Pebblepup's Writing Den

Everyone knows about writers conferences. They are gatherings of writers, publishers, and editors. They can help writers network and get their work published. They can also be a bit pricey. Writer retreats are different. A writer retreat is a specific time set aside for writing.

There are organized writer retreats, where you pay money, attend and meet with other writers to talk about your work and their work. It can be pricey. It doesn’t have to be.

A writer retreat could be as simple, and cheap, as writing in your back yard rather than your office space. I write in my living room for the most part. A writing retreat for me would be to take my laptop to a park, sit at a picnic table and write. Or perhaps my local library would work.

The point is that in your usual writing space, you often have distractions. A writer retreat eliminates those distractions. It could even be your usual writing space, but more often, it’s easier to eliminate distractions by going someplace else. I live near a University. I can go to the library there and use a study room to write. All I need to do is pack up my laptop, a lunch, my travel electric kettle to make tea. Then I can walk over to the campus, and the library.

I can make a plan to go at any time. I can also just take my laptop to my local library and work there, on a small table in the stacks. There are few distractions and I can work uninterrupted. I can also take my laptop outside on my patio and write there. I could do that easily enough. The idea is to change things up. Often that’s all you need.
Outside is good, as long as the weather cooperates. It’s a good idea to consider. It might take a bit of planning. What do you need to have? Do you really need to take a lunch? How long will you be there?

In the case of your back yard, a library or park, you will likely only be there a couple of hours. You could get a motel room for a weekend. That’s an option. You will need money for that. Then you can get some uninterrupted work done there. That would take more planning.

This is a broad view of writing retreats. There are, as I mentioned earlier, organized retreats where you pay your money, attend and so on. But doing it on the cheap is possible. All you need is a sandwich, if you want, or a wallet to visit a food court at a university, or a nearby restaurant. You could even set up at a restaurant, but there will be distractions there.

Pick your retreat. Plan for it. Then do it. You might find you are able to work on your piece without any distractions. Then, when you get home, you can read what you wrote and edit it. Think about this. You might find it helpful. Good luck and keep writing.