On Monday, April 5th, I posted a blog about “Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone,” and I dared you to do something completely different from your regular routine in your writing life… doing something that might scare you. If you haven’t already read that, you should. You can find it HERE.
It has been seven days since my scary adventure ended. I still can’t stop thinking about the incredible and invigorating weekend I spent with 19 other like-minded and passionate writers. I survived the daunting inaugural session of the UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTERS & INCREDIBLE JOURNEYS (#UCIJRetreat2021) virtual writing retreat presented by Ralph Walker. My fears were unwarranted. I absolutely loved it!
Many different kinds of writing events catch my eye, but this was my first virtual writing retreat where you are on a ZOOM call with 19 other writers—most of them strangers or people I have only met online. The schedule was intense, Friday night to Sunday night (approximately 17.5 hours), but it was designed that way with pure intention. It was brilliant. I didn’t want to miss even one minute of the conversations.
There were a few pockets of time where you could choose to run off and eat a meal with your family, or you could hang out with the writers still sitting in their chairs on ZOOM having casual conversations. This is where the personal knowledge and experience sneaks out. You learn all kinds of things from people who have already experienced things you want to accomplish: Querying agents, signing contracts, the expectations of the publishers, and the timelines and high demands of the overall book publishing world. I even took notes during these informal conversations because I was amazed at how much I didn’t know.
There were so many valuable discussions about making your protagonist and antagonist unforgettable during the scheduled class time. The secondary characters were not left behind, as we discussed how to use them without overshadowing your main characters. BUT, the plotting discussions were the highlights of my weekend.
As I mentioned in my last post, pantsing my way through many novels before this has been my usual way to do things. It becomes quite a nightmare trying to wade through 120,000 words to find the golden nuggets of the story and decide what should be cut. My current novel has three Points-of-View, and they each have their own story that collides in the end. I really should have plotted a bit of that beforehand. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty.
For this retreat, I arrived with only a tiny idea of what I would write about. I had prepared a title, a logline, a short and long pitch, a target audience, comparable titles, and an author bio. Easy-peasy. However, my subject would be difficult: kidnapping and human trafficking.
I panicked at the beginning of the retreat because I was being forced to talk about a new novel that I wasn’t ready to talk about. Not only that, I figured everyone else there was probably bringing a story they had been working on for quite some time. I felt inadequate and deflated before I even showed up. I really wanted to cancel, but it was too late for that.
Honestly, attending this writing event was the best thing I ever could have done for my self-imposed novel-writing stress. I fleshed out the story into a one-page outline. I took this and added tension, reversals, twists, and turns and plotted my way through. I had never really tried to do this kind of thing in this manner before. Sharing my ideas with other writers is just not my thing. Then I had to discuss them. GAH! At least Ralph threw us into smaller break-out rooms for these discussions. There were usually four or five writers discussing each of our characters and plot.
I learned, sharing my struggles with others solved most of my problems. Other writers suggested things I never even would have considered. You know the old saying, “MAKE IT WORSE”? Yeah, these people who write in different genres from me and read tons of books had ideas that ranged anywhere from off-the-wall crazy to BANG ON! FANTASTIC for me. The struggles and challenges of my characters are what make the ending exciting and definitely more memorable.
Ralph had sent us a giant box of swag, full of coffee, tea, snacks, a new mug, and a binder of information with surprise envelopes strategically placed throughout the binder that said, “Do not open until…” These confidential envelopes helped me dig deeper into the story. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you what was in the envelopes, because it is the special sauce to discovering the AHA! moments. You need to attend the retreat to find out.
So, regardless of where you are in your writing journey, this kind of retreat will push you outside of your comfort zone into a world of magical discovery. The organizer, Ralph Walker, encourages you to think about your novel in a different way. I’m more of a visual learner, so some of the exercises were perfect for me, especially the graph paper trick. Sorry, I probably shouldn’t tell you about that either. But damn, I have graph paper all over my writing desk right now, and I am experiencing so many AHA! moments, that I might have to take the day off work and just keep writing. I am optimistic with high hopes for pushing this novel to the next level.
My husband asked me what I would rate this retreat because this is a question he always asks me after I enjoy a weekend away from him. With no hesitation, I said I would give this writing weekend a 12 out of 10!
Why?
Because I made a breakthrough, not just once, but multiple times. I have a vision of where to go with this novel and how to take it a level or three above where it is currently sitting. Not only that, but I’m taking this knowledge and applying it to the novel I thought was almost ready for querying. I’m going to rip it apart and make it so much better. If this scares you, you should probably attend the retreat and learn that it is not frightening. It is a glorious feeling to know what is possibly not working in your story and how you will make it better.
I highly recommend this writing retreat to other writers who have no idea that they NEED this. Ralph Walker has issued a quick survey asking what weekend would be suitable for people who are interested in attending the next retreat. If you want more information, fill it out and get on the mailing list. Or you can follow him on Twitter [@RW_Igloo] and watch for an announcement.
SURVEY & INFORMATION LINK FOR NEXT VIRTUAL WRITING RETREAT
Bottom line, every single time I try something new, I surprise myself. I don’t know why I resist the change. Change is an AMAZING gift! If it can help me figure out the whole writing process and make things faster and easier to complete, then I’m all for it. Plus, I nailed the shit out of my personal goals that I had hoped to accomplish during the retreat. That made me happy—Onward to finishing both of these novels at lightning speed.
Thankfully, I met 19 new spectacular kindred spirits over this weekend. I already miss hanging out with them. I’m looking forward to a reunion writing weekend in person one of these days. Maybe, Hawaii? Ha!
So, if you are willing to be audacious and take a surprising, bold risk with your writing life, then you should check this opportunity out. You won’t regret it. Promise.
