Writing Retreat

It’s now been several months since I went on a writers retreat in the beginning of May

My time away was short - a Thursday evening through Saturday morning - but much needed. My calendar was full for several weekends in a row with the retreat, a funeral, a bridal shower, and a WW2 reenactment. When my cousin told me about it, I decided it wouldn’t hurt to go. Turns out I knew two other ladies who went.

The weekend was relaxed with no big plans outside of meals and morning and evening devotional time. We could write in the dining hall, outside on the porch in Adirondack chairs overlooking a lake, in a small lounge, in our rooms, out on the lawn, or wherever else on the property we wanted to venture.

I came with a long list of things I wanted to make headway on - blog posts, my Snow Queen retelling, reading articles on writing, getting notes put into my worldbuilding website, getting an author newsletter set up, fixing a few things on the website, etc. I did almost none of them and instead, spent some time in the Bible looking at Psalm chapter 1 and marveling how it perfectly captures concepts my Discord writing group has been mulling over.

The devotionals were done by my friend’s father, a pastor, and focused on the literary aspects of the Bible and how God told great stories. I was spellbound listening to him talk about how the etymology and grammar of the Bible in its original languages convey so much that is lost on us as English-only speakers. When I gushed about how this is the kind of teaching and Bible study I’ve been craving, he gave me a list of books he found invaluable in understanding the reasons why the Bible is so well written. I bought them as soon as I got home.

I told him how research for my Fourth Prince series landed me in ancient history that brought the Bible alive in ways sermons never do; that the more I read about those things, the more I wanted to read my Bible. It was probably the most encouraging conversation I’ve had with something in years because he understood how my mind works with its love of language and literature and history.

I got very little of my planned writing done. My mind took off in a different direction and chose to work on my WW2 urban fantasy series instead. I got several thousand words written on it. Honestly, that’s what I needed - a fun and relaxing project with no pressure to meet goals.

Everyone benefits from some time away and I needed it more than I thought I did. It was that little bit of fresh air and downtime before the chaos and emotions of the next few weekends hit me. I don’t think I got a good solid weekend of downtime after that until the middle of June.

Psalm 1

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.