I want to go on retreat every weekend!

I'd really like to spend every weekend in a secluded house, doing nothing but writing and talking about writing. The retreat last weekend was fantastic.

The program overview:

• Arrival was any time on Thursday or Friday, depending on work commitments.
• We brought breakfasts and lunches with us and went out to dinner each night.
• Each morning after breakfast was a half hour workshop. I presented one on a quick, easy way to plot a story and maintain production when writing.
• We followed a modified Pomodoro method of working: work on writing for 45 minutes, break for 15. By Sunday, when we were trying to finish our work on time, and getting tired, the 45 sometimes stretched to 50 or 55, and sometimes the break stretched to 20.
• Morning tea was in a scheduled break (15 minutes).
• Lunch was an hour, which included a walk.
• We worked that way from 8.30am to 5.15pm before breaking for dinner.

What do you accomplish with a weekend like that? LOTS.

Just having the time away from everything that usually grabs so much of your attention is marvelous. Being with others who are focused on writing too, is inspiring. It's reaffirming to be able to discuss the most realistic way for someone to react to a hit-and-run without others thinking we're callous. Staying in a place with a magnificent view and that feels separated from the rest of the world, reinforces the idea that there's nothing else more important to do but write. The photo shows only part of the view we woke up to every morning. We could see right around from the ocean and The Gold Coast, to Brisbane, to the mountains.

What did I accomplish?

• I completed a few final edits on No Evil Star and sent it to Betas. I suspect there's still more work to do on this one, but it's closer to being finished.
• I wrote a synopsis of No Evil Star and did one edit before putting it aside to think about.
• I finished plotting the last half of a new book. It's a bit complicated. I think I've got it plotted now but I'm not sure how much of a romance it's going to be. The two lovers don't find each other again until the last third of the book. I'll sort that problem out once it's written and I can see where everything is.
• I wrote three new scenes for that story.

By Monday, I was shattered. I couldn't have worked like that for a fourth day straight. I needed a nap.

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