Lessons from a Writing Retreat

This past week, I attended the Rainforest Writing Retreat on the Olympic Peninsula. It was a glorious five days (four full days + 2 half days) full of words, writers, and writing. This was my second year of attending the retreat, but my first in-person event since it was a virtual retreat in 2021. In case you’re considering joining a writing retreat, I thought I’d share a few of the things I learned.

Internet

I use the internet when I write. Like, a lot. A lot, a lot.

How much I rely on it became clear during the retreat because the internet and cell connectivity near Lake Quinault ranged from poor to non-existent. While I’ve seen the advice to make notes to myself in the text à la:

[Spanish word for smoke]

I found it really frustrating to do so.

The retreat taught me how frequently I refer to Google Maps, the Word Explorer tool from ProWritingAid, and YouTube. I also couldn’t access my Plottr files, which was a real bummer. Luckily, I’d already imported my Plottr notes into Scrivener, but I wasn’t able to take advantage of the character and place images I’d stored in my Plottr project.

At one point, I resorted to texting friends to ask them to look up distances between two points in kilometers, because not knowing was causing my writing to slow down.

Retreat Word Count

So the point of a writing retreat is to write, and boy did I. Each day, I woke up before the sun and stopped writing well after dusk.

Here are my word count results from the 2021 and 2022 Rainforest Writing Retreats.

Because the difference in word count was negligible, I’ve concluded (based on my very scientific, two, data points) my retreat mindset isn’t dependent on my physical location or even on my physical proximity to other writers.

Last year, I spent the time at a waterfront cottage by myself. I attended every craft talk, took a 1+ hour walk each day, and worked quietly with other writers (on video, but with everyone muted). During the retreat, I wrote the last quarter of Graphite and Turbulence, Book 2 in the Elemental Artist series.

This year, I attended all craft talks, social functions, daily yoga sessions, group meals, and went for a 1+ hour walk each day.

While drafting, I worked quietly with other writers (in the lounge, masks required, no speaking), and also in my hotel room by myself. This year, I started Charcoal and Smoke, Book 3 in the Elemental Artist series.

Yet, even with all the differences, there was a measly 347-word disparity between the two retreats.

Retreats Have Book Tables!

As a bibliophile, I flirt occasionally with tsundoku—the Japanese practice of acquiring books but letting them pile up unread. Even recognizing this, and knowing my TBR (to-be-read) pile is large, I couldn’t help myself as I more than helped myself to the book table.

I mean, why buy books from bookshops when you can purchase them straight from the author?

Even better, when the author attends the same retreat… you can get them signed! I got all these lovely science fiction and fantasy books signed, except one!

Things to Bring on Your Retreat

Overall, I was pretty happy with how well I was set up for this retreat. They provided breakfast, and I brought a bagful of my favorite snacks, tea, and a bottle of bourbon. I came home with most of each, but it was nice to have them on hand! The venue had a small store onsite, and I purchased a few things from them, too. My hotel room didn’t include a kitchen, but between my travel kettle, a small knife and cutting board, and my Itaki Pro, I had no issues making meals on the nights I didn’t purchase takeout from the onsite restaurant.

Next year, to up my comfort, I’ll bring a lap blanket and a footrest. I also wished I’d brought a wine key and glass. Last, because I was working on Book 3 of my series, I needed to refer to books 1 and 2. Luckily; I had a copy of Book 2 on my tablet, and I’d brought copies of Oil and Dust to sell on the book table. In the future, I’ll ensure I have copies of my previous books available on my tablet before heading out to a retreat.

Retreat Wrap Up

While I’ve found both virtual and in-person writing retreats useful, given the chance, I’d attend the in-person event whenever possible. I enjoyed the social programming much more than I’d expected, and met a lot of terrific people. Not only was the retreat productive—I came home well into the second act of my draft—but I learned a lot about other local programs and networking opportunities for writers.

Have you attended a writing retreat?