How to Get the Best Creativity-Boosting Results from Your Writing Retreat

Every fall, I take a week to ten days to get away to my own little writing retreat.

I have a quiet location I go to that I’m really familiar with. The people know me there, and I can come and go as I please. The area offers just the right combination of small town friendliness and nearby natural wonders.

In other words, the perfect place to relax, shed some stress, regroup, brainstorm new ideas, and of course, write.

I get more done in terms of figuring out where I’m going next in my writing career over that precious few days than at any other time during the year. The ideas, outlines, and projects that come to me then give me more than enough to work on for the next 365 days.

When Is Your Next Writing Retreat

Everywhere I go, I try to encourage other writers to take time for a yearly writing retreat. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. Do whatever you can based on your budget, but don’t be afraid to invest in yourself.

Time away from responsibilities, stress, and the go-go-go of our modern-day world is a necessity for creative artists. It’s often the only time your creative mind gets the space it needs to perform at its best.

Why not give it a shot, and see what you come up with? A number of other writers (besides me) have created their own retreats, and they all rave about the results.

“I began longing to get away to write when I was a brand-new mother and fledgling writer,” says writer and teacher Susan Ito. “I desperately craved a pocket of time where I could just think, sleep, write, and read uninterrupted for longer than a minute at a time. When my daughter turned 1 year old, I packed up my computer, my journal, a few books, and my favorite pillow, and headed to Santa Sabina, a retreat center that had once been a convent for novitiate nuns.”

After a few days at her retreat, Ito felt recharged and refreshed, and called the time “deep and nourishing.” She’s returned many times since.

So what makes the perfect writing retreat? Here are some tips to help you create one that works for you.

Writing Retreat Tip 1. Get Away to Somewhere New, Preferably Close to Nature

Several writing sites suggest planning an “at-home” or “stay-cation” writing retreat, particularly if you want to save money. I don’t recommend that simply because novelty is so important for a creative soul.

The idea of a retreat is to nourish and restore your creative self. That can be near impossible to do while you’re at home. There are too many things around you vying for your attention—rooms that need to be cleaned, projects that need to be completed, and people that want your help.

Second, the environment is way too familiar to you. Studies have shown that when we shake things up and introduce our brains to new things, we stimulate creative thought. (Read more about that in our post, “How to Balance Routine and Novelty to Boost Writing Productivity.”)

If you want to get the most bang for your buck, go somewhere else, somewhere that offers you new sites and sounds to explore. It doesn’t have to be somewhere exotic or expensive. Just somewhere “away” from where you spend most of your life.

“Sure, you can write anywhere,” says literary writer Kristen Scatton, “but the point of a retreat is to switch it up, take a break from your normal surroundings to see how that jump-starts your creativity. It’s easy to stagnate when you’re staring at the same four walls every day and your chair is so broken-in there’s a permanent imprint of your ass on the seat cushion.”

Ways to Make a Writing Retreat Economical

Many writers house-sit for friends as a way to build an inexpensive writing retreat.

There are also many ways you can put together an economical trip away, including home-rental sites and hotels in backwoods towns.

Do try to find somewhere that puts you close to nature. Daily walks in natural surroundings are pretty much a requirement for a writing retreat. There’s no better way to shed stress, clear your mind, and open yourself up to what the muse has to tell you.

“Try and spend at least twenty minutes outside per day to refresh yourself and your mind,” says writing teacher E. M. Welsh. “If you’re having trouble writing or can’t seem to focus, reconnecting with the natural world will bring your mind some much needed clarity….”

2. Don’t Set Any Writing Goals

Again, many writing sites will encourage you to set a goal for your writing retreat. I would advise against it.

If you’re a dedicated writer, you spend enough time working with deadlines and goals. What you need is some space to allow your creative nature to come alive again.

There’s nothing wrong with taking some time away to complete a novel, for example, or to get a new website up. But that is a different type of get-away than what I’m talking about.

I’m suggesting you create a retreat that is all about taking a step back, re-evaluating where you are in your writing life right now, and reflecting on where you want to go from here.

This type of retreat offers you a way to tap into your muse and discover new ideas for how you can best move forward with your writing life. If you do it right, it can help you get super excited about your writing again, and provide you with the energy and motivation you need to dedicate another year of hard work to building your career.

The best way to return from your retreat refreshed and ready to tackle your next set of writing goals is to keep the retreat itself goal-free. This is your time to relax, daydream, and imagine without putting pressure on yourself to produce. Just let yourself “be,” and your innate creative nature won’t be able to resist bubbling up with new ideas within a few days of your arrival. Watch and see!

