The idea of a writing retreat continues to float around in
my mind. I find it difficult to ignore the distractions of being at home--I can
sit down and work for a span of time, but I’m taken with the idea of being in
space and time where writing/research is my sole responsibility. Being at a
conference where I don’t have many commitments has been a very good way to
retreat when I have a hotel room to myself. I’ll have that opportunity in April
and am very much looking forward to it.
Topic for this week: what would your ideal writing retreat
look like? How have you been able to create the conditions of retreat when
you’ve needed it the past? Any tips on how to design a mini-retreat or apply
for a retreat or residency? Here’s a list of writing residencies in the US from
last year if you’re interested:
http://thewritelife.com/writing-residencies/#.vdsszs:m4F
Check in as usual: Prompt optional, report on last week,
set goals for the coming week.
Bardiac
1. Prep classes!
2. Write a grant proposal (internal)
3. More birding!
4. Practice violin
5. Get some exercise every day.
Daisy
1: Work on figures (less intimidating than "finish"?)
2: Read student's thesis chapters and provide detailed yet supportive
feedback...
3: Get enough sleep so I don't get kid's new cold (fat chance, but I can
try!)
Dame Eleanor Hull
1. Regular stretching and exercise, safe food, enough sleep.
2. Touch work.
3. Keep up with online class stuff.
4. Be present with my family, be tactful or at least keep mouth shut,
think things through.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell (carried over)
Compile list of research questions to answer before the
sabbatical.
Walk 0.75 miles a day.
Three hours on the grant for four days.
Switch to first pair of socks and complete foot to heel
gusset.
Good Enough Woman
1. Read intro and skim new theory book and take notes for article.
2. Grade all or most of the assignments I'll get on Thursday so I can
give them back next Tuesday. I want to stay ahead of the game.
3. Do some homework/training to prep for the Poetry Out Loud competition
I'll be judging in a couple of weeks.
4. Morning/Evening pages 4x.
5. Walking 3x.
6. One hour tidying campus office.
7. Have fun with the kids during my "Mommy weekend."
heu mihi
1. Meditate some amount. (I like this way of phrasing it!)
2. Read 3 Silence articles; sketch in notes about how to use them (if
they're usable).
3. Look at NaNo novel and 2006-07 novel; make a decision about which to
pursue right now.
4. Submit grant app for student group
5. Finish Contest Book 2
humming42
1 Submit book review
2 Edit Buildings draft
3 Work on pitch paragraph
4 30 minutes writing/research related 3x
Jane B
1) make an appointment to see my GP if possible
2) be kind to myself and put sleep before everything else on the list!
3) do revise and resubmit for Problem Child 3
4) finalise and send off two other newsletter pieces for Society Thing
5) do as much teaching prep as possible - I'd like to be prepped to the
end of the following week (new lectures to write, sigh, if I even have a voice
to lecture with...)
6) grade things (I have two large things to double-mark for the teaching
fellows coming in this week, and need to collate marks from 17 other people
(aargh) for my giant first year module)
KJHaxton (carried over)
1. Finish marking coursework and exam scripts
2. Finish draft of opinion article
3. make contact with people about outreach events
4. finish teaching admin for semester ahead
5. knit something else
6. plan victorian paper, gather references before writing retreat
and write a significant quantity of the first draft
Susan
1. Really finish way outside
2. Request permissions for Way Outside
3. Start outlining keynote, figure out research/reading needed
4. Walk 3 times
5. Get at least 6 hours of sleep
6. Decluttering: 5 minutes per day of SOMETHING
Topic: I don’t have any tips about applying for a writing retreat. I would love to go on a real one, with classes in the morning and writing in the afternoons. Someday, I hope. As for a mini-retreat, I hope to create a few during the sabbatical. I have done that before, going alone for a week to another library, staying in a hotel where I do not have the distractions of home and family, and utterly refusing to look at work email.
