Tag: writing retreat

FIVE Tips to START and CONTINUE Writing

Donna Judy Curtin Leave a comment

For someone who claims to love writing, I sure can find every excuse NOT to write. Here I am… on a dedicated writing retreat. A clean house, with big inviting windows, open wide to the creativity. The quiet that only a place away from home can provide; with no chores, no dishes, no laundry, no pets… only the sun streaming in and the trees waving their wishes to the wind. The house hums… hums with electricity, heating and… potential.

That’s it. Potential.

I make a coffee. For once, with no rush of the day, no next thing, no must be on time. I’m able to stir. Listen to the tin, tin as the metal spoon strikes and scrapes the sides to lift and mix my sugar, like I’m mixing my thoughts.

Starting, for me, is sometimes the hardest part.

Then… it’s about sticking to it and meeting my potential. That word again. Potential.

After a week away, dedicated to drafting, I need to find the fortitude to continue. This post is a pep talk for my writerly self. I hope you will find a nugget to polish into a gem. Read more

Retreat to The Modern Schoolhouse

Bernice Connell Leave a comment
The Modern Schoolhouse in Pinkerton

There is absolutely no excuse for me not finding time to write. I am newly retired, living with just hubby and our Springer Spaniel, with enough space to spread out and resources at the ready. You get the picture.

Yet, distractions pop up. Sometimes I actually invite interruptions that slow down the grind of getting words on paper, so to speak.

A retreat can be the perfect motivation to focus and make some progress on your writing projects. Imagine escaping to a beautiful location, for days at a time, with the sole purpose of writing to your heart’s content. This past week, The Modern Schoolhouse was the perfect venue for a local group of writers gathering to do just that.

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Writers’ Summer Camp with 13 Strangers

Lori Twining 4 Comments
Lori Twining ~ Camp Zeke

Several decades ago, before I even had a steady boyfriend, I had this weird habit of flipping through bridal magazines, dreaming about the perfect wedding, the over-the-top Royal Princess taffeta ballgown, the jovial bridal party, and spending the most romantic honeymoon hiking through the Poconos Mountains in Pennsylvania. 

That never happened for me. 

I mean, I did have a wedding–in fact, I had TWO beautiful weddings to two different people, with incredible velvet and satin dresses, and cool-but-not-that-funny bridal parties, but I never experienced the thrill of hiking through the Poconos Mountains… until this past weekend. A part of my old daydream finally did come true, slightly skewed from the original fantasy. 

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Essential Ingredients for a Writing Retreat

Donna Judy Curtin 1 Comment
The Modern Schoolhouse in Pinkerton.

Planning to set aside the time and space to write new words can be one of the best ways to amplify your creative process. Whether your space is an early morning coffee shop, an Irish pub, or a planned writing retreat–scheduling the time to write is essential. For myself, working full-time, raising kids, attending figure skating & hockey with family, and carving out time to cook healthy meals… tends to demand most of my daylight hours. Therefore, dedicating the time to write must be deliberate.

Over recent years, I’ve been blessed to join a couple of writers who similarly battle with this time crunch challenge. We’ve found that planned writing retreats with chunks of undisturbed time, are paramount to moving our writing projects forward. The following is a list of key ingredients to a successful writing retreat.

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Why Walking More Impacts a Writer’s Brain

Lori Twining 4 Comments
Discovering new places by walking in nature ~ Lori Twining

Last week, I scheduled some time away from work and my every day responsibilities to attend a seven-day writing retreat in the middle of the woods in Haliburton County. I hoped to review and revise my current novel by taking my characters deeper and solving a few lingering issues I had with plot holes.

The weeks leading up to this retreat stressed me out. Lists needed to be made for everything I required to accomplish at work before I could leave. I had lists of food that I must shop for and pack. I also had a weekend wedding in Hamilton to get ready for that followed the writing retreat with only a one-hour break between them. My brain was fried when I finally arrived at the retreat, and I didn’t have a plan of exactly what I would be working on. Poor planning.

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What Five Kittens and a Cat Taught Me

Donna Judy Curtin 1 Comment

When our son moved downstairs, I took over his bedroom and renovated it into my writing space. I justified it by calling it an office and a guest room.

This room became my place of bliss. Especially when COVID hit, and I needed somewhere to hide for Zoom meetings, online conferences, and virtual writing gatherings. With a big window, a calming colour palette, pleasant lighting, and an ergonomic desk and chair, my room was always inviting. The small touches helped as well, like having my spare computer plug sitting ready and waiting, making it super easy to plunk myself down. My mood can always be met as I can lounge on the cushioned couch/guest bed or lean back on the perfectly sized recliner.

When a cat in need presented to my veterinary practice, pregnant with nowhere to have her kittens, I volunteered to bring her home. Unfortunately, the only open space for her to take up residence was my writing room. I cleared away my personal belongings, set up a cat litter, removed the soft furniture and covered my luxurious rug with mats and sheets. Read more

Mixing Solitude with the Camaraderie

Lori Twining 6 Comments
Lori Twining ~ Coffee at Sunrise
Lori Twining ~ Coffee at Sunrise, Elmhirst’s Resort

What writer wouldn’t love to disappear from their life and spend an entire week hidden away at a remote location? With no other obligations other than to put fingers to keyboard or pen to paper and tell a story. Maybe, a story no one will ever read? That’s a possibility. But hey, if you are a writer, you will have a strong desire to write that story whether someone reads it or not, right? 

Disappearing to a remote location sounds fantastic, especially after the tough year or two we have experienced. My doctor said I was becoming a workaholic, even though I’m working from home now, and I should take a mental health break. She said something like, “Take a vacation.”

In my mind, I watched her scribble a prescription on her pad for me:

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Escaping the Rabbit Hole

Lori Twining Leave a comment

What does the term “Rabbit Hole” refer to? And why would you want to escape it?

These are both great questions.

The popular term is “falling down the rabbit hole” and for most people, it is a reference to Lewis Carroll’s classic novel Alice in Wonderland, where Carroll described a character disappearing into a world full of chaos or confusion. 

Speculation in the literary world suggests that Carroll was also describing what happens when a person takes a hallucinogenic substance that depicts a wild and freaky drug trip. Others compare it to a metaphor for the entry into the unknown, the gate into a new and exciting place full of adventure and somewhere where you can just get lost and you don’t have to return from it.

What does the freaky trip into the unknown mean to me?

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