Writing Retreat

In this month’s Author interview, Shawn Wong describes going on a writing retreat in Italy to finish his second novel, American Knees. This was some retreat. The attendees were housed in a villa overlooking Lake Como and were served a formal Italian dinner every night. While it was more exotic and luxurious than most, the concept remained the same as all writing retreats: provide authors a haven from the duties and distractions of their everyday life.

At a retreat, writers need focus on writing and writing only. For that month or two or three, all their other needs will be met. No one will knock on their door to ask where the good scissors are, or if they remembered to buy milk, or if they’ve checked their calendar for that brunch date. No meals will have to be planned, no phone calls returned, no pets fed, no dishes washed. Just writing, and reading, and talking to other writers, and then more writing.

Also, thinking probably. I’ve never been on a retreat, but I’m sure lots of thinking goes no. Shawn told a great story in the interview of wandering around an Italian village feeling like a fraud and a failure. I’ve noticed my thinking follows me everywhere I go. It follows me to writing conferences, and the mall, and to bed. Especially to bed. About once a week I seem to have a lot of thinking that needs to be done at 3:00 AM. If anyone offered a retreat from the kind of thinking I do in the dark of my sleepless bed, I’d sign up today.

Though maybe not. Sometimes it’s a question I’ve been ignoring all day that keeps me up at night. Sometimes I hear the answer then. Either way, I wake up thinking about something new. There seems to be no retreat from thinking, except, perhaps, at my work desk. Once I’ve settled in, whether anyone knocks on my door, whether there are chores to be done or flights to be booked, once I’m really in, I wouldn’t say I’m thinking at all. It’s something better than thinking that happens when you write, something far more productive and relaxing. There are a lot of words for it, though none of them are quite enough on their own.

If you’ve ever had a good day of writing, you know it and you don’t need me to name it. And maybe, like me, you suspect that all the thinking and thinking you do when you’re done writing is like picking a fight you can’t win. The busy mind becomes an army of conflicting ideas I must somehow command. We’re losing a battle and I’m to blame. The sooner I surrender the better, so I can retreat to a quiet place within myself and await further instructions.

If you like the ideas and perspectives expressed here, feel free to contact me about individual coaching and group workshops.

Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write With Confidence.
You can find William at: williamkenower.com