ReplyDeleteI will take a week of the sabbatical to go to the Morgan Library in New York, which is relatively easy; I hope to go to the British Library for at least a week as well, which is not as easy. If I am self-indulgent, I will go to Trinity College in Dublin to lay the groundwork for the next research project.
Other than that, I realize I will need to escape the house so that I do not turn into Martha Stewart (“Oh, that bathtub is positively dingy!”) and neglect the sabbatical. I have asked Special Collections to let me work in their research room, even though I do not need any of their resources. I have supported thoroughly their need for metadata, so they have no problem with my working there--and it is not in the same building as my office, so I am safe from being found. There is also a very nice public library within walking distance of the house where I can disappear on weekends when Special Collections is closed.
Two weeks’ ago goals:
Compile list of research questions to answer before the sabbatical. Not completely done, but a good start.
Walk 0.75 miles a day. Yes, usually about 1.5 miles.
Three hours on the grant for four days. Yes.
Switch to first pair of socks and complete foot to heel gusset.. Yes.
Analysis:
I hit the wall the week before last. I am in the middle of a bout of insomnia, managing to sleep only 3-4 hours a night. However, this week, I decided to get up and write or read, despite the tiredness, which was better than the previous week, where I stared at the ceiling for hours. I was only able to do some fiction writing week before last; luckily, I have been able to do some work on the sabbatical this past week.
Next week’s goals:
Two hours x 7 on the sabbatical.
Walk 2.0 miles a day.
Three hours x 4 on the grant.
Complete heels on first pair of socks.
I hope everyone can find some kind of mini-retreat. Excelsior, everyone!
Your sabbatical plans sound fantastic. I'm definitely in favor of being self-indulgent and planning the next project!
DeleteI'm thinking less about retreats and more about diving back in. Finally, FINALLY, I feel like the flu is fully out of my system (last week I was still tired and headachy, and had a weird spate of ocular migraines), so I'm hoping to re-engage with exercise, and re-start my daily writing practice, and I also have a bunch of other things to catch up on. So my list is rather ambitiously long, but this morning, at least, I have the energy to jump in.
ReplyDeleteMy university does have writing retreats a few days per semester, up in the special faculty writing room in the library. They give you a coupon for the coffee bar downstairs and promise quite writing time. It's an uncomplicated, unfancy retreat--nothing very romantic about it--but it's helpful to have a designated, non-distracting space to go to once in a while to write. I think that it helps that they're not very frequent, too; there's a specialness to the retreats that's motivating.
Last week:
1. Meditate some amount. TWICE
2. Read 3 Silence articles; sketch in notes about how to use them (if they're usable). DONE
3. Look at NaNo novel and 2006-07 novel; make a decision about which to pursue right now. DONE. Going with the 2006-07. (Actually, I knew that all along, and didn't bother with NaNo--but did revise ch. 1 of Old Novel.)
4. Submit grant app for student group. DONE
5. Finish Contest Book 2. DONE
As I said, the week was a little choppy because of ongoing flu residue, but I did manage to meet my goals, so I'm pleased. But I did a calculation of about how many hours a week I can generally work, and it's shockingly low--like 26! (I blame my son's 6-hour school day. Also yoga.) So I need to start adding in some morning writing time, I think, and I'm going to experiment with keeping track of my time usage this week.
This week:
1. Meditate some amount
2. Run x 3, yoga x 2
3. Catch up on thesis reading (1 diss chapter, 1 Honors draft)
4. 30 minutes of writing x 5
5. Chapters 2-4 of novel (pp. 25-100).
6. Write up contest books.
7. Read Silence
Considering the intensity of the flu this season, you did a tremendous amount of work while recovering. I hope you continue to feel better and swing into the thing you want to get done going forward.
DeleteHow cool to be working on a novel too!
I, too, think it's awesome that you're working on your novel.
