Thursday Thirteen - 4 - 13 Wonderful Reasons To Go To a Writer's Retreat

I'm heading for the Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada chapter's annual retreat on Friday, so what better time to reflect on all that's sublime about this coming weekend?

1 - Removing myself from all the things that compete for my time and attention. That could be considered a mere vacation, but this is a retreat for writers. We're actually going to focus on our craft, minus the routines of life that require our participation. No laundry pestering me from over there. No dog wondering if we might go for a walk. No spouse jockeying for computer time. Just the writers, writing.

2 - Enjoying the hour and a half drive to the retreat and back. A bit of wind down time, shooting the breeze, looking at the scenery. It's a symbolic threshhold between the normal world and the world of transformation we're about to enter. And on our way back, we have a buffer zone where we can digest everything we've thought about during the retreat.

3 - Recharging my batteries every time I look out at the trees and at the ocean. Even if you happened to have a house surrounded by trees or near the ocean, this is a different view. Different perspectives follow.

4 - Spending a nice interlude with my writer friends. A lunch together once a month, the writers' meeting, sometimes a movie night, sometimes dinner at someone's home - these are all treasured hours in the company of people who share my passion. A weekend retreat is pure luxury, with so much opportunity to get to know my friends on a different level.

5 - Presenting a workshop that I'm excited about. I've got fun exercises to do and it should lead to some sparkling dialogue.

6 - Doing the writing exercises. They really get the synapses firing. I'm especially looking forward to the workshop on Goal Motivation Conflict. I need to get a handle on that.

7 - Welcoming the unexpected breakthroughs. In three previous retreats, I've had ideas pop to life like a lottery jackpot. Mama needs a new pair of shoes!

8 - Refueling from all that creative activity with delectable food. Mmm. Can't wait. Even if it means that I'm one of the cooks on the rotating schedule. The retreat makes even cooking seem like fun.

9 - Laughing. Uproariously.

10 - Drinking wine. Actually this year I'm taking along my Christmas bottle of Glenlivet single malt whisky. I've taken wine out of my diet while I test out migraine reactions to food. Distilled spirits are allowed, so whisky it is. Actually, I really love the aroma of the whisky before it even crosses my lips. Don't know why. There weren't any whisky drinkers in my family.

11 - Getting some sleep. Especially after this week, when I'm burning the candle at both ends in order to get everything done before I go away for the weekend.

12 - Walking past the gorgeous beach heading for the Saturday evening dinner at the nearby resort. Okay, part of the delight is the walk, part of it is the dinner.

13 - Heading home, having needed time away to immerse myself in writing and creative thinking, but now missing my honey and my dog, my mom and my gram.