Writing Retreat and Residency Wish List

Lately I've been planning on dreaming about doing a writers retreat or residency. While it's enticing to think about, I have a full time job, a husband and a daughter that I can't just abandon to spend a week or month hidden away, writing and learning about writing. *Sigh* A girl can dream though, right?

But just because I can't attend one of these events, that doesn't mean you can't! Then I can live vicariously through you.

Let's talk first about the difference between a Retreat and a Residency:

Retreats are a cross between a Residency and a Conference. Typically you're in a setting that is conducive to writing. Peaceful, gorgeous, quiet, the envy of every single one of your busy, overworked friends. Friends that will probably hate you when you post pictures of your surroundings.

*Looks pointedly over glasses at Twitter friends that do retreats*

Other than the perfect setting, you'll also typically interact with speakers who teach you more about your writing, be it promotion, marketing, plotting, character development etc. This is actually why I'm drawn to retreats, because it is time to focus on and develop certain parts of my writing with the guidance of a professional who most certainly knows more than I do on the subject. And getting to do it all surrounded by peace and quiet instead of with an angry toddler who's hit the biting phase? Yes, please!

Residencies on the other hand do not offer coaching sessions like the retreats. Residencies are usually 1 week to 3 months of seclusion in one of those gorgeous locations I talked about, to just write. I think I would go nuts after 1 month of seclusion, but time alone with my thoughts and my writing sounds like absolute bliss. Can you imagine being able to write day in and day out without distraction, surrounded by absolute beauty? Amazing.

In all honesty, I'd probably go nuts after 2 or 3 nights away from my grumpy little toddler and my husband. I've never been away from them for more than a day. They drive me nuts, but I love them to the moon and back. :)

So, while I'll probably never attend one of these (you totally should) here are some of my dream retreats and Residencies.

Retreats:

Schull, Co Cork, IRELAND

Georgian House overlooking Schull Harbour in West Cork, Ireland. (This is Ireland. My dream. I'm there.)

http://www.writersretreat.com/retreatdetails.php?id=158

Wellspring House: A Retreat for Writers and Artists by Preston Browning

Location: Ashfield, MA 

http://www.wellspringhouse.net/mission

The Porches

Norwood, VA

http://www.porcheswritingretreat.com/

Residencies:

Ucross Foundation

Northeastern Wyoming

http://www.ucrossfoundation.org/

Martha's Vineyard Writers Residency (Yes, I'm a wine-o)

Edgartown, Massachusetts

http://writersresidency.com/marthas-vineyard-writers-residency/

Jack Kerouac Writer in Residence Project

Orlando, FL (uhhh 3 months in Florida - no brainer)

http://www.kerouacproject.org/

Today's Random Ramblings

I have loved writing from the time I could hold a crayon between my chubby little fingers. Oftentimes I still get an awkward sideways glance when I mention I'm writing a novel. (Why people think this is not a "normal" pastime, I'm still not sure.) My comment is nearly always followed by a question that I love to answer, "What is your book about?" 

I proceed to recant my synopsis and watch people get heavily intrigued by the story and delve into all sorts of questions. (Questions that actually have helped me flesh out the finer details of my story) THAT. That is why I love to write. Storytelling is amazing to me. I love immersing myself in stories that I just want to bundle myself up in and never leave it's world. I also love creating that story for others who devour stories, as I do.

Currently, I'm so close to finishing the first draft of this novel (Uh, by the way, no one ever told me how frustrating the first draft of a novel can be - coming from short story writing), that I can't help but mention to anyone who will listen at at every opportunity that I'm writing a book. I HAVE to talk about it. I get giddy when I think I can get a mention in about it and act like a 5 year old with a secret.

It's actually starting to get embarrassing. Speaking of embarrassing, maybe I should write a post about how strange it feels to promote myself. I mean, I want people to know about me and my writing. I want people to read what I write. I want people to like what I write (meaning they have to read it to like it). So people need to know who I am and that I write. But self promotion feels weird. It just does. 

Well, until I've situated my thoughts on feeling odd about self promotion, I'm outta here. My one year old beckons. And by beckons, I mean she's trying to rip our cats tail off. Later Gator.

I'm a terrible blogger. But I DO write.

I am AWFUL about updating my blog, and I promise I will try to make it up to you all. It's been a busy six months since I last updated. My little lady turned one year old, we bought our first home, I started a new day job as a laboratory supervisor, oh... and I've nearly finished the book!!!

I'm happy to report that I've set a deadline finally for finishing the first draft of this manuscript! Actually, the deadline is exactly one year after my first blog post on here, April 22nd, 2015. I find that if I don't set deadlines for myself, the stuff just doesn't get done. Period. Life happens, it gets in the way and ruins all plans that involve novel writing. I'm actually taking a bit of time off of work to really give myself the time I need to really push through to the end.

After that it's all about editing, which I'm hoping to have done by July. Then it's on to submitting to literary agents. 

Which brings me to my sadness for today. Today is #PitMad day on Twitter and as much as I would fear for my pride while ADORE pitching to all the agents scouring twitter for the next big deal, I shan't. There is no way my manuscript is polished enough to show to anyone, let alone people who hold the keys to the future of this book. So I will sit here reading all of the awesome -and a few odd ball- pitches for a while longer and then it is back to work. Edit edit and edit some more!

Well, Hell. Autocorrect and Fight Scenes.

I just realized that the spelling in my last post was AWFUL! That's what I get for using swipe on my phone while trying to also feed my daughter. FAIL. I went back and fixed the typos, though!

So I actually got in some awesome writing today. I'm still working on my skills with fight scenes. Those are so awkward for me to write, but I managed to pump out a really good one, I think.

I got about a half a chapter written today, all of which was a fight scene. I've been avoiding writing for a couple days because I was so intimidated by it. So I spent every waking moment of the last three days thinking about how to write it down. And I mean every moment. In the shower, while I was changing diapers, while I did the dishes, while I was pinning a yummy chicken enchilada recipe on Pinterest, etc..

But it's done! It's on paper! And I didn't edit it until I was done writing it all down. Progress.

The deeper I get into this story the more difficult it's becoming to write it down. Some of this stuff is really brutal. Can YA be brutal? Is that legit? Well, I'd like to push the limits and go ahead and say, yes, yes it can be.

Gotta run! Ttfn!

Book banning. Well I'm screwed.

I read this article today:

 

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5152983?ir=Books

 

It's the list of most challenged books of 2013. Challenged, meaning, people making formal complaints to have the book banned from the library.

 

It is disheartening to see that even in 2013 there are still people that want to sensor our freedom of speech. But, it is uplifting to know that most of these books are the best sellers of the year.

 

These books are being scrutinized for having antagonistic situations that make some people uncomfortable because they bring to light the worst of our society or what used to be the worst of our society.

 

At the moment, I find this article almost comical. The Book is a fantasy but it touches on a very real, very uncomfortable issue that happens everyday in many many places. So this leads me to the "I guess I'm screwed" part. I'm not worried about making people uncomfortable with my story. I'm worried about people taking the right message from my story. I want to highlight the bad so that the bad will be seen and heard because the are so many silent sufferers. I don't want people to assume I'm advocating for the antagonist. WHY would anyone assume the author wants the characters they write to hurt? They want to show the protagonist succeeding and over coming the horrors that are placed before them.

 

That doesn't apply to all books, but most.

 

Well, I've just rambled on a bit. But the gist is, I'm writing something that will make some people uncomfortable. Too darn bad for them.

 

Ttfn! :)