For my personal vacation this year, I went on the Focus Writing Retreat with the Habit. The idea for this retreat was to provide the opportunity for focused time on a writing project, while at the same time providing community and social activities as a group so we wouldn’t go crazy (the organizer had some humorous horror stories about solo retreats in the past). We had blocks of time in the morning and afternoons for several hours of writing work, but we shared all our meals. It was so nice to have social touch points and opportunities to encourage each other to stay focused on the goals we’d set!
My flight got into Nashville at 7:30 in the morning and I walked all around Nashville to stay awake (my alarm went off at 3:00am). I walked through the campus of Vanderbilt University, Centennial Park (which includes a full size replica of the Parthenon) and downtown.
I went to a church service at Nashville First Baptist because I’d really enjoyed worshipping in that building a few years ago at a conference. I actually had an article, I Will Build My Church…Mid-Century Modern, published about the experience! It was sweet to be in a worship service with like-minded people in a beautiful building where I knew I wouldn’t be interrupted with work responsibilities.
After Sunday lunch on my own downtown, another retreat participant met me and we went to Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage. You may remember that I had a goal of visiting all the president’s homes in Virginia, which I accomplished in 2021 (blog post here). I love the old architecture of the homes, but also enjoy finding out more about the presidents in the setting where they lived. Andrew Jackson’s home is the best preserved of all the presidential homes open to the public, with most of the furniture being original. It is very impressive, but there is a log cabin visible from the grand house. It was last a home for enslaved people, but before it was modified to that purpose, it had been the original home of Andrew Jackson. Interesting to see the contrast! We also happened to be there on Jackson’s 259th birthday!
The first evening of the retreat, after we had shared a delicious Italian dinner together, the nine participants shared about our goals for the retreat. For myself, I was trying to take a Draft 0 of a historical fiction novel I’ve been working on the last year and a half to a complete First Draft. I had about 52,000 words before the retreat started. Others were working on fiction manuscripts (fantasy and realistic fiction, some for middle grade, some for adults), nonfiction biography, and memoir for blog posts and books.
The setting of the retreat was beautiful! The honey colored stone buildings and stone window casements of the Scarritt Bennet Center reminded me of England. About half of the days of the retreat were cold and rainy, but it felt cozy to be tucked away writing with some tea and cookies, wrapped in the world of the story. The center was built as a college for women missionaries in the 1920s so we stayed in the old dormitories, enjoyed meals in their high ceiling dining hall, and gathered and wrote in a room in the library.
Before the retreat, I was very excited, but I also felt a little nervous. Would I be able to spend 6-8 hours a day just writing? Would I get bored? Would I only be able to work in short chunks and begin looking for something else to fill my time? I was pleasantly surprised that when I was mentally prepared to write and was able to remove distractions, it was enjoyable and I was able to work several hours at a time. Not only was I away from my usual responsibilities (job, house work, creative sewing projects, social calendar, etc), I also logged out of my personal email, any social media, messaging apps, etc. I only used my dumb phone for texts and calls (I didn’t get many). I brought a book, journal, and a knitting project just in case, and planned to take walks if I wanted. These would be a suitable mental break if needed without introducing a distraction, but I found I didn’t often need a long break because I was excited about the work!
At the end of the week, I had 67,000 words. I think I officially have a first draft on my manuscript! Of course, there is still a long way to go. I’m now setting aside Draft One for a few weeks before I return to it with a more critical eye to prepare for Draft Two.
The final evening, the participants all shared a 5-10 minute excerpt of their writing. Most people shared something they had written during the week, even if was unpolished. It was so sweet to share together, some stories sparking laughter, others tears.
In the evenings, we enjoyed some group activities. My favorite evening activity was having a Songwriters’ Round with Andrew Osenga, Randall Goodgame (whom I was excited to meet and was able to thank for the quality children’s music he writes), and Melanie Penn. Songwriters performing in the round was a new experience for me, though a normal occurrence in Nashville. It was such a fun experience to hear the stories behind songs, see a more casual side of the artists as they forgot song lyrics or had to change keys after the first line, and be part of audience participation. Local members of the Habit were also invited to join the audience so I met a few people in person whom I had previously only known online, but had connected with over our writing. My favorite song was the last one we sang, from Melanie Penn’s album The Rising. I’ve had it playing on repeat since then and I hope you enjoy it as you are preparing for Easter. Roll That Stone Away!
I would definitely consider doing a retreat like this again!
Welcome To The Carriage House 