My Writing Retreat

I suck at titles and couldn't think of a better one.

Photo by Unseen Studio on Unsplash

I have taken many lovely pictures of the grounds of The Retreat House in an Undisclosed Location, where I stayed for a week. However, I will not be sharing any.

This property is still being built up as a retreat center. People—lay and religious—have gone there on retreat. However, they learned of it through word-of-mouth or they were associated with the community building the House. The Retreat House does not have a website and they are not actively advertising. I don’t wish to accidentally send them more business than they are able to take.

Yes, I could post at least one photo that only shows nature, but I’ve seen Reddit find people based on the shoes they were wearing in a video. So, dear Reader, you’re just going to have to be satisfied with a stock photo, gifs, and your imagination.

Purpose of My Writing Retreat

I returned to fiction writing after a year-long hiatus. To help me really get back into it, I wanted to go on a writing retreat. Unfortunately, all the organized ones I came across were either too far away or too expensive. This left the DIY approach.

My purpose for the retreat was twofold. One, I wanted to bring before God some insecurities I felt regarding my writing. Previously, I had been a self-published secular author and gave it all up when I realized secular fiction was not what God wanted of me. Five years of hard work and expense suddenly went into the trash bin. That left me a little head-shy.

Secondly, I wanted to have space to focus on my writing without worrying about dishes, husband, and volunteer work. I intended to minimize Internet distractions (which didn’t happen).

However, my spiritual director gave me one guideline: I could not spend my whole time writing.

Writing and Prayer

Because I try to be a good Catholic, I heeded the advice of my spiritual director.

The community prayed morning, noon, and evening prayer. I tried to attend them all. I went to Mass, usually in the evening, and I took long walks around the property while praying my rosary. Pretty sure I trespassed onto someone else’s property at one point, but at least I didn’t get lost. I read a spiritual book that had absolutely nothing to do with writing. I opened doors I thought were storage closets but were actually other rooms. I attended an All Souls’ Day rosary walk to a nearby cemetery.

My mornings usually consisted of writing, though there was one day where I wrote morning and afternoon. That was because it was too cold outside for a delicate Southern flower such as myself.

I did gain some insights into why I felt insecure. I did not walk away with an ironclad assurance that everything about my writing would be okay. Rather, I left The Retreat House feeling more willing to hang on for dear life as the Holy Spirit takes the reins.

Yes, I’m comparing the Holy Spirit to Gandalf. Fight me.

What I Would Do Differently

Looking back on it, there are a few things I would do differently.

One, I would make sure before I arrive that I have a good writing space on lockdown. My first few days involved me floating around to different surfaces until a good desk opened up for use. I got writing done but I wonder if I would have been more productive if, for a bit there, I hadn’t been like the Israelites in the desert.

Secondly, I would be stricter with myself regarding Internet use. I allowed myself access to YouTube with the excuse of using my writing playlists. What this led to was distraction. I did try to buckle down one day and that didn’t go well. The silver lining is that I realized I may have an actual addiction that I need to deal with.

Thirdly, I would organize my day better. Perhaps block out times for writing throughout the day, rather than lumping it all into one half of the day. I wonder if that would have helped with making the words flow.

In Conclusion

I really did enjoy my time at The Retreat House at an Undisclosed Location. Hopefully, I’ll be able to go back next year. Now, I need to make sense of what I have written and carry on. I hope what I’ve written here will help you organize your own DIY Writing Retreat.