I’m on a writer’s retreat this week. Sort of.
I’m cat sitting and using this time alone, away from home, to write.
I’ve never gone on an official writer’s retreat, but I did once spend a weekend (at a special rate!) at a hotel downtown where I spent most of my time holed up in my room writing. It was very productive. In general, writer’s retreats are out of my budget. My friend Bonnie is always sending me links to residency programs so I can do a retreat and not have to pay a fortune for it. I haven’t applied to any of these, yet, but I’m not sure what’s stopping me. Imposter syndrome, probably.
This week I’m staying at someone’s house to take care of their cats and their garden. Other than those two obligations, I’m free to do whatever I want. So, I brought my laptop and some writing books and some books that are just for fun and I plan to get several chapters written. It helps that the weather is rainy. There is no desire to escape the house to avoid writing and one of the tasks that brought me here is unnecessary. You don’t have to water a garden when Mother Nature is managing that quite well on her own.
This morning, I organized all my notes and transcribed some audio notes I had made on my phone while out walking in the woods. It’s funny how many story ideas and plot fixes occur to you when you’re away from the keyboard. I have a recorder app on my phone. I love it. In the process of all the organizing and transcribing, I fixed a couple of plot problems and got to know my characters better. I definitely have enough stuff prepared so I can write at least two chapters, maybe more.
And that’s what I’m going to do. Starting tomorrow.