by Lindsey Brackett @LindsBrac

Attending a writers’ retreat is not reserved for those with big budgets, published books, or ample travel time. In fact, taking a retreat can be one of the simplest ways to reignite your creativity and—to borrow the words of Emily P. Freeman—“create space for your soul to breathe.”

In May a group of writer friends and I put together our fourth writing retreat. We try to do this together at least once a year, the ideal is every six months, but we’re all busy with families and careers so we definitely have to plan ahead. Each time has been a little different, but we’ve learned a few things along the way that make our short time together effective, productive, and most of all, inspiring. 

Whether you take a few days by yourself or with a group, I hope our experiences encourage you to find a few days to retreat from the everyday obligations and focus on your creativity.

Option 1: Tack Retreat onto Conference

I know conference time can be draining and overwhelming, but how often do you wish for a couple more days to just process all you’ve learned? Our first retreat we took two extra days following the 2018 ACFW Conference in Nashville. We rented an AirBnB, bought some groceries, and holed up for two days of relaxation and brainstorming. This was the retreat where we discovered the power in working through story ideas together. 

Pro: We were already together and in writer mode.

Con: We were already tired from conference.

Option 2: Schedule a Long Weekend at a Fellow Writer’s Home

In my writers group, I’m blessed with a single friend who lives nearby in a three-bedroom home, which means there’s ample space for the five of us. Since three of us live within driving distance (and one of us is next to the Atlanta airport), it’s a good, central, free location to retreat at home. Same deal—bought groceries and settled in, but with a major twist. This was the retreat that taught us a schedule will keep us on track and ensure everyone gets enough “hot seat” time to talk through a new project. 

Pro: Affordable and relaxed. 

Con: So close to home, I couldn’t decompress before getting back.

Option 3: Long Weekend at a Host Home

By “host home” I mean we went to the large and hospitable home of a fellow writer’s parents. This works when you have a place where people love hosting strangers, and it felt like a long sleepover weekend—which was super fun. We watched movies, ate well because her mom cooked, and even tried out the grandkids’ zipline! We applied our schedule to our three days, which included everyone’s turn in the hot seat, as well as built in time for us to pair off and work on adjacent projects like A Rough Draft Life and Spark Flash Fiction.

Pro: Someone else took care of everything!

Con: We didn’t want to stay up too late or be too loud and disturb our lovely hosts.

Option 4: Vacation Rental in a Fun City

For our most recent getaway, we opted this time to visit the home of our member who lives the farthest. This meant four of us traveled a day there and a day back, so it definitely cut into our work time. However, it was fun to be somewhere new and definitely beneficial to the one who always has to travel. We could have used another day, but we did brainstorm, make reels, and have business meetings all over a solid 48 working hours. 

Pro: We were all together.

Con: Travel time.

For our next retreat, we’ll have to get creative on timing. Schedules are becoming more constrained, one of us is planning to move international, and all of us are pivoting in our career. But by prioritizing this time together we’ve developed a close relationship that works all year long. A short message about being stuck in a particular part of a story makes more sense to the four other minds who helped develop the story’s core. Knowing we’ll get together again for a few days of dedicated work time is always something to look forward to. 

Do you take writing retreats? 

Lindsey P. Brackett has taught middle school, read radio obits, and directed musicals but her favorite job is writing women’s fiction inspired by her rural Georgia life and Lowcountry roots. Find her podcasting at A Rough Draft Life, stress baking on Instagram, and writing at lindseypbrackett.com.