Writing in the Woods – A Word about Writing Retreats by Catharine Bramkamp

Let’s welcome back monthly columnist Catharine Bramkamp as she shares with us “Writing in the Woods – A Word about Writing Retreats.” Enjoy!

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I wrote a book called the Cheap Retreat Book. At the time, I couldn’t just jet down to New Mexico for a nurturing weekend at the Mable Dodge House. Nor could I afford the hotel rates in San Miguel de Allende.

So I created a way to hold a writing retreat in my own home and wrote a book about it.

Here is the thing. Despite our best intentions, trying to retreat in our home is difficult.

The basic premise of a writing retreat is to escape from all the things to do, things to clean, bills to pay and file, shower grout to scrub.

All those lovely distractions that can serve as the perfect and justifiable excuse not to write.

As much as we love our spouses and family, they, by their very definition, are interruptions.

Even when we are away, a family crisis can ping up on our phones.

One client had to take a call in the middle of a retreat session because her husband couldn’t find the black flashlight resting in the deep recesses of his backpack. Definitely an emergency.

What to do?

Find a retreat that is far enough away from your daily life that there is nothing else left to do but work on your book (or your art), or as one of my clients commented, when she is on a retreat, she had no choice but to face a difficult section of her book because someone else taking care of the grout.

And yes, the idea that we need or even crave a retreat to write, does beg the question why our own home environment is not supporting our creative work, but that can be a topic of discussion during the retreat. Let me know what you all decide.

Consider your needs

I’m attracted to retreats because the brochures are beautiful, the locations exotic by dint of their expense and difficulty to reach.

The writers in the brochure photos always look very sincere and productive.

Retreats appeal because of their aspirational qualities: Maybe I will join the morning yoga class.

Maybe I will join the conversation about man versus superman.

Maybe I’ll chime in with singing bowls.

It all sounds so, well, inspirational.

As if expense will engender correspondingly valuable work.

As if just being on a retreat, knowing the hourly price is ticking down, we will work with more furious focus.

Before we buy our plane tickets, consider what you really need from a retreat. Can your writing goal be accomplished more cheaply? A day in the local library? A motel room within driving distance? Or is jetting into another time zone the only way to legitimately ignore family calls?

The Cheap DIY Writing Retreat

Here is my story of my more or less cheap DIY writing retreat.

It was January.

My husband had scheduled to repair and re-plaster our living room ceiling. I was deeply into the second draft of my book Sunk Cost.

The Muse was nagging at me, compelling me to work, yet here was a barrier – I can’t work with contractors in the house.

My husband knew this, or he was tired of me. So he packed me off to Maui to stay with was ever accommodating brother and his brother’s even more accommodating partner.

The flight was paid for by our Hawaiian Airline points.

I was a free guest at my brother-in-law’s house.

I could borrow his car to drive to my favorite beach. Maui was indeed far enough away to be in a different time zone.

It was not too pricey especially after I was told about $10.00 poke bowls at Foodland.

And most important, both my brother-in-law and his partner worked full time. I was alone all day.

There was no grout to clean. Nothing to pick up in the yard. I didn’t even know where the vacuum was stored.

In that week I worked through the second edits of the book and managed to get a little tan in the bargain.

Why this retreat worked:

No responsibility.

I was not in charge of anything, except to treat my host to dinner a couple of times, other than it was just me and the computer. The computer went everywhere with me, including the beach.

I established a schedule of sorts. I dropped off my brother-in-law to his work, then drove to the beach.

After a walk along the coast, I headed to the  outdoor bar at the Andaz Hotel (shout out to the hotel staff who graciously ignored me, thank you!) to work for two hours.

After picking up my poke bowl at the local supermarket, I worked all afternoon in the empty house.

At six o’clock I texted my husband with some profound message like: everything is fine, nothing to see here.

When my writing group asked for a retreat, Maui wouldn’t really work for their budgets and my brother-in-law only had one guest room. So we looked closer to home.

There were five of us total, and because of our small size, we were able to rent space in a friend’s house just up the street from me.

I organized the food (easy breakfast and lunch, and no, I did not cook, good god).

We spent three days just working on our projects.

My clients all made progress on their works over the long weekend. Some used the time to research, some used the time to finish their books, some used the time to generate new ideas.

The retreat included group readings with feedback, a lecture on publishing and feedback, and a Saturday night belly dancing concert. They loved the time away from home, even if home was only fifteen minutes away.

Look for a retreat space that offers a new atmosphere, a new place to sleep, different views. If you don’t often experience snow, then get away to a mountain cabin in January. If you’re tired of the cold, get away to a beach hut in Mexico.

But the key to a retreat is to not treat it like a vacation. It’s not. It’s time away to think, to consider how to finish something old, or start something new. A retreat from the everyday. Priceless.

Read more in my new book on writing – Out Loud – A Writing Adventure for Women!  Just launched!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Catharine Bramkamp is a successful writing coach, Chief Storytelling Officer, former co-producer of Newbie Writers Podcast, and author of a dozen books including the Real Estate Diva Mysteries series, and The Future Girls series. She holds two degrees in English and is an adjunct university professor. After fracturing her wrist, she has figured out there is very little she is able to do with one hand tied behind her back. She delights in inspiring her readers.