Autumn is my favorite season. It’s the time when I remake my world. I get the kids back to school and I hang up my chauffeur cap and I jump back in to the ocean of words, swimming, floating, diving for treasure.
But this year, not so much.
Between activities for the kids and too many work-for-hire writing projects, this September/October has been kind of a grind. And on top of that, we finally redid our budget to be more realistic about my income now that I’m no longer at the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Ever since late summer, I’ve been musing about a writing retreat. I love the idea of them, and when I read an old interview with Toni Buzzeo months ago, when someone asked her how she could be so productive, she credited writing retreats. I can’t find the original place I read this, but she mentions them frequently. In this ICL chat she talks about how she does this with writing friends, where they rent out entire bed-and-breakfasts and write all day. That sounds like fun, but I really felt the need for some total solitude. And in this interview with Debbi Michiko Florence, she talks about writing 10-12 hours per day when she’s away on her retreats! Wow. I’d be happy for 5 hours per day to devote to the writing I really want to do! 10-12 hours? That’s impressive!
I kept saying, "If we can swing the money…" I was hoping to go, but feeling guilty about it, too, as we try to cut down optional expenses. But honestly, it was feeling like something I truly needed, not just something I wanted.
Then a book packager I’ve worked for in the past contacted me to offer me a project. The project was not all that appealing. It was for high school kids (not my usual audience) on a topic I have little interest in, with an extremely fast turnaround at a time I was already feeling overwhelmed. The pay was $1600–not stellar, by any means. BUT, I took the assignment. I took it, and I was very clear that I was taking it so that I could do this retreat guilt-free. $1600 = $500 for taxes, $500 for my retreat, and $600 for the budget.
This past month has left me totally spent, but the retreat has danced in front of my eyes, keeping me meeting deadlines and moving forward. Last week, I turned in four nonfiction books. Yea! Today, I have lots of putzy stuff (returning contracts, writing some business thank you cards, tackling a mountain of laundry, etc.) to catch up on. Then tomorrow morning, as soon as the girls leave for school, I’m driving up to Duluth, a Lake Superior harbor city about 2 hours north of here. I can’t wait! And hopefully, I’ll find a few minutes to share updates with you guys on how it’s going.