I have a new addiction:
WRITING RETREATS.
Do you see the sidebar over there? The one called "Writing Goal 2016!"? And do you see the two days in which I clocked more than 2000 words apiece? Those were WRITING RETREAT days.
The first--a three-hour deal with three friends, up on the special faculty floor of the library. I had just come up with a whole new framework for my book (one that I'm still excited about, by the way--and at 10 days later, that's probably a record), and in those three hours I drafted a brand new introduction to the beast.
The second--today--an all-day retreat at a Remote Location with about 8-10 folks, two of whom I already knew. Nothing very formal (we brought our lunches and other necessary gear). Somehow, sitting around a table with a bunch of other people--in silence--bending to our tasks--well, it helped me move forward. A lot.
There's no way that I could keep up this pace, even if the semester weren't about to start. For one (very important) thing, I need to do some reading and research in order to have more to write. But I feel great about the start of the year, writing-wise, and I've finally worked through some sticky places in my current chapter.
A tiny, secret part of me thinks that I might, just maybe, be able to finish a complete draft of the book MS in 2016. But don't tell anybody. Resolutions always start to wane in February....
3 comments:
This is EXCELLENT! My college used to sponsor weeklong retreats on campus, and they provided food & coffee. You weren't locked in, but you weren't supposed to come & go. It was very popular... and then folks started signing up for the limited seats and then being no-shows. And this is why we can't have nice things.
Ugh! That sucks. Our university-sponsored ones are pretty informal (you CAN come and go, and this semester I'll have to, because I teach on Fridays), but you DO get a $5 coupon for campus food services and there's a decent cafe (with food!) in the building. So that's all to the good.
Good luck preparing for your big presentation, by the way! I look forward to catching up at Kzoo and hearing about your year!
I take solo retreats to hotels, and they tend to be very productive because I have 20-24 during which my brain does not have to shift gears to kids or teaching or service or whatever. I haven't experienced the group effort you describe here. Glad it's working for you, and the MS progress sounds great.
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