DeleteQuestion: How did you calculate your available "work hours" per week? I have just been thinking about how many hours I work and how to reconsider those hours, etc.
So glad you are nearly back to full health!
Oh, let's see. I included teaching and meetings, and lunch. Then I pretty much imposed restrictions before 9 and after 3:30 (because my kid is at home), cut out yoga classes, added 1 hour from 6-7 am on yoga days, and saw what I was left with...not much! I basically need to read for 2 hours a night to get to 40 hours a week. How is it that I feel so busy all the time?
DeleteI did a lot of writing "retreats" while I was working on my PhD thesis. I called them "hotel nights." Sometimes I would just have one night, but two nights was always better because then I would have a full day in the middle. During the last year of my efforts, I did some four-night retreats. One was at a hotel not far from my actual house (during spring break), but it had a water view, and I could hear the water lapping the hulls of the boats each morning, and it was fabulous. For another four-day retreat, a wonderful friend loaned me her house (about 3 hours away from me) for four nights while her family was out of town. Usually the one- and two-night "retreats" felt more like panicked grabs for work time, but the four-day excursions really did feel retreat-like even though I was working intensely. I haven't had a night away from the family in about a year now, so I think I might be due. But without the pressure of finished the thesis, paying for a hotel seems frivolous. And now I have my witch hut in the backyard, so . . .
ReplyDeleteLast week's goals:
1. Read intro and skim new theory book and take notes for article. NOPE.
2. Grade all or most of the assignments I'll get on Thursday so I can give them back next Tuesday. I want to stay ahead of the game. DONE!
3. Do some homework/training to prep for the Poetry Out Loud competition I'll be judging in a couple of weeks. NOPE. I FORGOT.
4. Morning/Evening pages 4x. DONE.
5. Walking 3x. ONLY 2x.
6. One hour tidying campus office. UM, I THINK SO?
7. Have fun with the kids during my "Mommy weekend." DEFINITELY!
The beginning of the week was a bit derailed when my son got food poisoning, but things are back on track. It's not lost on me that I keep blowing off research and writing. I am trying to adopt a meditative approach to this: just sort of watching my thoughts and actions (without judgment) in order to see how I really feel and what's going on.
Next weekend will be busy with my husband's b-day and a Super Bowl party, so it will be difficult to extend productivity into the weekend.
This week's goals:
1) Pay bills and make that one phone call I need to make.
2) Maybe even do taxes?
3) Walk 3x.
4) Morning/evening pages 4x.
5) Read intro of theory book and skim the rest.
6) Read SF novella (Binti) and two SF short stories.
7) Prep for husband's b-day.
8) Schedule mammogram (heavy resistance to this one)
One of my committee members told me to take a few months off after I finished my dissertation, and I really resisted the suggestion. But when I started research again, I was glad that I'd had the respite and could think of research from a different perspective.
DeleteSo sorry to hear about the food poisoning! I'm happy to hear you had a great Mommy weekend nonetheless.
Doing a real writing retreat is a constant fantasy over here! The perfect one has a cabin, with a beach for walking and thinking, and a fireplace, with a well-stocked pantry for cooking. Cabin in forest is fine too of course. I would love to go with some of my co-authors, hang out, and write. I've done that with some of them during field seasons when horrible weather days become writing days and it is wonderful. Recently I overlapped at a lab with one of my favourite co-authors and we took a day to write in our hotel, and got a ton of stuff done. The momentum was great, just very hard to keep up once we left again...
ReplyDeleteLast week's goals:
The last week was unexpectedly busy with two sets of student grant applications, and conference prep for this coming weekend.
1: Work on figures (less intimidating than "finish"?) MADE SOME FOR OTHER PEOPLE FOR TALKS NEXT WEEK
2: Read student's thesis chapters and provide detailed yet supportive feedback... DONE
3: Get enough sleep so I don't get kid's new cold (fat chance, but I can try!) YAY! DID NOT GET SICK (yet....)
