hAVE YOU EVER WANTED TO GO ON A WRITING RETREAT?

If you have the opportunity, you really should. I have gotten so much done on every one of these retreats that I’ve been on. And every time my word count on the Work In Progress at the time has greatly benefited from it.

Over this particular trip I was aiming for 20-25k, but came in a little short at just over 16k. The work in progress is “Burning Roads” the first novel of the new Car Warriors: Autoduel Chronicles series that we are writing for Steve Jackson Games.

The word count suffered by mentally keeping track of eight race teams during the course of the first arena competition in the story. The next time I plan on pulling out our copy of the Sixth edition box set and doing a turn by turn run of the fight with the boys. Plus, ya know, we get to play Car Wars in the process.

The muse tune that the evil mind squirrels have been demanding has been the fast and hard beats of Celldweller. Fits in perfectly with the post-apoc/cyberpunk vibes of the Car Wars Universe.

Now, back to the topic of writing retreats.

This goes above and beyond going to the coffee shop or your favorite bar for a drink and wordcount. This is getting out of the house, away from the dishes, dogs, kids, that pile of laundry waiting to be folded, etc. It gives you the opportunity to step away from everything, turn on the tunes and just dive into your world, hang with your characters and go on the adventure.

Depending on what you’re doing, there are benefits to going it alone or with a few of your author buddies to help cut the costs.

I’ve found that I do get more word count done when I’m by myself, because the side conversations between friends don’t happen unless one the characters happens to get chatty and I have to maim them to shut them up.

But then when you’re out on a retreat with your writing friends, they can help with story/character development, get you worked out of a rough spot or come up with other situations when you’ve wrote yourself into a corner.

Don’t we look like an awesome bunch of nerds? Yeah, I know, I’m not in the pic cause I forgot to get one of all three of us.

Primary things I look for in a location.

1. Cost: Free is always great, but as long as it doesn’t compromise any of the other items you should be looking for. If a family member or friend has a cabin or fishing lodge they are willing to let you go hide away at, buy that person a bottle of their favorite drink and thank them profusely.
   
   If you have to pay for the location, remember your author math. Don’t go nuts unless you can afford it, and make sure to keep your receipts, because it’s a write-off on your author taxes.
2. The fewer the distractions the better. While finding a getaway location with a small arcade is cool, it’s a time suck.
3. Is it quiet? If you’re renting a space that’s basically a mother-in-law suite in someone’s basement and they have a house full of kids, then you probably aren’t going to get much work done.
4. Is the space comfortable and conducive to the creative process? Look for seating, tables, and spaces you can spread out and be comfortable doing your thing.
5. Food: you always have to remember that you need to eat and drink. Does the location have a mini-fridge and a microwave or is there a full kitchen? I personally plan on quick snack-type meals that are stupid easy so that I can suck it down and get back to work. I also never leave until it’s time for the retreat to be over. The one exception to this rule is when I’m at a lake site owned by a family friend, I’ve usually got lines in the water and if I catch a few catfish, you’re damned right I’m going to cook those beauties up for a meal or two while I’m there.

With all of that being said, the getaway location this past weekend was perfect. It was literally four minutes from the house. So if we needed something, the Word Witch could run it down to us. She did spoil us with dinner and a prepped breakfast that we only had to toss in the oven and enjoy.

So if you’re in the Chattanooga area and have been looking for that quiet getaway, Andrea’s place in Chickamauga Georgia is easily a perfect choice for one to four folks. And the best part is that it isn’t a break the bank price when you’re sharing the cost with friends.

Small Town Charm

The beds and the couches are very comfortable. There’s a table in the living room and one in the kitchen as well as a small patio set outside if the weather is nice enough, which it was for awhile on Saturday, so I got to sit and chill outside while getting in word count.

There’s also a large TV, but we never even turned the thing on. The most deviating bit we did was listen in to Armin Shimerman’s masterclass lecture on Shakespear I’d signed up for, long before the retreat had even been considered.

Now if you do happen to rent this quiet little cottage, you’ll probably find a wide selection of titles from Three Ravens Publishing, because we left her quite a few to stock her books shelves with.

Time to get back to the word count. Keep at it and good luck.

Keep your heads up and your pens sharp

~WJR~