Writing Retreat Tip 3. Immerse Yourself in Activities that Inspire Your Imagination

While rest, relaxation, time in nature, and good food are often enough to restore your creativity, you can do a few things to nudge the process along.

I love to explore bookstores I’ve never been in before. While I’m away, I always track some down and get lost inside the shelves. Inevitably I’ll find a book on creativity that I’ll pick up and read the rest of the time I’m gone, usually taking notes as I go along. It helps to stimulate new ideas for all kinds of things, including new books, blog posts, and other related projects.

Another good idea is to expose yourself to other types of art that you usually don’t have time to explore. Go to an art gallery, attend a symphony concert, or head out to see some live theater. Find out what’s unique about the area you’re in and go see it. Ask the locals for recommendations. Head out to museums or aquariums or wildlife preserves. Take advantage of the time you have to immerse yourself in the unusual, the creative, and the unique.

You could even try your hand at something new, like painting, knitting, or playing an instrument. If there are classes nearby, sign up. Even just one day of a paintbrush in your hand can do wonders for your creative inner child.

4. Set Limits on Your Cell Phone/Social Media Time

This should go without saying, but we’re all so super connected these days that it will probably take a conscious effort on your part to make sure that you’re not too distracted by what’s going on at home and at work while you’re away.

I’d suggest putting an automatic reply on your email to let people know you’re out of town so you don’t feel you have to answer emails straight away. Set times to check social media, and otherwise ignore it. Let your family know that you will be “working” on your writing, and will check in at set times. Remember: you need mental space as much as physical space, and the cell phone way too often crowds that space.

“It may seem unreasonable to hide your phone for an entire weekend,” says Welsh, “and that very well might be true. But for your weekend retreat you’ll want to ensure distractions like social media don’t get in your way. The best way to do this without throwing your phone out of your house is to log out of all social media accounts on your computer and phone so you won’t be as tempted.”

I always put my phone in the silent mode so that it doesn’t bother me at all. I have certain times of the day when I check it, and otherwise its main use is as a camera when I go hiking!

Another idea—go somewhere the reception isn’t so good. Scratton says, “So first things first….make your writing space as distraction-free as possible. Hide the TV remotes, shut off the modem, and put your phone on silent, at least until your writing for the day is complete.”

Writing Retreat Tip 5. Be Patient and Take Care of Yourself.

You may be surprised to find yourself feeling restless the first couple days of your retreat. This is perfectly normal, and why I suggest you get away for at least four days, with the ideal being a week or more.

Getting away from your normal life can feel a little bit like going through withdrawal symptoms. Without all the usual distractions, tasks, to-do lists, and demands on your time, you may feel unsettled and like you don’t know what to do with yourself.

You may even go through a brief period of grief, where you miss your regular life and feel frustrated and unsure what to do with this new form of existence.

Writer and personal growth pioneer Jennifer Louden experienced these types of feelings firsthand when she went on her retreat:

“I have:: cried (that happens to me on retreat, like emotional catching up) napped, meditated, chanted…giggled, and done a little wailing. I have: walked back and forth to the beach a half dozen times, eaten an enormous amount of roasted veggies, drank an enormous amount of green juice…indulged in raisins and popcorn….dropped my computer (scary), read, and ached for Bob and Lilly. Mostly I have: sat with my squirmy self.”

Hang in there. Be patient. As long as you eat a healthy diet, get some exercise every day, and remind yourself you are there to relax, the feelings will gradually go away.

You’ll start to regain “real” energy that’s not propped up with caffeine and alarms. You’ll start to look forward to the activities you want to pursue.

And eventually, surely, the desire to write and create will come to the surface, and you’ll get to it for the sheer joy of it.

What better gift could you ask for?

Will you be scheduling a writing retreat this summer?

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Sources

Ito, S. (2017, August 16). Introducing the DIY writing retreat – The Writer. Retrieved from https://www.writermag.com/2017/08/16/diy-writing-retreat/

Louden, J. (2012, May 18). Create Your Own Writing Retreat. Retrieved from https://jenniferlouden.com/create-your-own-writing-retreat/

Scatton, K. (2015, March 3). Make A DIY Writers’ Retreat In 3 Simple Steps. Retrieved from https://www.bustle.com/articles/66804-design-a-diy-writers-retreat-youll-need-these-3-important-components

Welsh, E. M. (n.d.). How to Have the Perfect Weekend Writer’s Retreat. Retrieved from https://www.emwelsh.com/blog/weekend-writers-retreat/