My Solo Writing Retreat Is A Major Success

I think I’ll be doing these more often

If you saw my Instagram or Facebook, you wouldn’t think my mini-retreat was a successful experiment. I had tons of pictures of my adventures in the city and the occasional meme.

According to the title, this experiment worked out better than I thought. I banged out a few poems, and I found a poetry book at the last minute to help experiment with style. I still have some poems to polish before I’m finished. And then I’ll start editing soon!

One of my lifelong dreams is to make a living as a writer, and this trip helped me feel good about my progress getting there.

I Didn’t Spend My Trip In My Hotel Room

I’ve said it before: you can’t force yourself to write. You could plan your day staring at a screen, but it doesn’t mean you’ll get your words out.

I’m not saying you should only write when you feel like it. I’m saying you can’t force inspiration. If I had stayed in my hotel room for the week, I would’ve wasted my trip. I would’ve spent all my time watching YouTube videos and not written anything. Maybe I would’ve read a book, or wasted time playing games on my phone.

I spent my time outside of my room and exploring the city. I saw the zoo and museums. I took pictures for future inspiration. I know I’ll look back on these pictures later and come up with something.

I Didn’t Write Much, But I Took Too Many Pictures

I fit the millennial stereotype and take way too many pictures. It’s a hobby and a tool. It’s a hobby I enjoy, and maybe I’ll sell them later. But these pictures are tools for inspiration.

You’d think I’d have an overabundance of poems with all these pictures, right? Well, it didn’t happen like that. I wrote some poems while in Phoenix and even fell asleep writing! But I didn’t write more than five poems.

But that’s okay! I have enough pictures. I know I’ll have a day or two to write more! It’s happened in the past. I’ve even written a short story with pictures! So I’m not worried about writing so few poems while on my vacation. The images will help later.

I Wrote Where You’d Never Expect

When I think of writing retreats, I think of a resort-like vacation. Writers spend their days exploring their area and nights holed up in their hotel rooms writing their hearts out.

Sometimes, it happened, and sometimes it didn’t. But one consistent pattern I noticed was never writing in my hotel room. I’d have my notebook, and I’d write everywhere except in my room. My favorite places to write were restaurants. I also banged out a couple of decent poems in the zoo, too.

When I attempted to write in the hotel room once, I fell asleep in the middle of writing. I didn’t go back to the piece for a few days.

The why doesn’t matter. Having a notebook on your person at all times matters. Then you don’t risk losing your ideas because you don’t have anything to record them.

Not Everyone Can Fly Across The Country For A Writing Retreat

At home, I couldn’t get myself to write. I’d either stare at my screen, watch YouTube videos, or play games on my phone. Even the thought of writing made me feel tired.

I worried I was getting burned out of writing, so I planned this trip, hoping burnout wasn’t my problem. Thankfully, it wasn’t.

However, I know it’s not easy for every writer to go away for a week to get their writing mojo back. Not everyone can pack up and fly around the world when they feel like it. Some of us have jobs, others have families to care for, and some have health problems that don’t make it easy to write.

I can’t afford to fly around on a whim, either. This trip took months of planning before it happened.

Final Thoughts

This trip was my first attempt at a solo writer’s retreat. I still thought it was successful, even though I didn’t write much. I did learn some things while I was on my trip.

• Always have a notebook on you: I hardly wrote in my hotel. I often wrote where I explored.
• Budget for anything: My flight back home got canceled, and I had to buy another plane ticket. If I hadn’t budgeted well, I would’ve been screwed.
• Explore your area: I struggled with writing at home and in my hotel room because my computer and phone were within reach. Once I left both places and explored, I could write more.
• Walk around your area: Most of the time, I walked when I wanted to go somewhere. Yes, the public transportation in Phoenix was fantastic, but I walked more there than I had in a while. The walking opened up my brain, giving me ideas. Once I sat down, I started writing. You don’t have to go far for this one. You could walk around your area and call it good.
• Enjoy being alone: Seriously. Part of being a writer is giving yourself enough alone time to get things done. You can’t get anything done if you’re distracted all the time. Being happy with being alone is helpful for more productive writing.

I’m considering making another solo retreat later this year, but it won’t be across the country. The way gas prices and travel is skyrocketing these days, I don’t know if I’ll get the chance to go cross-country again for a while.

It doesn’t mean I can’t make another solo retreat. It means I’ll have to make sure the next one stays local. It could be as close as the next town over or as far as the U.P.

Until then, I’m enjoying this bout of inspiration I’m getting and seeing what more I can do.

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