Hi folks – I am posting today to remind you of the upcoming deadline for the Time2Write retreat. I am going to be one of the hosts for this event, and will be helping with the cooking and cleaning… so y’all can relax and write… draw… take photos… hike… pray… knit.. whatever you need to […]
By: PJ Hoover,
on 1/30/2013
It was back to the Lodge o' Death for a writing retreat earlier this month. Sure, we all turn up with thoughts on what we're going to work on, but part of being an author is being flexible. Like getting last minute revision notes and working on that instead of the planned activity. Still, when it comes to writing, there is no where else I'd rather be than off in the woods with some my favorite writing gals, pouring out the words.
(For my last retreat post, check here.)
By: Holly Black,
on 3/25/2012
I am really, really, really excited for the release of BLACK HEART on April 3rd. It's the final book of the Curse Workers series, full of twists and turns and reveals that I hope you'll be surprised by. This series was a real departure for me and I've had a lot of fun writing them.
I've just come back, two weeks ago, from my annual writing retreat to the mountains of Mexico and am settling back into my real life with some reluctance. Cindy Pon did a great job of blogging the retreat over at her journal (much better than I have done, clearly). The last time I was there, I wrote the last half of BLACK HEART and this time I wrote the middle of COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN. Writing the middle of a book has many inherent frustrations, but I still got a lot done.
Here's the city at night, view from the room where I slept.
The city streets - and yes, it was as warm as it looks. Warm enough to swim in a pool, for instance.
Like this one.
And lots of inspiring (and sometimes strange) happenings around town.
Now that I am home, I have switched brains and am in the middle of editing DOLL BONES. And sometime this week, I will post my "how I wrote" for BLACK HEART, listing the day-by-day word counts that let me finish it.
Here's an excerpt from the very beginning of the very first chapter of BLACK HEART:
My brother Barron sits next to me, sucking the last dregs of black milk tea slush noisily through a wide yellow straw. He’s got the seat of my Benz pushed all the way back and his feet up on the dash, the heels of his pointy black shoes scratching the plastic. With his hair slicked back and his mirrored sunglasses covering his eyes, he looks like a study in villainy.
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By: Caroline Starr Rose,
on 2/3/2012
By: Kristi Helvig,
on 10/25/2011
I think I've finally recovered from my exhausting, amazing, and inspiring week in Breckenridge at the Writing Away Retreat hosted by this fab lady: CICILY JANUS
By: Laura Purdie Salas,
on 9/27/2011
Lisa Bullard and I led a writers' retreat this past weekend following the Northwoods Children's Book Conference. It was both fun and exhausting to be a retreat leader, because it wasn't pure retreat--it included critiquing and Q&A and content presentation and a power outage (which was not on the schedule!). One thing I loved was how every writer there was so connected with story, regardless of how much or little individual writers knew about the nuts and bolts of writing for kids. Here are a few pix:
Vicki and Steve Palmquist of Children's Literature Network and Bev Bauer of Redbery Books.
Diana Randolph, morning walking partner, poet, visual artist
Hashing things out on the retreat porch
Novelist Jane Bedell and Diana
Judy, Mary Ellen, and Trish
Mary Ann and Judy
David LaRochelle (a presenter at the conference) put his pumpkin carving skills to good use! We checked out the results on a field trip to Redbery Books.
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By: Bridget Whelan,
on 4/18/2011
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By: Kristi Holl,
on 7/21/2010
Even when life is going well, the writing pressures, the marketing, the waiting, and the deadlines can make you dream of taking a writing retreat.
For several years, I’ve had on my book shelf a “book in a box” called The Writer’s Retreat Kit: A Guide for Creative Exploration and Personal Expression by Judy Reeves. I’ve looked longingly at it several times and read some of her ideas of creating writer’s retreats lasting from twenty minutes to several days, depending on the time and money you have available.
This time, though, I’m not going to sigh and put the book box back. I’m going to delve deeper into the retreat idea and try some of the experiences. I have no logical reason to feel as burned out as I do, but when I read the following opening page, I let out a big Ahhhhhh! I bet you will too.
Judy writes: Getting away: the wish and dream and fantasy of every writer I have ever known and, I expect, of nearly every writer I will ever meet, except for those rare and blessed souls who are lucky enough, or determined enough, or rich enough, to already be “away.”
