Tag: WritingRetreat

Writing Retreat, Day 2

On By SimonneBradenLeave a comment

14 March 2020

I woke up to sunlight streaming through my window and drinking coffee out of can. It’s not my preferred way to enjoy a cuppa, as the cute indy cafe down the street called my name before all the virus stuff hit, but it was certainly better than what the hotel provided.

I headed out to the beach for a run. There were a decent amount of people out there, but I managed to avoid them all. I promised myself 20 minutes out and 20 minutes back. It was a perfect morning on the strand with bright sun and cool temps. I savored ever moment, as I knew this could be the last time I’d get to do this for awhile. My husband was almost certain we’d be under quarantine orders soon. I returned nearly an hour later, showered, and got myself settled with a glass of wine at the wobbly desk with that sliver view of the ocean, ready to write the first chapter.

A friend popped up in my inbox with an urgent edit for a newsletter for a non-profit, so I did that. I wasn’t as quick as I thought I would be, but as it turned out, it was the perfect exercise to get into writing mode.

The good Lord knows what you need.

Like starting all things, it took a moment to get going, as I had to research my opening line. I didn’t get started on the book until 1pm, much later than I anticipated – two chapters wasn’t going to happen, so I only focused on one. The story I had to tell was very linear, and I had the details – although they jumped around, as my interviewee’s ADD kicked in. My pre-writing was the notes from the interview, I probably should have organized the thoughts in a true pre-writing fashion, but by taking them organically, it all came together.

A few hours later, I was in need of more wine and food after I got about half way through. Word count was rising and I felt good about the content. I took a break to watch the world burn on cable news and checked in on my husband back home. I picked up the story where I left off and the words kept coming. It flowed like a brook over stones. I finally stopped a little after midnight, the story wrapped up in a bow, the chapter complete.

In 11 hours, I had pushed out 3,700 words.

As I snuggled into sleep, another idea popped up, so I quickly scribbled that down. I had to force myself to go to sleep and stop thinking about the chapter. I turned off the laptop so I wouldn’t be tempted to copy edit.

Outside of downloading the writing program Scrivener, locking myself in a hotel room to write was one of the best things I’ve ever done as a writer.

I can’t wait to do it again.

Writing Retreat, Day 1

On By SimonneBraden1 Comment

13 March 2020

I’m holed up in a hotel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with a partial ocean view. I can see a sliver of the ocean from the corner of the room where I write, but it was a cheap hotel. I’ve stayed in worse, I’ve stayed in better – but for what it is, it’ll work. Between the ocean waves, the loud cars on the strip, and the drunken tourists, it’s everything I thought it would be.

I turned off the AC unit and opened the sliding glass door to my balcony and it’s made all the difference. Cityscape noise is a great background to writing for me.

My goodness, I need to be in Paris!

I almost cancelled this trip because of the coronaviruus. I had my cafes, restaurants, and bars planned out – but I scrapped all that for meals I can make in a microwave to avoid the public and a bottle of wine. Still, I don’t think anyone got the memo there is a pandemic of epic proportions underway.

I’m basically self-quarantining in a hotel, after wiping down every surface in here with bleach wipes.

I’m surprised there are so many people here. My favorite so far were the twenty year old couple from a college in Michigan who didn’t realize the hotel had age restrictions when booking for spring break. I think they got it all sorted out with the help of parents.

I received some unexpected good news my first night: my first ever book proposal was submitted to a publishing world person to read – and it came back to me copy edited! COPY EDITED! I thought I was going to get the “No publishing company would ever read this drivel” or “It’s okay for a start, but….” and instead it came back with copy edits. I want to cry I am so happy! I’m doing my best not to get a fat head over it.

Tonight was a warm up with some wine and light writing. Tomorrow the real stuff begins – writingthe first two chapters. I have all my pre-writing research done, it’s just a matter of spinning the words into chapters.

But I’ll do all that after coffee, breakfast, and a beach run.