A Writing Vacation

And by that, I mean a vacation to actually get some writing done-or in my case, some rewriting-and not a vacation from writing. I take too many of those already.

In a couple of days I’ll be leaving the suffocating heat of the Phoenix valley to enjoy the cooler temperatures of a cabin in Show Low with about 35 other women writers. I’m excited for three days of writing, laughing, eating, writing, not sleeping enough, hiking, writing, brainstorming, getting to know new people, getting to better know some of the ladies I’ve met at previous gatherings, and writing.

Last year when I went to the writing retreat I managed to write ten thousand words in three days. Within two weeks after I finished my book. It was a great accomplishment for me. Now a year later, I’m still working on rewrites and edits, but I’m looking forward to these three days dedicated to just that.

So what’s the difference between doing this at home and doing this at a fancy cabin in the pines? As a teacher currently wasting her summer vacation on watching the entirety of The Big Bang Theory, playing Diablo III and taking weekend trips to Disneyland (okay, that last one is NEVER a waste), I could dedicate plenty of days to just writing anytime I wanted to.

But see, motivation is a funny thing. And with the rewriting/editing process, it seems I work better when I have other people around and can get immediate feedback. My poor writing sisters are going to be subjected to three days of my constantly asking for validation-I mean help with scenes giving me the most trouble. Fortunately, I make a mean raspberry cheesecake-filled chocolate cookie.

And I’m willing to help them out just as much. Plus, the sisters I usually work with are used to me.

All in all, I hope to return with much progress and many breakthroughs to report.