What is “away”? It is someplace else. It is the place that each of us craves, and when we close our eyes, comes to us in all its wooded shadiness or vast, unending blueness. We visualize a mountain cabin; a cottage by the sea; a secret, hidden monastery; a wide-decked, windowed, pillowed, sweet-smelling, abundant, nurturing, solitary place where there are no “musts” or “have tos” or “shoulds.”
No dishes to do or phones to answer or children/mates/partners with whom we must interact. No set time to start or stop, to wake up or go to sleep. No television. No email. No deadlines. No place to drive to. It is simply a place to be.
A writing retreat.
We may have the delight and privilege of going to a real retreat for writers. (I think of those lucky souls at the Chautauqua Writer’s Workshop in New York this week!) But what if you can’t get away like that, for whatever reason (cost, small children, health issues)?
Have you found a way to make your own writer’s retreat? Is it a corner of a room? A back porch swing? A pond in the city park? Hay loft in the barn?
We all need such a place. Could you share with us where you go when you need to retreat?
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By: Laurel Gaylord,
on 6/1/2010
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By: Sara Lewis Holmes,
on 4/20/2010
"My opinion is that a poet should express the emotion of all the ages and the thought of his own."----Thomas Hardy, as quoted in Walking on Alligators, A Book of Meditations for Writers.Walking on Alligators is filled with quotes like this, and daily intentions such as "Today, I'll release something surprising into my writing." It would be a great book to take along on a retreat, which I mention because Linda Urban is compiling a list of such books. Won't that be a handy resource? Go add your own favorites.
Posted on 3/19/2010
Come Celebrate Our Wondrous Writing in the City by the Bay
By: Kristi Holl,
on 2/5/2010
Even the most dedicated writers need a break sometimes. The brain gives out (often on Fridays), or the back and neck scream for relief. Sure, you can always read more email or surf the web or watch a re-run.
On the other hand, says Arthur Plotnik in a February, 2010 article in The Writer, “Take a productive break from writing.”
His definition of such a productive break includes “activities that can bolster my writing even as they give respite from its grind…A boost [to my writing] in quality or quantity is my criterion for ‘positive’ avoidances.”
Time-wasting breaks produce guilt for not writing, leaving us feeling disgruntled at the end of the day. On the other hand, a break taken to bolster our writing skills is both refreshing and growth-producing. And guilt free!
Read Plotnik’s entire article for many more unusual ideas. (He’s the author of Spunk & Bite: A Writer’s Guide to Bold, Contemporary Style and is on The Writer’s editorial board.) Here are just a few of his suggestions to whet your appetite for the next time you just have to get away from your desk:
Or do like me-and catch up on reading inspiring magazines like The Writer!
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By: Laura Purdie Salas,
on 10/28/2009
I went on a writing retreat last week from Monday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon with three of my local critique partners. We stayed in someone's cabin (this is a Minnesota thing) and had a fantastic time! Here are some things I was reminded of:
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| Writing is always better around water. | It's nice to not need total silence when I'm writing. One of the advantages to always having to write whenever and wherever I could when the kids were little. | |
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| Having someone cook for a small group of people is the best luxury ever. | A writing retreat with other people leads to more fun and less writing. Here we are playing Catch Phrase. By myself on retreat, I'll write 8 or 9 hours a day. Here, I only wrote on my project about 4 hours per day. A whole different kind of experience--I value both. | |
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| Having to wear blaze orange on a walk adds a little...excitement (ok, fear) to any adventure. | Here we all are: Bridget, Dara Dokas, front porch bear, Connie Van Hoven, and me. | |
I know where my wife’s haven is? It actually has two addresses. One is in Orlando Florida, and the other is Oak Island, North Carolina. She loves Disney World. Marilyn feels like a little kid there, full of wonder and excitement for all that’s there—from the colorful characters to the fireworks that light up the sky at night. That’s her idea of a vacation, or the real world at home where the laundry gathers and bills mount. She even likes to take me with her on excursions to Disney. Even though Tigger is rather hyperactive, I don’t mind taking a picture with Tigger and my happy wife.
If she can’t be at Disney World, then the next best place is Oak Island. The first time we stayed at Oak Island it was at a “cottage” that was right on the ocean. The land itself had to be worth over a million dollars. We felt “rich” staying there. We had lots of room, sunlight, and ocean. Our five grandkids visited us for part of our stay. We all had a grand time. We treasured our time together and took lots of photos, but I will spare you the family album. But the time certainly flew by at the sea.
