Writers Retreat Day


Today, I shall be on retreat lol…..cue music and scenes of a sun drenched beach, the sea lapping against the sand…..umm, no. I’ll be on retreat at home 🙂

Hubby is going out for the day (to a chess match) so I have the whole day to sit around in my jim jams and do whatever I want *pokes tongue out childishly*

In a way, it’s kind of like one of Peter Jones’ Boxing Days (you’ll have to read Peters book to know what I’m on about…see a previous post).

So, thanks to Judy Reeves, I have a list of prompts (for writing practice) that I will be using throughout the day:

write about a small thing
you are in a garden
it was Monday morning
write about a mirror
write a February memory
this is not about…..
one Friday night
“after all, it wasn’t what she expected”

That should keep me going shouldn’t it? Obviously, coffee, chocolate and doughnuts will also help lol 😉

The real question is, will the cats allow me? Lol…. This is what I have to contend with most days…

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Now I’m thinking a retreat in a coffee shop is very appealing 😉

Have you ever had a writers retreat day? Do you do writing practice?

Yesterday’s prompt was “write about the blues in the night” and I guess you could say I took it literally lol. I wrote the start of a story, a romance, about a guy being woken up in the night by the girl in the flat below playing her sax 😉 Today’s prompt is “Memory thick as mud” after Janet Fitch who I now know is the author of White Oleander. I’d heard of the book, so now I’ll be doing a little bit of research….see what it inspires 🙂

I’ve now got 11 “Out There’s” but determined to get that up to 20 by next Wednesday 🙂

Noise?


Nathan Bransford asked the question on his blog recently….. “Which kind of writer are you? Do you like having a bit of noise or do you need to block everything out?”

I’ve always known I’m the kind of writer that needs complete silence. I can’t listen to music while I write, I end up staring off into space or singing along. I can’t have the TV on as I end up watching it. (I’ve said before, I’m easily distracted lol).

See the blank page? I rest my case.

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I struggle in busy coffee shops as I find myself eavesdropping on conversations lol

But….saying all that, I do love a “Write In” 🙂 The phrase was coined from Nanowrimo, where a group of writers meet at a coffee shop and, ummm, just write….literally. You don’t chat, you don’t read other peoples work (ok, we usually chat a little bit lol). We have “Sprints” when someone is struggling, ie someone suggests a time and we all see how many words we can write in that time. Most people use their laptops, but I have seen people hand write. I can’t recommend it enough….it really focuses you 🙂

Soooo, if you have a writer friend, meet for a Write In, rather than a coffee and a chat (you can do that after) and watch that word count rise 😉

What do you prefer? Background noise? Music? Complete silence?

Yesterday’s prompt was “lips as red as licked red candy” after Vladimir Nobokov and why doesn’t that surprise me. I’m thinking this quote must be from Lolita, which I read back in the mid 90’s. I don’t remember all that much about it, apart from cringing a few times, difficult to read in places. I ended up writing a piece about a girl who is trying to find out which one of the guys in the office is sending her love notes lol

Freewriting


Prompted by an email blog update from Sue Healey a couple of days ago, i decided to do some Freewriting.

I remember when I did The Artists Way, the first time….the idea of doing 3 pages of Morning Pages every day was terrifying. I soon got into the swing, but unfortunately it just turned into a massive rant everyday, and which is why, I no longer keep a personal journal.

So Tuesday morning, I sat outside a Costa Coffee shop, and wrote the following in my notebook:

*****I’m sat here, outside Costa, with a latte in February, wanting to take my coat off. It’s the same colour purple as the ink in my pen. There are a group of rowdy workmen, about 6 of them, smoking their fags and drinking from their takeaway coffee cups. It’s not exactly what I’d call an inspiring atmosphere, but still. I may be able to finish my daydreaming story. Perhaps she runs off with a rowdy workman *snigger*

The sky is completely grey, not a cloud in sight, and matches perfectly with the paving slabs beneath my feet. In fact, the building itself seems to merge with the sky as that too is a depressing shade of grey. I can’t wait for the summer, to walk around in t shirts and feel the sun on my face. Although, my garden is a mess. Completely unusable, neglected for several years I have to confess. I guess it sets the tone for the rest of the house….neglected. There’s always something else to do though. The garden is the last item of priority on my endless list.

I’ve been food shopping and now I’m waiting for my husband so that we can have lunch. It was his suggestion that he meet me, perhaps he just needs a break. It’s nice to get out, rather than stare at the same 4 walls day in day out. I get soooo bored, and yes, I know…..I could do the garden lol*****

Ok, exactly what did I learn? Or rather, what could I use in my writing? Hmmmmm…..the only things that really stand out as being worth something are the images of the building blending into the sky and the overgrown garden.

Do you ever Free Write, and if you do, does it help? Do you end up using things in your fiction writing?

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Isn’t it funny…..there was me talking about happiness yesterday and then I discover Bridget’s beautiful post on happiness….it certainly made me smile 🙂

Oh and by the way *clears throat* I now have 7 Out There’s!!!!!! 🙂

Yesterday’s prompt about the bridge inspired a story about a young girl who’s father has been rushed to hospital….only, she hasn’t seen him for 2 years (I was going down the lines of building bridges then crossing them). I don’t know what today’s prompt is. I’m upstairs in bed, my notebook is downstairs.

As Jack Bauer would say “Damn It!” (sorry, hubby is working his way through all 8 seasons of 24) lol 🙂