This weekend is a conference one, always a good one. I have two students doing talks, two doing posters, I'm doing two science talks, and I am the keynote speaker for the whole thing so it will be busy. I'm keeping the goals focused on that, not adding extras.
This week's goals:
1: Polish the 2 science talks
2: Try out keynote talk on patient friends
3: Work on figures and paper text, co-authors will be at conference so they need to see some graphs over beers...
Wow--congratulations on the keynote!
DeleteYes! A dear friend who is a university staff member often reminds me how important it is for me to publicize my accomplishments (which I hate to do) because young women on our campus need to see the achievements of faculty women. So I think it's tremendous that your students not only experience your mentoring but will also get to see your accomplishments as a scholar.
DeleteWriting retreats sound lovely -- I've thought about renting a place on the beach for a long weekend or a week to write. The difficult thing is (a) books and (b) notes -- I still have lots of notes on paper. (I'm old!) But depending on what I was working on, it could be quite productive. I would not find myself looking at the kitchen and thinking, "I've got to clear this counter!"
ReplyDeleteGoals from last week:
1. Really finish way outside --NO, the last ILL books came, but I haven't had time.
2. Request permissions for Way Outside SORT OF: Well, I've started the process of figuring out who to ASK for permission, but I'm waiting for response #2. Eagerly deciding to return to working on people who have been dead 300 years so there's no question of permissions!
3. Start outlining keynote, figure out research/reading needed YES!!! I wrote over 1000 words, and see at least the first half pretty well. (This was more interesting than the last footnotes on Way Outside!)
4. Walk 3 times TWO times -- but both longish walks (4 and 5 miles) so that's good
5. Get at least 6 hours of sleep - pretty much, but I'm exhausted
6. Decluttering: 5 minutes per day of SOMETHING Not every day, but more on some days. I can see progress
Analysis: I had to deal with more of my mother's anxieties over her illness, and another trip to the doctor in the middle of a writing day. Central to getting good sleep is going to bed early, and that's where I get messed up. (The cats wake me up between 5:30 and 6 no matter when I go to bed.) The work on the keynote was good, and invigorating. In addition to the things I listed, I finished two letters of rec, pruned the roses, and did my UK taxes. I feel fairly accomplished!
Goals for this week (I have an all day meeting out of town Wednesday, and a job candidate on Friday where I'm chair of the search.) So goals are modest.
1. Do the last footnotes and a last read of Way Outside
2. Write formal request for permissions if I get a contact.
3. Read diss chapter from grad student
4. Clean campus desk
5. Identify secondary sources for keynote, maybe write a bit more.
6. Make marmalade, start limoncello to use up citrus
7. Walk three times
8. Get at least 6 hours of sleep.
Wonderful news about the keynote prep! What do you think it was that made it so energizing? Simply the fact of being interested and invested?
DeleteI think it was the time to focus on a subject, and also that it's getting me to think about what may become my next big project....
DeleteLike Heu Mihi, I'm now diving back in. I feel like January has been going on for so long that Christmas must be about to swing back around and hit me upside the head. Actually, it's my husband's birthday that I need to shop for. Same general idea, less social pressure and obnoxious music.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I stay in a hotel, I think about a writing retreat. A nice, bland, anonymous business-traveler's hotel room, with a good desk, chair, and light, always strikes me as a perfect place to work. I have long thought that a cruise ship would be ideal (provided I could load everything I needed on a laptop, or bring a suitcase full of books), since I have no interest in standard cruise amusements, but there would be a gym, and housekeeping and meals provided. Work, stare at the water, work, gym, eat, work, stare at the water. Maybe some day.
How I did:
1. Regular stretching and exercise, safe food, enough sleep. YES, except sleep got dodgy, not sure why.
2. Touch work. YES (good thing I kept this one low).
3. Keep up with online class stuff. MOSTLY (partly because students were late with their last posts; I have yet to finish with that set).