By: Caroline Starr Rose,
on 9/15/2009
Doesn't this sound ominous, like some weird B movie? Actually, it's a technique I learned over the weekend at my SCBWI Revision Retreat. Darcy Pattison, our fantastic instructor, fully explains all the ways a shruken manuscript can be used in her workbook, Novel Metamorphosis (see sidebar for more information).
Essentially, you single space the entire piece, shrink it down to 8 pt. font, and take out all white space between chapters. Manuscripts printed this way should run from 30-40 pages, depending on the length of your work. The point is not to be able to read it this way but to see the entire piece as a whole in a more managable form.
Once you've printed, you're to spread the novel out on the floor in rows. Now, with lots of different colored markers, get on your knees and mark in various ways things such as sub-plots, strong chapters, weak chapters, conflict, climax. This list is unending. You can see the movement of your story as a whole, what's working and what's not.
I really benefited from this and have already printed a second shrunken manuscript to fiddle with, once I clean up the retreat piece.
What are some ways you revise?
By: Darcy Pattison,
on 7/21/2009
I’m just back from a Novel Revision Retreat in San Rafael, CA. What a great time. I always learn so much from other writers.
Related posts:
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By: Katherine Roberts,
on 7/20/2009
By: Darcy Pattison,
on 4/6/2009
The San Francisco chapter of the SCBWI is hosting a Novel Revision Retreat on July 16-19, 2009, but there’s one twist. It will be an extended retreat, lasting one day longer than normal.
There’s never enough time! If you’ve attended a retreat, you’ve heard me say that over and over. Revising a novel takes time to think and to work. By starting on a Thursday, this retreat slows down the pace and allows time for reflection and writing.
No, you won’t get your novel revised that long weekend, but you’ll get a better handle on it. There will be time to rewrite and get some feedback on your novel and discuss things more fully.
Space is limited, as usual, but there are still openings. Check out the retreat information page.
Post from: Revision Notes Revise Your Novel! Copyright 2009. Darcy Pattison. All Rights Reserved.
Related posts:
By: Tamra Wight,
on 3/27/2009
Hmmmm - let's see:
. . . I have my lap top
. . . I have my middle grade
. . . I have a few revision notes
. . . . I have my newest idea that keeps tugging at my shirt sleeve and won't let me sleep at night
. . . . I have my WRITE REVISE bracelet that ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
artistq made
. . . I have directions to giogas house
Oooooo! I think I'm good to go!
By: Darcy Pattison,
on 3/6/2009
Shrunken Manuscript at Illinois Novel Revision Retreat
Jim Danielson, who attended last weekend’s Illinois retreat, has also posted a picture of a shrunken manuscript.
Here are other links for the Shrunken Manuscript technique:
Intensive feedback, like you get in a weekend retreat, can be overwhelming and after a while, I know I would tend to shut down and just nod and not understand what someone was saying. It’s important to take time later to rethink all the comments you wrote down.
Jim is planning to use the shrunken manuscript to check several issues in his story. Likewise, I know other participants are rereading their manuscripts and hearing the voices of their critique partners in their heads.
Revisions take time: time to give up something you clung to even though it wasn’t working, time to re-envision your story, time to work out the details of the changes needed, time to fall in love with your characters again, time to do the work needed.
I also heard from a participant in last month’s Oklahoma picture book retreat. The last session there was about the career of writing. We discussed the realities of submission, contracts, and the fate of midlist books. I suggested the writers read, The Good Girl’s Guide to Negotiations. (Only two participants were men!)
Too many times, I see women writers play tea party in negotiations, to their own detriment.
So - one writer wrote to say that an agent had given her a personal rejection letter. Not the first time this has happened. But it’s the first time the writer immediately sent a second manuscript, which addressed the concerns of the letter in fresh ways.
Yes! Stand up for yourself and your career! No one cares about it as much as you do and if you don’t push for acceptance of your stories, why should anyone else?
