Creating Your Own Approach(es) to 'Writing Retreat'

a mini-series

We’re coming to the end of the January-to-December year. That brings about ways of thinking and, for me, vying urges to get-things-done and to get-thee-to-the-hermitage mode.

The above photo I took a couple weeks ago, out on the beach in Coronado, where people were paying close to $300 for a late afternoon/evening of fire-on-the-beach… something we used to be able to do for free so long as we were willing to round up kindling and wood and walk or drive somewhere. (Or set up a propane fire in the backyard with winter blanket and hot bevvie…)

What have we given up? I wonder this, at times in our contemporary lives; times when we allow those who don’t know us to re-create for us. When we’re lured by a plastic ice-house, bottled water, beach chairs placed by someone else, a fire—also built by someone else. When what we need is the ritual of chopping our own wood, placing it, igniting it. Then staring into it for all the revelation we need. Humans and fire. An old relationship.

There are many offerings of “writing retreat” and books about how to go about, but what writers really want and need from such a time and more—such a mind re-set—is something fundamental to our lives, our growth as artists, and what we create; let’s not put this into someone else’s hands.

Series

For the December posts I’d like to share a series of short pieces on this idea of retreat, how it might function, how we can do this in useful and restorative ways. This initial post will be for all subscribers; after this, paid readers only.

Reasons why we might venture into retreat:

—starting a new project

—finding momentum (or the opposite: finding pause) mid-project

—re-writing or wrapping up (sometimes the closing hours of a project comes about with a birth-like push that’s too strong to ignore)

—replenishing

—focusing

—building beyond the momentary, to a constant of nurturing slow (where this series will go ultimately)

—something else/different/new… ?

Do share what “something else” is for you.

Focus

The recent post on writing in the poetic form of sestina has made me pause on the idea of focus.

It’s been edifying to read the comments and the sharing of poems. And “focus” is what most stands out. If you read through, Elizabeth speaks to getting into the space of exploring the form, jotting, thinking, moving words around, working with her content—thoughts for a friend—applying the ideas of the post. In other words, focus.

Recently I completed a rhyming text picturebook while away travelling (staying in one rather isolated place for three weeks) and without the usual distractions; the story had been a work-in-progress for the past two years. Picturebooks are often like this. Layers build slowly with months in between. But at some point I need to set all else aside. If you’re listening, the piece of writing will tell you when that time has come for 100% focus.

Focus is at the heart of retreat, at both macro level (getting into the head-space) and micro (what you want to work on).

Let’s do this slowly. Begin to think about the possibility of some kind of retreat. You doesn’t have to GO anywhere. (More on that down the line!) This series will be in bite-sized pieces. But begin to dream about it; let the idea percolate.

You might list projects. It can be useful to spend time reading through the pieces you’ve been working on. Which pulls you in? Maybe asterisk those on the list, or jot notes. Because I find it difficult to focus on only one (the malady of multi-tasking for decades of being working-parent), I tend to work on one long and one short. When I was away for three weeks, my #1 focus was my current novel. But I also printed up a half dozen hard-copies of picture books, read through, and chose one once I’d flown off.

After you’ve created this list, tuck it away. Let a possible focus come to you. Projects and stories have their own timing and cycle.

For retreat, ask yourself which ONE project do you most want to work?

Let’s start just with this for now: begin to think of focus and retreat.

A quote from Cal Newport’s Slow Productivity:

Focusing… on a small number of tasks, waiting to finish each… is… a much better way to use our brains…

…give your efforts breathing room and respect…

What did I cut out of that quote? A couple adverbs that made my mind wander. Words about “intense,” “produce,” and “valuable output,” words I don’t want in my head while thinking “retreat.” Next time, I’m not going to tell you what I’ve taken out. I’m duty-bound to place the ellipses if I pull words from a quote. But you can look it up if you must. Though I suspect you have better things to do. Writing.

For a holiday gift sub: