Writing Retreats - Finding Your Focus

I'm not afraid to admit that my writing has been a bit unfocused of late. I traveled like mad this summer, which is why my blog went on a bit of an extended hiatus. I also submitted my latest book to publishers this spring, and I'm always a bit of a basketcase during the submission process (perhaps a post for another time). But now that I'm settled and eager to get back into my writing, I needed to jumpstart my process and find my focus again. Ironically, I found that the best way to focus was to run away again.

It's so easy for 'real life' to get in the way. Since I work from home, it's also easy to find supposedly-legitimate reasons to procrastinate - laundry, cleaning, cooking, watching "Bones" marathons. I also have trouble saying no to friends who want to get together, since they know I don't have anything else going on (as though the writing doesn't count, or can easily be put aside).

All of that is my problem, not anyone else's. But if you're struggling with similar issues, going away to write for a few days may do wonders, if it's within your budget. I found an extremely cheap vacation rental in Squaw Valley, Tahoe, which was perfect for my needs. Vacation rentals (found on sites such as vrbo.com and airbnb.com) can be perfect for a writer's retreat - you can look for places with kitchens or kitchenettes, desks or dining room tables, and other amenities that make your retreat feel more like a productive haven than a prison. My unit had a kitchen and dining room table so that I had plenty of space to work (and could cook my own meals), while the living/dining combo meant I didn't have to spend all my time in the same room where I was sleeping.

All in all, it was wonderful - I wrote ~40 pages, did a lot of revisions, and took care of other writing-related tasks. But if you can't afford to get away or have too many responsibilities at home, think about how you can create your own retreat where you are. Can you lock your bedroom or office door for a day and let your family fend for themselves? If you're single and have another writer friend in the area, can you swap places for a few days so that it feels like you're going on vacation to someplace new? Changing your scene just a bit can have long-term impact in terms of how motivated and energized you are about your project.

Have you gone on a writing retreat? Does it work for you? Or have you found other ways to keep yourself energized in your daily life? Please share in the comments - I'd love to hear what works and doesn't work for you!

Rereading AN INCONVENIENT MARRIAGE

I procrastinated as long as I could this morning (albeit with useful distractions, such as changing the sheets on my bed and cleaning my kitchen), but I spent the rest of the day rereading the entire manuscript of AN INCONVENIENT MARRIAGE. I had not read it all in its entirety since I submitted it for the Golden Heart contest in December; after the deadline, I spent a couple of months relaxing/seeing friends/working on my query letter, and then submitted to a few agents in February. I was hearing back from them at the same time that I heard back from the Golden Heart -- and while I'm thrilled to be a finalist in the Regency category, I haven't had the same luck with agents.

The verdict after a reread? I'm really happy with it overall, particularly with the last two-thirds of the book. But, with the space and distance of a few months spent doing other things, there are a few pieces that leap out to me and begged to be changed. In particular, there are a couple of scenes that I love -- but that I should have rewritten when I did second-draft rewrites of everything else, because while I love the idea of the scene, the style no longer fits the stronger, faster style of the rest of the book.

So, I'm not in despair mode; I'm actually pretty satisfied with what I have, and I'm confident in my ability to fix the pieces I'm not satisfied with. It will require a couple of cuts, a couple of new scenes, and a couple of rewrites of existing scenes -- but I'm setting a goal of being done by mid-May so that I can start querying again before the madness of summer hits in earnest.

Now I'm off -- I'm having dinner at a friend's house, which is a welcome respite from my hermitage, even if I took the unusual route of buying dessert (tiramisu cake from Whole Foods) rather than making it myself due to a) time constraints and b) a lack of ingredients already in the house. Theoretically I should buy some groceries, but the book comes first. Have a lovely weekend!

Work is the Devil

Actually, work is not the devil; I'm very fortunate to have a job in these "troubled times," as newscasters like to remind us hourly. But, my day job is rather demanding, and it's all the more difficult to stay focused when all I want to do is write. I persevered today, staying in the office for ten hours and then working at home for two hours beyond that, but I'm hopeful that I can get caught up enough that I will not need to do anything for the day job this weekend.

In other news, I read this interesting stat on Publishers Lunch, from USA Today: Stephenie Meyer accounted for sixteen percent of total sales for the books they were tracking on their bestseller list. Sixteen percent! That makes my Golden Heart nomination look like a Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes invitation. I shall never get to sixteen percent market share unless I focus on the book -- so this weekend is going to be spent in hermitville. I have a birthday party to attend tomorrow night (at a country/western bar with line dancing, which should be interesting), but beyond that, I'm going to hole up with Malcolm, Amelia, and the dozen felt-tipped pens that I bought tonight and figure out what, if anything, I want to change before submitting to agents again. It's not the most fun weekend in the world, but if it gets me a step closer to Stephenie Meyer territory, it's worth it.