By: Laura Purdie Salas,
on 10/24/2008
| Thanks for your comments yesterday! It has felt fun to stay in touch, at least a little bit, this week. It's the final day of my retreat--or morning, I should say, since I leave right after lunch to drive home. Wednesday had been cloudy, grey, blustery, so yesterday I went for a walk on the lake right after breakfast, while it was sunny and gorgeous outside. I spent a litte time on the shore looking for agates and other interesting rocks, but a few rogue waves got me while I wasn't paying attention. Sheesh, that water's cold! |  | |
 | After my walk, I spent the morning pounding on the computer. I finished my next version of revising Bookspeak, and I finished my next version of Gross Poems, too. Both still need more polishing, and Gross Poems needs more than that, actually. But I got to the next stage for both of them, so that was good. (I also had to take care of a couple of things related to my online class.) Before I knew it, it was lunchtime, and I went back to Hell's Kitchen for grilled cheese and sweet potato fries (Yes, Pat Schmatz, I'd write better, too:>) I've never been to the Mpls one, but plan to try it soon. I had heard a month or two ago they were relocating so they'd be open longer hours.) | |
| After lunch, I put up the Do Not Disturb sign and got out my Homelessness project. I did a lot of thinking, rereading my model book for it, rereading the freewriting poems I did months and months (maybe even a year) ago. I brainstormed a list of possible poems for the project as I was now envisioning it, and I spilled out very rough drafts of ten poems. After that, my brain was empty. It was like I came to Duluth with a pitcher full of garbled ideas and tangled up poems, and I had finally detangled and ungarbled and poured out...and now there was not a drop left. I vegged out for a couple of hours. |  | |
 | I did spend some more time later in the afternoon on a couple of things--brainstorming for some possible nonfiction trade book manuscripts I'd like to work on and brainstorming for a book proposal for a book for teachers. I also discovered yesterday that if I closed my curtains a little, from my work table it blocks out the tree and I can pretend I'm in my cabin on a ship on the ocean or on Lake Superior. The illusion is ruined every so often when someone walks by on the path below and their head bobs along the bottom of the window, but still! Then I ate my leftovers from lunch and headed to the Irvin, an old freighter open for tours. During October, they make it a Ghost Ship. It was creepy and fun. The walk back to the hotel in the dark by myself was a bit nerve-wracking, though! But some cake batter ice cream from Cold Stone settled my nerves:>) | |
| I had a disappointing email from my agent last night (as far as editors' responses), and I woke up this morning with a headache. But I'm looking forward to a few more hours of time. After breakfast and a walk, I'm going to spend some thinking/planning time about my writing career. What books do I want to write? What books am I skilled enough to write? What books might sell? And how do I find the happy medium to make a living doing what I love? Then it's back to the real world to put that pie-in-the-sky dreaming to work! |  |
By: Laura Purdie Salas,
on 10/23/2008
Thanks, everyone, for your comments. Even though I'm not allowing myself to reply to emails and comments, I enjoyed reading each one!
It as a terrific writing day yesterday. I powered through and finished a rough draft of the entire fairy tale collection. I lost motivation at one point, but I was so close I wanted to finish it! So I did. Now the whole thing can simmer for several weeks. I'm very excited about having something to work with. I needed that bulk of time to get into the "new poems" mode and produce 31 poems. When I revise, I'll need to focus on voice (each poem is by a different character) and more vivid language.
I had finished the adult mystery I was reading, so I wasn't alternating with that as I continued to work on the collection. Instead, I took a breather mid-morning and worked on my Bookspeak revision. That's to be my second poetry picture book with Clarion, and my editor recently sent me revision notes. I revised 7 poems yesterday and hope to revise a few more today.
At lunchtime, I stopped at my car and got my second mystery novel. Then I walked to Hell's Kitchen (not related to any Gordon Ramsay restaurant or show). They have great food and, um, interesting decor. It's all black and red and grey and cobwebs and freaky art. Kitschy and fun. I had Caesar salad and amazing macaroni and cheese (and the second half of lunch was heated up in my room for dinner). Good food. Good book. I remember they had amazing sweet potato fries, so I might go back today or tomorrow for another meal.
 | After lunch, I finished up the fairy tale rough draft. Then I answered a couple of urgent emails, worked on Bookspeak some more, and spent an hour on Gross Poems. That's the collection that's NOT under contract, but an editor is interested in. It's the collection I moaned and groaned about here in an essay titled "Bashing My Head on the Brick Wall of Revision." On the car ride up here, though, I had also done some brainstorming about that. I came up with a possible idea. So I spent some time yesterday putzing around with that manuscript. I think it's going somewhere, but I just now had a thought for a twist that might make it even better...or not. But I hope to spend some more time today on this manuscript. My main goal today, though, is to work on my homelessness piece. It's not anything at the moment, because I haven't written anything. It's a project someone's suggested, but I'm not sure how to approach it. I've spent ages trying to figure it out, and it's not working. I think today, I'd like to commit to doing some BIC writing on it. Forget about what form it might or might not take. Just start putting SOMETHING down on paper. |
My other wish for today is to walk more around the lake. I think it's going to be as grey and blustery yesterday, though. But I need to get out for a bit more exercise!
