Spring Thaw Writescape Re-emerging Retreat

He who retreats lives longer.
— Michael Scott

I've decided to retreat to the spirit world where I feel appreciated and understood.
— Dov Davidoff

In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion.
― Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays

It only took a year and a half of waiting, but as I type this, I’m at my writer’s retreat. Woot! Whether you’re seeing this post at the regular time or much later today will depend on whether or not I can sign into the dashboard for my blog (I’m on my Lenovo here, not my MSI and I still switching back and forth between the two for some things, like blog posts).

I gotta tell you, third time’s the charm.

The first retreat I went on, Winterfire, was pretty much a learning experience. And I don’t mean learning as in I learned a lot there, I mean learning as in learning to investigate a little more fully about what I want/don’t want out of a retreat. It had a beautiful setting – a big manor house up on Lake Simcoe – but was a little lacking in the amenities, and it was run by a Toronto Based writer’s group so naturally a lot of the participants were from that group. They seemed to be dabblers more than writers; only a couple of them were serious about their writing and they pretty much kept to themselves.

The second one, the Kingston Writersfest, was pretty good (really good compared to Winterfire). It was an urban setting, but set on the waterfront. It was more down to the brass tacks of writing with its lectures and masterclasses to pick and choose from to make your own schedule. There really weren’t many opportunities to socialize outside of the classes, but I did learn a lot.

This retreat is everything I was looking for in a retreat. It’s a picturesque setting, the cabins lined up along the north shore of Rice Lake. Each cabin has its own kitchen, fireplace, and deck, but it’s part of a resort so there’s also a restaurant and all kinds of stuff to do should you want to. We have group writing sessions, but lots of free time to do our own thing. The cabins are shared, but we each have our own room – one shared bathroom with a spa tub, one small bathroom with a closet sized shower attached to one of the bedrooms.

This retreat is for more serious-minded writers, or writers who are trying to take their writing more seriously. The cabins were supposed to have a writing desk in each bedroom, but the only “desk” in here is a table-like thing with a chair against the wall beside the fireplace. But that’s okay. There’s a long table in the kitchen that’s big enough for at least two of us (socially distant) to work on our laptops. Mostly we’ve been writing in notebooks.

These writers are friendly and more sociable, and the only bad thing about it is that I only signed up for three days, not the five or seven. It’s even worse when the moderators announced that this will be the last retreat they’ll be offering. *sigh*

Looks like it’s back to the drawing board to find a yearly (or more often) writing retreat to go to. However, if I feel the need to get away to write I can always book a cabin on my own. Maybe even talk a writer friend or two into going with me.

Can’t say as I got a lot of writing done last week, other than the blog posts. I seem to recall running a lot of errands, mostly in the morning which is when I’m supposed to be writing. I managed to get together with one of my writing friends and we had coffee down on the waterfront one cool and grey-looking day, and another of my writing friends and I have been unsuccessfully trying to connect by phone.

Of course I can feel the creative juices starting to ignite from being at the retreat. Let’s just hope I can keep fueling the fire once I get home.

I’m more than halfway through The Green Man, by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, and I probably don’t even have to say how much I’m enjoying it.

The Week Ahead . . .

I have no idea what this week’s spice is going to be. My big book of spices is at home. But rest assured there’s always room for more spice in your life.

Other than writing every day, I also have no idea what I’ll be doing this week. I’d like to try and nail down my mornings for writing in my office, but I suspect first I’ll have to clean it – again!

One thing I’d like to do for sure is nail down my idea for this year’s NaNo. Maybe I’ll have to write them on a list or something – I have several of them. Although the Kiranthus book isn’t out of the race yet.

I’ll let you know how it goes.