I remember exactly where I was when I decided to book my first writers’ retreat. It was the winter of 2015, I was on my lunch break at work, and I was wearing a brace on my left knee. I had fractured my patella commuting on an icy day, when I stepped off the bus in Boston’s Copley Square and a woman slipped and fell on me and I took her weight and mine on my left knee. I was in pain, bored and overqualified for my job, and considering throwing in the towel after eight long years of trying to get an agent.
And then I saw author Heather Webb tweet about a week-long writers’ retreat in Ireland, which would intersperse days of sightseeing with days of writing workshops taught by Heather and another author, Susan Spann, and they had only one spot left. I’m a cautious person who doesn’t make decisions without a lot of forethought, so I surprised myself by how quickly I applied! Looking back, I now realize that this was a last-ditch effort to find a reason to keep my dream of becoming an author.
As it turned out, 2015 became a major turning point in my life.
My agent called in mid-February to offer representation and we soon went out on submission. While waiting, I began a new novel called FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS and brought several chapters with me to Ireland to be critiqued by the authors. I was so nervous about traveling alone internationally and spending a week with perfect strangers, but I ended up loving every minute!
The thing about writers is that a lot of us are introverted, hardworking, and emotional people who passionately love books, so when we get together, there’s a decent chance that we will get along. I found that to be incredibly true on that trip to Ireland. When you’re surrounded by folks who are writing stories that they love and who understand just how hard this dream can be, it’s impossible not to feel inspired and validated and revitalized. Writing is solitary, so community and connection are crucial.
On that retreat, during my one-on-one session with Susan, she told me how much she and Heather had loved reading my pages. “You know what I was picturing in my head the whole time?” she asked, straightening her posture, spreading her hands, and looking majestically around the cozy sitting area. “The empress standing on her balcony, gazing out at the forest, and all of the trees burning with light.”
Well, Tamar and I sold FOREST the following year, and that exact scene Susan described happens to be the very last page of my book!
And several years later, as a multi-published author myself, I was invited back to Ireland, this time as a leader and an instructor. Talk about coming full circle!
Since then, I have gone on numerous retreats, both as a teacher and as an attendee. They don’t have to be expensive, far away from home, or require taking too much time off from work or other obligations. Some of the ones I’ve enjoyed most have taken place over a single day or a weekend with a small group of writers gathering at someone’s house or chipping in for groceries and a night or two at an Air B&B. I find these retreats productive whether I get words down or ask for help with brainstorming or simply enjoy the company of people in the same boat.
One of my favorite places to go is the Highlights Foundation in the Poconos Mountains of Pennsylvania. It’s a calm, peaceful place, where you can choose to hole up in a cozy cabin and write without ever seeing another person or hang out with other writers around the fire pit, talk shop, and connect with like-minded folks.
I will never forget the public speaking workshop I took there in 2016 because of how I ugly-sobbed (in private) after my first big presentation! At the end of the three-day retreat, they threw each of us in front of an audience of 200+ local students and their teachers, librarians, and principals, and had us speak on any writing-related topic of our choosing for one hour. I was so overwhelmed and overstimulated, as a former shy person who hated having people look at her. Honestly, this workshop sounded like my worst nightmare, but I forced myself to do it because I knew that public speaking is required of an author.
For some reason, that ordeal — as stressful as it was — completely erased my fear of public speaking. Maybe it was because of how attentive and encouraging the teachers and students were. Or maybe it was because one of my kind teachers, Jan, took me aside afterward and told me very seriously that he believed that writing and teaching people about writing were exactly what I should be doing with my life. Or it could have been because I’m the kind of anxious, nervous, uptight creature of habit who needs be flung into the deep end for her own good sometimes. Whatever the reason, that retreat gave me the gift of now being able to get up onstage and talk to as many people as you want me to without batting an eye.
I came full circle again when I got invited back to Highlights to teach workshops of my own, including one on fairy tale retellings and another on how to write villains.
This spring, I will be leading my third event at the Highlights Foundation — a Working Retreat for Novelists and Graphic Novelists! It will take place from May 19-22 and I will be joined by my friend and award-winning graphic novelist Wendy Xu. It doesn’t matter if you have an agent or not, or if you are published or not. If you are working on a novel or graphic novel at any stage, you are welcome to join us!
Wendy and I will each give a one-hour lecture with writing exercises to follow, and attendees can also pay for a one-on-one consultation with either of us. But the main objective is to give attendees a safe, relaxing, and nurturing space to create, where they can be surrounded by other creative people, learn from our years of experience, and enjoy the delicious chef-prepared meals (not to mention unlimited snacks, tea, and coffee) that Highlights always offers. My mouth is already watering!
I’ve had to fight very, very hard for my dream. It has been and continues to be an uphill climb and there have been so many roadblocks along the way that it’s a no-brainer for me to want to pass on my knowledge and experience to other writers. Helping other people, especially young and/or BIPOC creatives, is something I will strive to do for the rest of my life, whether it’s with my time, my experience, my wallet, or my library card, and this writers’ retreat is another way for me to do that.
Spending time with other writers has been formative for my work and my self as both a human and an artist, and I hope that anyone who joins us in May will feel the same! I intend these four days at Highlights to be relaxing, inspiring, and supportive, whether you want to work solo most of the time and come out for meals or you just want to recharge and soak in nature and positive energy.
Please join us! And feel free to leave a comment below if there is any topic — whether on craft, business, or general author life — that you’d like Wendy and me to touch upon.
If you are interested, click here for more information!
I don’t know if I could have kept going without the writing retreats I’ve attended and the community of writer friends I’ve maintained from those retreats. I’ve been to two retreats through Maggie Stiefvater & have another one with her this June.