4. Be present with my family, be tactful or at least keep mouth shut, think things through. YES. (My tongue hurts, and Sir John got an earful of Things I Was Not Saying, but yes.)
This week:
1. Self: the usual stretching, exercise, safe eating; plus another dentist appointment; make a couple of other appointments.
2. Teaching: catch up on the online stuff and award points; grade a set of papers; class prep.
3. Research: languages; upload a translation chunk; another round of MMP revisions.*
4. Life Stuff: bills and some other financial stuff; oil change.
*Good news on the MMP: though the editors had thought it might go to readers once more, they have decided it's good, with just a little more tinkering: mostly taking things out, now.
Excellent news on the MMP! I hope that you're also able to take a break--at least logistically and physically, even if not emotionally--from the family stuff this week.
DeleteThose beloveds to whom you can say The Things You Are Not Saying are precious creatures.
DeleteThe cruise retreat reminds me of reading stories about people who traveled long distances by ship (most recently Jennifer Egan's Manhattan Beach)--those stories and novels lead me to drift off in imagining myself having all of that time at sea to read and write.
Your thoughts of a cruise ship are very familiar. I keep looking at a 14-day cruise across the pond--7 days with no stops whatever to write, and 7 days of stops to get out if need be, or stay in and write some more.
DeleteFantastic news about the MMP. It must be lovely to have it almost completely put to bed.
The year is off to a difficult start: a 3-day headache last week followed by a punch-me-in-the-face cold now. And while I’m whiny and don’t feel inclined to do much, I’m incredibly grateful that it’s a cold and not the flu. The in-between was focused more on teaching and service than on research, but I did get the book review submitted.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1 Submit book review: yes
2 Edit Buildings draft: no
3 Work on pitch paragraph: some
4 30 minutes writing/research related 3x: maybe
Not having anything but Buildings with a deadline, I’m letting research and writing slide in ways I definitely don’t want to. Hence setting some self-imposed deadlines should be helpful.
This week:
1 Figure out how to regain health
2 Submit Buildings, now TRQ
3 Work on pitch paragraph more
4 Set some writing and research goals for the year
Writing retreat - my institution has been running a series of 1 day retreats with the following format:
ReplyDeleteArrive, set up, goal set
1h15 writing
30 min break
1h writing
1 hour break
1 h 15 writing
15 min break
1h writing
summary, feedback and leave
It's a solid 4 hours of writing but with company and food arriving in the breaks. I find the first three sessions productive but by the final one I'm struggling to maintain focus. I've done two this year so far, and it's really good for first drafts. The planning required before the session (reading references, compiling data) is a bit difficult if you're pressed for time.
I'm not sure how I would feel about a residential writing retreat, my academic writing is interesting but not sufficiently interesting that I'd want to spend a couple of days and a great deal of money on it intensively. I feel guilty saying that - I like my current projects, I like writing, but unless it was paid for entirely by work, I wouldn't do it. I find the idea of a painting course or something creative far more appealing (including creative writing - that would be fun).
1. Finish marking coursework and exam scripts - done
2. Finish draft of opinion article - done
3. make contact with people about outreach events - partial
4. finish teaching admin for semester ahead - mostly done
5. knit something else - one hat done, another in progress
6. plan victorian paper, gather references before writing retreat and write a significant quantity of the first draft - done and did, also planned another paper and did a writing retreat on it.
Goals for this week:
1. catch up on emails about outreach
2. plan teaching for next few weeks to free up time
3. finish the Good Wife before it is removed from Netflix on 1/2/18
4. work through one of the paper drafts created in the writing retreat
5. look at the data for another paper to find the gaps
I'm very interested in the university-run writing retreat. There's always talk here about creating some sense of a writing/research group but it doesn't come into being. I think the generally low faculty morale contributes to that, that people want to keep their creative work and research to themselves.
ReplyDeleteI hope you catch the rest of The Good Wife!