I’m on a writers retreat for one – me.
The planning involved was minimal. The ‘retreat’ (a motel room) needed to tick three boxes:
A relaxing destination
Driving distance from Sydney
Plenty of cafes.
So, I’m in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains.
In retrospect, an odd choice given my current manuscript is set on a beach. But this landscape is channelling my writing efforts differently.
In a good way.
The aim of this retreat was to maximise writing time, get a good chunk of my current draft ticked off and a way forward mapped out.
My hit list was as follows:
Update my chapter summary.
Complete a chapter summary of the ‘romance’ thread.
Complete a chapter summary of the ‘author’ thread.
Insert feedback from my writers' group (I’m always behind on this!)
The lengthy task of once again updating my chapter summary table makes my eyes water. So, my solution is what I call a ‘chapter pictorial’ that fits to one A4 page. An at-a-glance summary of the manuscript.
This is what I did:
Inserted a small square onto the page.
Made it a text box.
Wrote the location of my first chapter.
Copied this square 26 times, spacing each out evenly like a grid.
I skimmed chapter one and wrote 2-3 plot points.
Onto the next box, chapter two.
Along the way, it threw up gaps, solutions and extraneous characters. I scribbled notes in an exercise book, so as not to distract me from the task.
I copied the A4 page and did the same for the romance thread running through the book. It made me focus only on ‘the romance’.
I planned to do the same for other threads or sub-plots.
Every minute of the weekend was about writing. And this opportunity was like a good book. Total immersion!
If I wasn't on my laptop, I was scribbling in an exercise book or taking a walk to soak up the beauty of the gorgeous Blue Mountains and to clear the clutter in my head.
A distraction free writing weekend!
Highly recommend!