you uninterrupted time to focus and the time leading up to your departure gets the gears turning in advance so that you can be creative right out of the gate. But the retreat is not what’s important. What’s important is what happens after the retreat. One day of productivity and inspired writing does not a novel make. You have to sustain it the next day, the next week, and for months on end. The retreat is the beginning, but once you arrive back home and realize that the laundry still needs to be done, the challenge is keeping the momentum and not succumbing to the inertia of the everyday.

  I’ve never managed to keep up that momentum after a solo retreat. It has always evaporated. But this year will be different. Because this year, I have a deadline. My retreat was only one day, but I have 328 more days until I need to have a completed first draft. The retreat is over, but the work is just starting.

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  Jonny Eberle is a writer in Tacoma, WA working on his first novel. You can get first dibs on excerpts from his novel-in-progress by subscribing to his monthly email newsletter. You can also follow him on Twitter. Thanks for reading!
• June 30, 2014

  Solo Writer’s Retreat

  Some writers spend hundreds of dollars for a few days of seclusion in the wilderness. Far from Internet connections and cellphone reception, writers at retreats try to rekindle the spark of inspiration. Authors have always found isolation to be rejuvenating and beneficial to their work. Some checked into hotels in strange cities; others venture out to cabins in the woods. There is something about a writing retreat that has prompted generations of writers to put their lives on hold for a days or weeks in search of fresh creativity.

  I, too, am in need of a retreat. I need a day to escape my daily routine and focus on my work. Lacking the funds to attend a planned retreat, I decided to hold my own.

  For several hours yesterday afternoon, I shut myself in my apartment and focused on the work (or at least, made a very good effort to try).

  The retreat went something like this:

  • Opening Ceremony: The Ritual Unplugging of the Wireless Router
  • Part I. Inspiration
    I started off by reading a little bit about the craft of writing, from people who know the subject. I kicked it off by reading a chapter from Anne Lamott’s book, Bird by Bird.I then did a warm-up exercise from Developing Story Ideas by Michael Rabinger. I set a half hour timer and tried to retell a fairy tale in a new way. I added the twist that I was only allowed to use my typewriter (no deleting). After a few awkward keystrokes, I actually found the words pouring out of me until, when the timer went off, I had two pages of a story about Little Red Riding Hood being a drug mule for a cartel.
  • Part II. Rewrites
    I got into the meat of the retreat with merciless revisions on a short story I’ve been working on, “The Cannibals of Kitsap.”
  • Part III. Goals
    I wanted my writing day to balance creativity with practicality, so I laid out a grid and decided which projects to focus on for the next few months and which to put on the back burner. I set myself specific milestones and deadlines, which will come in handy, since I’m prone to procrastination.
  • Part IV. Plotting
    I saved the most intensive creative work for last (which may or may not have been a good idea, since I was starting to get tired at this point). I tried to flesh out a working plot for two major projects I want to kick off for the second half of 2014, a novel tentatively titled “Arizona Burning” and another stage play set during the race riots of 1943 Los Angeles (with the thrilling title “Untitled Play”).
  • Conclusion. Recognition of Writerly Awesomeness and Ritual Plugging In of the Wireless Router.
    Finally, in the late evening, I took a step back to evaluate what I’d accomplished. I had two plot outlines, notes to improve a short story, a calendar of writing goals to carry me through October/November, and even a new story with some potential. Not too bad. I gave myself a pat on the back and rewarded myself with an hour of zoning out on Netflix before bed.

  For my first retreat, I think it went well. I can see why a lot of my peers seek out this experience on a regular basis. I’ll definitely be doing it again. But next time, maybe I’ll seek out a partner to keep me accountable. There were some moments (particularly when I was supposed to be plotting) when my concentration wavered. Next time, I will also need to make two pots of tea. Overall, I’d say it was a success.

  Have you ever been to a retreat? Have you ever organized your own? Let me know what worked and what didn’t in the comments.

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  Jonny Eberle is a writer in Tacoma, WA. He writes many things, including very entertaining tweets. Thanks for reading!