Everything at home is going fine. I have to admit, it's such a luxury being cooped up here doing what I want, when I want, and just talking to everyone on the phone and hearing highlights of the day. And my husband, Randy, is busy, with chauffeuring the girls around, picking up birthday presents for parties this weekend, refereeing the bickering, etc. Ahhhhh...it's nice to be here. I have all day today, plus tomorrow morning, and then I drive back home.
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By: Laura Purdie Salas,
on 10/22/2008
I had a wonderful drive to Duluth yesterday morning--and I usually hate driving. But for my birthday (in addition to some Diet Irn-Bru) I got a nifty new voice/note recorder. So on the three-hour trip, I talked to myself the entire time, recording ideas here and there for specific poems. With my horrible memory, I think this recorder is going to be so helpful!
Once in Duluth, I checked in, ate tacos at Little Angie's, and went to my room to start writing. For once, I didn't set any expectations on myself. At that moment, I felt like working on my fairy tale project. It's been in my mind for literally years, but I haven't had the time nor urgency to work on it. But it's finally bubbled to the top of the pot, I think. All afternoon, I did this: I read a chapter of a good mystery book I brought with me. Then I read a fairy tale from the list I'd compiled. Then I brainstormed poems and wrote rough drafts. Then I read a chapter, etc. I cycled through that five times, ending up with 12 poems. They're rough, of course, just first drafts. But some of them captured what I wanted, and I think I'm off to a good start!
I also walked along Lake Superior a few times and watched a freighter come in. I love watching the big ore carriers come and go, and my hotel is practically on top of the canal, so I can run out quick!
I ordered pizza for dinner and relaxed in my room--reading, eating, thinking, watching TV. No demands whatsoever. Bliss. I didn't set the alarm for this morning.
I woke at 7:05 and was going to pop into the shower and go down for the free hot breakfast they have. I swept open the curtains and the sunrise was turning the sky pink and a thousand-footer was coming in!
That's the canal with the two guidelights at the end.
So I threw on yesterday's clothes and ran over to the canal. It's hard to believe this ship, the Gott, would stand higher than a 100-story building if it were stood on its end. That always amazes me.
A nice older man asked if I wanted to borrow his coat since I was in just a short-sleeved shirt and jeans. Forgot to throw on a jacket and the winds are brisk on the lake--especially this time of year. I didn't need the jacket, but wasn't that kind?
Anyway, what a gorgeous start to my day. I'm not making a to-do list (gasp!), but I think what I'm going to do today is continue working on the fairy tale project and also maybe do some freewriting on my homeless project (that's one I did some brainstorming about in the car, too, yesterday). Plus walk along the lake, watch more ships, finish my mystery and start a new one, and...well, who knows?
By: Darcy Pattison,
on 10/21/2008
The Novel Revision retreat was originally designed as a weekend getaway to focus on writing. But often it’s not possible for people to travel to a site.
My passion is to help people revise their novels. Here are three opportunities:
By: Darcy Pattison,
on 10/21/2008
The Novel Revision retreat was originally designed as a weekend getaway to focus on writing. But often it’s not possible for people to travel to a site.
My passion is to help people revise their novels. Here are three opportunities:
Makes me want to repreat the retreat right this minute!!!
I am so jealous! That looks not only like a bunch of fun, but so incredibly stimulating for a writer as well--to be around so many other writers!
Green with envy!
Shelley
P.s. I saw a poster for Solstice on twitter from ALA. Cool!
What you said, Jessica! Let's go!
Hey, Shelley! Wish you could go! It's so much for and such a great getaway!
And yay for a SOLSTICE at ALA poster!!!!! Woot!
Looks like a great time was had by all, even with the death and weirdness abounding (sniffing for baby deer as well, though stuffed and positioned adorably).
Funny, Angela! He is perfectly posed!