Writer's Retreat: Pure Bliss

I’m blogging today from a writer’s retreat in Lake Champlain. It’s an ideal location to get my creative juices flowing, void of the usual daily distractions. I went to my first writer’s retreat over the winter and I finished the edits there for Pure Red. Not only did I get a lot of work done, but I also got to hang with other authors and discuss craft, the biz, books and more. So now I’m hooked!

This time around I’m finishing revisions for my agent on my latest manuscript, Graveyard Shift. It’s my first paranormal romance novel and I’ve been having so much fun with it. Being here has allowed me to really focus on my characters. While I’m giving the book a final read through, there’s not much starting and stopping because my main priority is the story. Often times at home it could be hours or even days before I can get back to a scene and then I have to spend time rereading what I wrote before.

My nine year old son asked why I would want to go to a retreat and do I even talk to anyone? Well, since I have three small kids I usually write in spurts at home, a couple of hours here and there, wherever I can squeeze it in. Sometimes I get a sitter in the morning, or I write during my daughter’s nap, but many times I’m typing away when my kids are fast asleep at night.

Here at this retreat, lunch, evening cocktails and dinner are served at the same time every day so that’s when we congregate. Yesterday morning we had an optional yoga class, which was awesome. Then this morning I took a nice walk in the open fresh air before getting to work. Tonight we’ll be sharing our progress by reading a few minutes of something we’ve been working on. There are almost twenty of us, ranging from picture book writers to young adult, so should be fun!
So if you haven’t been on a retreat, I highly recommend it. All you need is an empty house, devoid of clutter and piles of laundry calling your name.