This weekend, I planned, booked, and paid for two weeks away from my house.
I am very fortunate to have an employer with very generous leave policies and I don’t gain anything from not taking allotted time off, so I’m resolved to use all of it this year.
The first trip is my elopement/honeymoon. My awesome fiancee and I have decided to forego the traditional American taffeta orgy in favor of what we really want. Imagine that! Just the two of us, on a beach in Maui. We have, by an large, tremendously supportive family and friends who love the idea.
The second trip was to The Porches writing retreat here in Virginia. I did something similar last year before I took the GRE: took off Monday-Friday and spent all day every day at the library studying for the exam before finally taking it the Friday of that week. This, however, is no staycation.
I’ll be driving several hours west to The Porches, which is a renovated farm house. I plan on bringing clothes, my computer, a stack of books, running shoes and a bag of groceries. That’s it. I’ll probably keep my cell phone around for running interval-timing purposes and maybe the odd instagram post, but I’m kind of looking forward to being pretty disconnected.
The objective for the first vacation is to get married. The objective for the second one is to finish the book.
My retreat to The Porches will be a welcome brain break, opportunity to focus, and chance to get away. Hopefully I’ll leave the house feeling refreshed, bright, and with a manuscript ready to submit to agents!
Have you done a solo writer’s retreat before? Share your tips with me!
The Merry Manuscript 